In a message dated 11/27/2005 12:51:50 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: My intent in showing Marnie 'my take' on her mom's hands was purely an illustration of how I would do it. I did this so Marnie would see how a different pair of eyes would handle the same composition and lighting setup. I would do the same if it was my own mother, or my wife. If the intent was to portray the hands as aged, but soft and gentle, then the lighting used did not help in any way, seemingly uni-directional from the right, causing shadows in the gulleys. To portray them as soft and gentle, I wouldn't attempt anything short of some sort of soft focus filter in PS. To portray them as soft and gentle, one would have to go back to the original setup and alter the lighting IMO :-)
Cheers, Cotty ========= Actually, I was focusing on the wrinkles. But it is a matter of degree, of course. But basically, I agree, Cotty. If I wanted soft and gentle I should have done it differently. I find it interesting how much variation there can be in a B&W interpretation. I really appreciate all the versions shown to me. Sort of opens my eyes to the variations possible. B&W is not my forte, of course. So I've never been quite sure how much to do in conversions. How much to turn white areas into gray, or how much to add contrast, etc. And I think the white hands on a black background sort of hinted that dramatic was okay. Just a matter of how dramatic, methinks. I am going to go back to the drawing board and play with it more. It is also interesting, how various variations bring up emotional reactions in others. :-) It really is subjective, isn't it? B&W even more so than color. Marnie aka Doe
