Are these over-worked?

[Big John]

Hi everyone, I sometimes feel like my fascination with saturated colors are getting a little out of hand! These were taken on an overcast day at a local mill. There was lots of old machinery scattered about. The rust was really a nice texture and I found myself taking dozens of shots (Man, I love digital!)

When I got home I played around with the saturation and sharpness.

I would like your opinions regarding these photos.

Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated

[juneappal]

First one is a little too much for me - the second I like a lot.

[Leorooster]

I think they are a little too much. Personally, I would like to see them in monochrome, but it's just me. Thanks for sharing.

[PhotosGuy]

I like #2. #1 is so big that I have to scroll back & forth to see it all, so I'm not commenting on it.

[sixshot]

Well I like the first one. It has a rustic feel to it!! It is a tad big and it would be better if you posted it slighty smaller to make it easier to view.

[Big John]

Thanks for the feedback, I am not sure why the first one came out so much larger, I thought I resized them the the same, but obviously not!

:o :o :o

[juneappal]

(For me) Safari displays them similarly. Firefox renders #1 larger (So that the right edge f #2 lines up with the left edge of the metal cog on the right side of the picture.)

[Duncreavy]

I love the color and texture in both. My kind of photos.

[Keiffer]

I too think B&W would look better.

[Croasdail]

okay - to start - I like image 2 - it could stay the way it is or go monochrome....its all personal preference. The first one is cool but gets a bit confusing if looked at too long because the depth of field is so narrow, only a very small portion is in focus. Yet because the rest of the photo is so high contrast and vibrant with color - your eyes get distracted by all the other stuff... only to seach back to the in focus area. Its kinda a battle between very contrasty color and the in focus area... this one might work better so you can really enjoy the textures. PS also has a lot of other neat effects that might be fun to try on this one too. Otherwise - very cool industrial stuff - I like this kind of abstraction.

[InskiP]

I like the first one compositionally, but then I really like close-up/macro type photography.
However, the color is a bit too orange/saturated for me. I too think it might be better in grayscale.

[Big John]

Wow! Thanks for the advice: I can really see what you mean about the distraction of the color pulling the eye away from the narrow area of focus in the first one. I also cropped a little tighter and tried the second picture in grayscale.

I certainly can see why so many of you enjoy black and white photography....this gives it a completely different feel to it. In the originals I was really into the texture and colors, but compositionally the colors overpowered some of the textures I was trying to bring out.:D

I went into PSE and adjusted the saturation levels down to zero, but then found I had to re-adjust the contrast levels. I know this has something to do with the "weight" of the colors being converted to grayscale from some of the other threads I have read on this forum, but this is the first time I saw it for myself.

What do you think about these versions? Am I getting on the right track?

[EOSAddict]

The first image almost has a 3D quality to it. Maybe a selection of smilar close crops in collage would work too - using smaller images?

[pdrow]

I like the first on in color. When I first looked at it my first thought was "Mars" Weird brain here, but that was it . I do like it though.
pam

[kenyc]

That's the ticket (B&W). Yeah!

KAC