:) i'm glad you like it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Printable View
I'm a Linux person so I have the standar Irfanview & GIMP, plus for more adventurous stuff (for which I rarely find time) Darktable and Corel AfterShot
I'm not familiar with any of those packages but here's a tutorial for GIMP and the method seems far more simpler than how I do it in Elements.:mad::)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amWZfglRbdk
An interesting perspective, and I think it works well. I think I prefer the monochrome. However, I would tone down the PP a bit. The original of the flowers that you posted second shows a perfect exposure, with no clipping, but in the B&W that you posted first, you've blown out the whites in the flowers:
https://dkoretz.smugmug.com/photos/i...J9RVDmP-XL.jpg
I think that detracts--it's harsh, and because it is so much brighter than the top half of the image, it makes draws the eye (mine anyway) down and kind of fragments the image. I'd process this with less brightness in the flowers.