Seamus, I still think the tones in the series you put up are better. Of course, the acid test would be actual prints. In any case, I came close to your range of tones with this one. On the other hand, this is a night shot and that always compresses the mid-tones, so maybe I shouldn't hang my head.
Pop, Thanks. I was in St. Augustine for two nights, one full day, and part of two others. I shot 220 frames and this was the best of the lot. Most of them were in daylight, and some were in places on the way there and on the way back. There are a few other keepers, but not ones I'd be willing to hang my reputation on.
Rob, B&W comes over as more realistic because it removes the distractions of color and leaves behind the nut of the matter. I shot this in color, of course, because that's what my D3 shoots, in this case with the 50mm f/1.4 lens I use for night stalking. In the original, that shoulder on the left is red and the athletic shirt on the kid in the center is orange. The girl back against the wall on the left is wearing a green shirt. Out of the frame to the right there's a kid whose shoulder protrudes into the frame and he's wearing a black and red plaid. Directly behind the smoke and to the left of the girl against the wall is a guy wearing a bright blue shirt and cap. Actually, the color version isn't bad, but all that color distracts from the main point, which is the interplay between the kid in the center with the fine posture and the girl on the right at the back. In the end, it was the B&W version I saw when I raised the camera and shot. Actually I don't think it's odd that B&W seems more realistic in a situation like this one.
