Hello, Michael, and welcome to our group. We have been running for a number of years now, and the monochrome focus has been very instructive for me.
I can't quite orient myself to this shot. Can you explain your photographer's point of view, and where the motor show man is located and what he is doing? Also, can we see the original, especially if you cropped this image down?
You caught a good expression on the gentleman's face, and you have a great depth of field. I love his motor cap--it's just what I would expect.   Posted: 12/13/2017 21:54:25

Good morning Stephen - thanks for the comment. My photographer's point of view was to capture the expression on the face of the gentleman in the image. It was one of a series of the show and this particular person to me has a look that opens a field of questions about what could be going through his mind. That is something I look for in an some of my photography - does the image invite questions or reactions. I have not cropped down at all - as for posting the original....I am not at my home PC at the moment so I can't at this time. I did not crop, as I wanted to get his face in and everything else going on around him was a total distraction to him as the central subject of this particular image. He is located outside the car looking in at the very minimal dashboard, possibly even wondering how the car even started, let alone how it went. The fact that you have asked questions DOES satisfy my own attitude in wanting questions asked. Thanks again for commenting   Posted: 12/14/2017 05:07:47

Welcome to our group, Michael. Good grab shot of your driver. Sometimes, you have to take the pics you have instead of maybe the shot you would really like to take. You will find that I like to take images and play with them (the groups as well as my own). So your subject's placement is good and the surrounding is storytelling but I would work on clarity and background. Adding a curve's layer to increase your contrast as well as dodging his face. Also, I suggest you select the background and use brightness contrast or just paint it black to darken the background. Finally I would also add some sharpness and detail by using Topaz - detail - overall medium II. These are just suggestions to improve your image. Overall a good image.   Posted: 12/17/2017 11:17:52

Hi Carol - thanks for that. I will definitely look at all your points and try on other images. Again, many thanks   Posted: 12/17/2017 13:19:13

I found the wheel to be more dominant than the face, so I wondered whether you could lighten the face a bit, especially the eyes which are getting lost in the cap's shadow. I also found the pointed details below his arm quite eye catching, but I suppose someone interested in cars might be over the moon at seeing them and working out what car it was. It does tell a story about boys and their toys! There's a good triangle of things to look at -the face, the wheel and the upholstery which keeps your eye moving around the image.   Posted: 12/18/2017 04:44:42

Welcome to our group Michael.
The pensive face of the driver is interesting and I agree with Diana's comment, regarding the look.
I would have liked that the shot had been a little wider so that part of the body of the driver is shown, because as it is I find something mutilated, however the picture is very suggestive.
  Posted: 12/18/2017 17:55:59

By the way - this was the original image, untouched   Posted: 12/18/2017 18:15:28

Hello, and welcome, Michael,

I am pleasantly surprised by the color and detail captured with your i-phone. My cell phone camera is a poor replacement on the best of occasions, and I often get images with it that have to go directly to the trash bin.
I agree with the suggestions made to lighten/brighten the eyes in this image, if possible. I believe I'd also try to clone out or otherwise remove the spots to the left and right of the head, as I find them distracting. Carol's alternative to darken that entire area is one way to resolve that issue.
I don't know whether you do any creative work on your images or not? I'm not very well-versed in digital editing or creative work myself, but this image seems to me to lend itself well to some kind of sketch filter. Those I have in my Topaz program weren't quite what I envisioned, but perhaps they will give some idea ...   Posted: 12/19/2017 23:30:45

Hello Michael, and welcome. Although I haven't been in this group very long, I believe you'll find it quite helpful. As mentioned prior, lightening the man's eyes may decrease the distraction of the steering wheel. The pure pleasure showing on his face is a great capture and I can see why you were drawn to it.   Posted: 12/27/2017 12:29:55

Hi. Many thanks to all who have given wonderful advice about improving on the monochrome quality - this is invaluable. However, there is another aspect that has come into play which is rather taking away from the purpose of the image. This is part of a series from the Regent Street Motor Show and I purposely chose the angle so that the 'portrait' with the man's expression would have a reason. Yet two people have made suggestions - one removing the hood of the car (as it is a distraction)behind the man and another saying that the steering wheel is a distraction. These 'distractions' are the reason for me being in Regent Street and the reason for the expression on the face. I apologize if I seem blunt here and I do not wish to cause upset to anyone - especially as this is my first image in the group. However, I do take what Diana Magor says about the wheel being more dominant than the face which means that when I shoot, I should take more time on focusing on the central/main subject. However, to remove the image of everything but the face is to loose the context of the face and (maybe I am wrong, but) that would go into portraiture rather than portraying what I want to portray in monochrome.   Posted: 12/28/2017 16:00:56