sbeme: Thanks for comment. Used manual camera settings and fill flash to bring out the detail. Those panels with pastoral scenes may help the effect which you call elegance. The figures look like old family photos.
eric: Yes, I could add brightness to the mid-tones. Let me say, though, this image has been corrrectly exposed and carefully edited. I also did work on the colors with filters to enhance contrast some in the muted panel images. But the Web version seems a little dimmer than the original.
And now that I'm paying more attention, I notice in staring at a panel that it becomes more contrasty by my perception adjusting to its tonality. I suspect the nearby lights throw off the perception.
T-bone1: Thanks for comment. This ride caught my eye. Thankfully, I had already mounted my Speedlite 580EX in the camera hot shoe.
Yeah, until late last year, I too felt lost using flash -- fill or otherwise -- although I understood the fill flash concept. I stuck with natural light.
Then, in early December, I set my mind to learn flash photography, and dived in. Still learning it, but now have a handle on the basics. Using flash has made a big difference in my images. [end of rant on flash -- almost bedtime]
