Antietam in Black & White

While at Antietam's 150th in September 2012, I ended up taking a number of shots of the colorful characters attending. Never quite knew what to do with these images, but decided most of them look better as black & whites. So, here is a collection of some of the more interesting folks there.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rwberg53/sets/72157647087034617/

PS. As an extra, a B&W is included taken a few years ago at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. This is an image looking north toward Last Stand Hill (left background) where G.A. Custer and his primary command were discovered a few days after the battle. The Indian encampment was across the Little Bighorn a few hundred yards to my back when taking the pic.

PSS. The Rebel Cannoneer is, I think, the Father General's evil twin

Really nice, Ron. Thank you.

That man is holding the biggest E-cigarette I've ever seen. I wonder if its an E-Cuban

What effects have you applied to these? I can see some masking to darken the skies and clearly the contrast has been pushed hard but it looks like a painting effect has been added too. Whatever you did it looks very nice. That first portrait is especially good.

I used a combination of presets and slider settings in Lightroom, Silver-Efex Pro and OnOne Perfect Effects. In retrospect, I did push settings on a couple of these a bit too far -- a casualty of rushing through them before heading out the door. Typically, I belong to the contingent that scoffs at obviously over-enhanced images.

I used to take photos with a 35mm SLR, probably, oh in the late 80s and early 90s before digital changed all the rules. Had lots of fun with filters and messing about in the darkroom, even tried some extremely hard fast B/W film and IR film once or twice. I still look at scenes and mentally take pictures.

Think you would like it even more now. The quality gap between digital and film (including the larger formats) is closing. Even the National Geographic guys are using digital now. It encourages creativity and experimentation since there are no film costs. But the biggest advantage of digital IMO is in seeing results immediately, so on the spot adjustments are possible. I well remember the old days of film and waiting a week or more to see slides/prints, hoping that the exposure, focus, shutter speed, etc. were all correct. I also think people who started out in film have an advantage. The same limitations in film that make digital appealing today typically forced a discipline on older format photographers in setup, composition, etc. that those who grew up with digital sometimes lack.

Well done! The black and white gives it a real authentic look. Great camerawork!