I can't imagine that I would have found this shot interesting in colour. It's the B&W characteristics I'm enjoying here.
The tone range is full and beautifully controlled.
I like the unexpected hillock across the front of the building and the line of grasses against the stones.
It's a fine old building. I like the composition with the track edging around the side.
Personal taste. I'd have preferred it with somewhat less processing.
And what conclusion did you reach? What did you want to do with the sky? Another way to do this (apologies if I'm telling you stuff you know) is to make a B&W conversion and adjust the colour channels. Doing this can give you precisely the tone you want in a blue sky.
Most curious. The whole style of the bike seems completely at odds with the style of the owner. Your exposure with the very bright bike and the deeply shadowed owner/rider accentuates the chasm between the styles.
Were these for hire?
If I'm looking for a shot that might work well in B&W I'll often go for a high contrast scene and perhaps even push the contrast some more in post.
While walking down by the river in Seoul, the lights and their reflection in the water were saying to me "this one in B&W" :-)
Roaming around this photo while showing it large is fun too. There are myriads of smaller possibilities here for cropped standalone images.
An image that keeps on giving.
Agreed. A good subject for B&W.
The proportions, the areas of empty black to image details feel "right." As does the positioning.
The structure and its reflection give visual movement and drama. Sharp details and controlled highlights.
And you heard it right. Nice capture. Great leading lines. My only comment is maybe a square format would have been better as it seems heavy to the right.
One aspect of this image that I like is that the concrete looks almost organic. Gone are the cold grey tones we usually see. I am not sure if the nice oily texture of the water reflections contribute to that. Certainly the under bridge lighting does.