Reimaging Some Old Favorites

I have been looking through my photo archives, revisiting some of the tens of thousands of images I have shot over the years. These four images stood out to me, begging for some attention. Three of the four were just grab shots. Now, with current software tools, I am able to re-think them, to give them new life. Here are the new versions, with explanations for each. I welcome your comments.

My sister and brother have a very special, very close connection. I have always loved how hard they get laughing around each other. So I have always loved this photo. But the color that was in the original always seemed a little distracting to me. So, I did a black and white conversion to focus more of the eye's attention to them, not my mother's decor (the peach couch, colorful flowers, green foliage, pastel green walls).
I like it. I love them.

I shot this at Coral Pink Sand Dunes back in the 90's. It was not staged - I happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch a silhouette of that stranger and his dog. And their long shadows. And their footprints. The moment was there, then gone just as quickly. The original (on film) was overexposed, which was always very frustrating for me. It felt thin, washed out. It was not quite right. The richness of those coral dunes was just not there.
So, again, I chose to remove the color. But I also added some digital "grain" and a faux film border to give it a more timeless, more vintage feel. Even without the iconic coral tones, now I LOVE this image.

This was from a family gathering almost 20 years ago. I have always enjoyed being "Fun Uncle Steve". So I had been goofing off with my nephews (cousins to each other) when I got the idea of drawing cartoon faces with a felt tip marker on their bellies. They loved it and happily showed off their new look.
This is another image that I thought might feel more timeless without color. 

I've always enjoyed this silhouette from the State Fair from about 15 years ago. But I wanted to reinterpret it, to give it a more "painterly" feeling. In this version, I enjoy the distinct bands of blue and yellow in the evening sky. It's very punchy, very graphic.