Hey Fred, If it's okay for me to get you some feedback as you mention not being happy with the shades (values). I think you've got the shapes and edges down great. I love the way your shading brings out the 3D planes simplifying the pear. As for the values: I see that your darkest light value and lightest dark value (value 3 and 4 of the 5 values we use for this exercise) are about the same, or visually appear that way. Lightening up your light values (2 and 3) or darkening #4 will increase the contrast in your drawing... Hope that helps!