BW - Trees at Dusk

[John R]

A BW version of pine trees and bark shot in low light.

JMR (edit- added two images)

[Ed Blagden]

Oh gosh, I just love that shot John.  

I did not comment on the first colour version because I didn't like it, but could not quite put my finger on why not.  And what is the use of a "I don't like it" comment without any explanation?  But the BW version is a winner: the colour in the first version just served as a distraction from the ghostly trees, and in the BW version you have taken away everything which served as a distraction from the subject, and you are just left with the trees which look like they are alive and moving.

Great shot - I really love this one.

Ed

[Jeremy Roussak]

Oh gosh, I just love that shot John.  

I did not comment on the first colour version because I didn't like it, but could not quite put my finger on why not.  And what is the use of a "I don't like it" comment without any explanation?  But the BW version is a winner: the colour in the first version just served as a distraction from the ghostly trees, and in the BW version you have taken away everything which served as a distraction from the subject, and you are just left with the trees which look like they are alive and moving.

Great shot - I really love this one.

Ed

My thoughts exactly. The colour version did nothing for me, but I had to keep looking at this one.

Jeremy

[cmi]

*comment moved to color version*

[John R]

Oh gosh, I just love that shot John.  

I did not comment on the first colour version because I didn't like it, but could not quite put my finger on why not.  And what is the use of a "I don't like it" comment without any explanation?  But the BW version is a winner: the colour in the first version just served as a distraction from the ghostly trees, and in the BW version you have taken away everything which served as a distraction from the subject, and you are just left with the trees which look like they are alive and moving.

Great shot - I really love this one.

Ed

I find many people on this site lean towards BW photography. And that's fine. I only do occasional BW. Your comment is very interesting to me, because I have tried to convert many of my "artistic" images into BW, and with few exceptions- like stark contrast images- they just don't convey the tonal subtleties of the colour versions. Convert the green motion-tree from the other post and you will see what I mean. Thanks for the comments.

JMR

[John R]

For anyone that cares to see, I just added two more images from the shoot of the last few days.

JMR

[francois]

I like the last one very much. The sunset glow on the tree bark is what attracts me. There's some sense of "last" moment of warmth or comfort before darkness and coldness.

By the way, I rarely use B/W in my photos. Probably because I haven't found a way to get decent results. I'm at the very bottom of a steep hill although I started photgraphy in B/W.

[John R]

I like the last one very much. The sunset glow on the tree bark is what attracts me. There's some sense of "last" moment of warmth or comfort before darkness and coldness.

By the way, I rarely use B/W in my photos. Probably because I haven't found a way to get decent results. I'm at the very bottom of a steep hill although I started photgraphy in B/W.

I started as a slide photographer when I joined a camera club and that's where I honed most of my skills. Shooting slides is good teacher, the medium is very unforgiving. But apart from "skills" one has to learn "the art of seeing", which can only be learned by interaction with others and practicing your craft. I appreciate when comments are not just about nitpicking but about what an image conveys, or at least tries to. Thanks.

JMR

[JeffKohn]

I like both B/W and color, I think it just depends on the subject matter and also the impression/mood you're going for. I really like the first B/W image here, and in this case I do think it's stronger than the color version you posted in another thread. In monochrome, there's a luminous quality to the image that adds a sense of mystery, and the lines and textures of trees are more prominent than in the color version. In the color version, the combination of the motion blur and the strong colors created an effect that to me looked more like graphic art than a photograph.

The last color image here is really nice though; that way that last little bit of daylight glances a few of the trees creates a nice effect, and the colors are subtle enough that they enhance rather than distract.

[francois]

I started as a slide photographer when I joined a camera club and that's where I honed most of my skills. Shooting slides is good teacher, the medium is very unforgiving. But apart from "skills" one has to learn "the art of seeing", which can only be learned by interaction with others and practicing your craft. I appreciate when comments are not just about nitpicking but about what an image conveys, or at least tries to. Thanks.

JMR

I also started with slides, a long time ago {~1974) and B/W but unfortunately, my school closed the lab after a couple of years.
I fully agree with you, as you said, you've got to learn the art to see. It's a never ending journey but it's very rewarding. I - try - to teach that photo is not about pixels or l/mm or dynamic range but people seem more interested in technical specs these days.

[Jeremy Roussak]

For anyone that cares to see, I just added two more images from the shoot of the last few days.

JMR

I love the light in the third. Really beautiful.

Jeremy

[John R]

I like both B/W and color, I think it just depends on the subject matter and also the impression/mood you're going for. I really like the first B/W image here, and in this case I do think it's stronger than the color version you posted in another thread. In monochrome, there's a luminous quality to the image that adds a sense of mystery, and the lines and textures of trees are more prominent than in the color version. In the color version, the combination of the motion blur and the strong colors created an effect that to me looked more like graphic art than a photograph.

The last color image here is really nice though; that way that last little bit of daylight glances a few of the trees creates a nice effect, and the colors are subtle enough that they enhance rather than distract.

I agree, the colour images, which are not same as the BW, look more like art or a painting, but I submit, that is the point, I wanted to create such an image. Some professionals have just finished doing articles on LS on motion blur.  We don't have to like them, or consider them successful, but it is just another facet of our photographic medium regardless of what it looks like. On other sites I get opinions where they like the colour versions, though I will admit, most are unanimous on the BW version as a strong image. In the slide days, I would never allow myself to shoot so many images to get the effect I wanted- too costly. but now, it is jsut a matter of experimentation. Thanks for the feedback, Jeff.