Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: RSL on January 13, 2013, 08:22:55 am

Title: Which One?
Post by: RSL on January 13, 2013, 08:22:55 am

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Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: Chris Calohan on January 13, 2013, 09:42:27 am

Color. Definitely.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on January 13, 2013, 05:51:39 pm

I generally prefer B&W unless the color really adds something. But here I too like the color one.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: francois on January 14, 2013, 07:06:01 am

I like both but in the end, I'm very slightly leaning toward the B&W version. In the B&W version, I keep my focus on the tree & branches shapes.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: Chris Calohan on January 14, 2013, 09:15:51 am

I went with the color image because I see the foreground tree as commanding the scene yet not so overpoweringly so as to lose the trees behind it. In the B&W version, and it is more a part of the PP application, the foreground tree sucks most of the life out of the trees behind it. I'ts the dominate focus point, but for the most part, it is where my eye tends to linger longer than is as comfortable for me as in the color image...two cents opinion.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: RSL on January 14, 2013, 09:41:05 am

I agree Chris. I've been on the side of the color version from the beginning because you need color to bring up the backlight through the moss. But I wondered if somebody would disagree. I've always been a big B&W fan.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: amolitor on January 14, 2013, 03:07:54 pm

You're right about the backlight on the moss.

Other than that the color seems to distract. The color photograph reads like a city park in winter (which I suspect is pretty close to accurate) and the b&w allows me to view the scene as less banal, a more ambiguous place with, if I like, a little magic and mystery. The less banal scene hasn't got interesting backlight on the moss, though.

I think this photograph in toto works better as b&w, but I think a more moss-centric image would have preferred color.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: PeterAit on January 15, 2013, 10:15:56 am

Quote from: chrisc on January 13, 2013, 09:42:27 am

Color. Definitely.

Funny, I say B&W, definitely. The monochrome gives it a bit of spookiness that I like.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: RSL on January 15, 2013, 11:21:35 am

I'll have to confess the longer I look at them the better I like the B&W. Actually it's not a city park; it's my favorite tree here in the retirement community, and when I walked by early in the morning with the 16-35 f/4 on the camera the backlight was just about perfect. Guess I'll have to punt and accept the fact that they're two quite different pictures.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: popnfresh on January 16, 2013, 01:27:00 pm

Quote from: RSL on January 15, 2013, 11:21:35 am

I'll have to confess the longer I look at them the better I like the B&W.

Me too. I think the B&W version captures the quality of the light more effectively. This shot, which, btw, I like very much, is really about form and light. B&W is a better interpretation of the scene, in my opinon. The low values in the foreground tree are awesome. I don't feel that color really adds to it.

Title: Re: Which One?
Post by: Riaan van Wyk on January 16, 2013, 03:21:41 pm

Hi Russ, both are nice but if I had to choose it would be colour.