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Colour or black-and-white for this photo?

Colour
Black and white
Image doesn't work at all

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Author Topic: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white  (Read 1103 times)

shadowblade

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Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« on: April 18, 2019, 12:12:05 am »

Five trains converge at Ochanomizu Station in central Tokyo on a dreary morning.

A7r3 with 24-70 GM at 70mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 100.

Not sure if colour or black-and-white work better with this one, or if the entire image even works at all.
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armand

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2019, 01:53:11 am »

Color. I’m not sure it’s worth keeping the entire right side, I liked the picture more as I saw it on the iPad before realizing I need to scroll to the right to see all of it.

Mark Nadler

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2019, 02:14:33 am »

I  like the color version.  I grew up in this type of environment 
and you have captured its sense of compression very well.

mark
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francois

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2019, 07:43:32 am »

I also prefer the color version but it wasn't a quick choice.
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Francois

shadowblade

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2019, 08:07:04 am »

I thought colour as well, but it was close enough to put it to the crowd. There's not much colour in the shot to begin with - the overcast lighting and fine mist really sucked the colour out of everything, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for an industrial landscape.

Slightly re-cropped and curves:

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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2019, 05:23:17 pm »

I also prefer the color version but it wasn't a quick choice.
+1.
To me the color does add something, even if it's subtle.
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kers

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2019, 07:30:26 pm »

The not very saturated color makes the photo easier to comprehend in its parts. More 3D.
+1 color. Also because the color is beautiful in this case.
I like the shadowblade colour + lighter version best. But you deceide.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2019, 07:33:55 pm by kers »
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2019, 10:41:36 pm »

The color palette perfectly reflects the bleakness of the city.

John R

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2019, 12:27:11 am »

The color palette perfectly reflects the bleakness of the city.
Each conveys its own 'feeling.' The colour version is stark and bleak and reminds me of the opening bars of "Rhapsody in Blue." Gershwin was riding a train and looking out at  industrial Chicago. He noticed the hubbub of the city, the new powerful industry, the movement of trains, large factories, the towering stacks billowing out smoke, and all the noise. This was the inspiration for his composition. But my money is on the BW image. It is surreal and brings out, and focuses on, detail. It gives the impression that, underlying the appearance of chaos, this all works. There is a powerful movement in the direction of the trains (a diverging fork) which propels the viewer forward and takes in the vertical and other buildings. A related side comment: if you crop the image visually, just above the green bridge, you will see just how powerful the configuration of the trains is. Very cool image.

JR
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2019, 09:16:17 am »

Each conveys its own 'feeling.' The colour version is stark and bleak and reminds me of the opening bars of "Rhapsody in Blue." Gershwin was riding a train and looking out at  industrial Chicago. He noticed the hubbub of the city, the new powerful industry, the movement of trains, large factories, the towering stacks billowing out smoke, and all the noise. This was the inspiration for his composition. But my money is on the BW image. It is surreal and brings out, and focuses on, detail. It gives the impression that, underlying the appearance of chaos, this all works. There is a powerful movement in the direction of the trains (a diverging fork) which propels the viewer forward and takes in the vertical and other buildings. A related side comment: if you crop the image visually, just above the green bridge, you will see just how powerful the configuration of the trains is. Very cool image.

JR
Well said. I even agree about the suggested crop.
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RSL

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2019, 09:42:51 am »

This one needs color, but a crop would be sacrilege.
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Mark Nadler

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2019, 11:13:52 am »

While I like very much John R's comment about the image I think kers
3 D comment is spot on.  Color transforms this image from a surface
to an object.

mark
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armand

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2019, 12:30:18 pm »

I would not crop the top but as I said above I wouldn't mind for some of the right side to go as most of interesting stuff happens in the left 3/4, the right 1/4 is more like an introduction that's not necessarily needed.
I prefer the first color treatment, a little bleaker, goes better with the scene even if it's lower on the details.

John R

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2019, 02:55:05 pm »

This one needs color, but a crop would be sacrilege.
Hey take it easy, master Russ! I only meant to emphasize the underlying pattern of the movement of the trains. Not literally crop the image. But having said that, a crop would work. Russ, the old school, the 'New York school of Photography', had an assignment that consisted of cropping a physical image in six ways. Never attended, but my friend showed me some of the school materials many years ago.

The color version is definitely more dynamic. The color on the trains, combined with trains as lines, helps the eye move through the image. Oh, what to do...

JR
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sarrasani

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2019, 09:08:03 pm »

well composed, and excellent tones and detail.
As in yhe 90% of cases, b/w IMHO works better.

All the best,
Sandro
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Arlen

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #15 on: April 26, 2019, 09:59:40 am »

Well I'm going to confuse the issue more by throwing my hat into the B&W ring. I agree with John's first assessment. Before he started to waffle.  ;)
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stamper

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Re: Industrial landscape, Tokyo - colour vs black-and-white
« Reply #16 on: April 26, 2019, 11:21:11 am »

+1.
To me the color does add something, even if it's subtle.


Yes.
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