Monday, October 2, 2017

Which Version Of This Image Do You Like Better And Why?


Fujifilm X-T2, 16-55mm f/2.8 lens @ 33mm; 1/1100th sec. @ f/11; ISO 800 (Click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
Here are two treatments of the exact same image.  One, very colorful, with light shadows and subdued highlights.  Lots of intricate detail and textures.  More informative.  The other, black and white, is more contrasty with a much more dramatic appearance.  Coastal and at-sea storms are notorious and the monochrome image was edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 to somewhat reflect an impending day.  Also, I added a tad of Acros film grain. 

 Which do you like better and why?  What is your preference for most of your images?  I would be interested to hear.

 Some like color images better as they more closely represent reality.  Others like black and white images more as they can better express the essence of a scene.  

 Some say color gets in the way of the subject.  Some say color enhances the subject.

 Some say black and white allows the viewer to zero right in on the character of an image.  

 Some say black and white loses too much of the character of the image when the color is also lost.

 Which do you prefer and why?

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

 Dennis A. Mook 

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6 comments:

  1. DaveOctober 2, 2017 at 8:44 AM

    Is it legal to like both? I think the B&W is interesting for the drama but, if I had only one option, I would use the color version. I wonder if you reworked the sky and deleted the white boat if the color version would have more drama, more pop. Minor issues with a photo I really like & not likely what you were going for.
    With the change of a couple of the details (gloves and glasses among them) this photo has a timeless feel that could have occurred in the last 100 years. As usual, nice shot and thanks for the always interesting posts.

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    Replies
    1. The Wandering LensmanOctober 2, 2017 at 9:47 AM

      Thanks Dave. I’m not sure if it is legal to like both! Lol.

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    2. JeffOctober 2, 2017 at 11:20 AM

      I like the B&W image better because I think the colors distract from the "grittiness" (if that's the word) and character of the image. I think it is good in color, but better in B&W.

      There are times when an image "tells us" that it needs to be B&W rather than color and I think this is one of them.

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    3. Eric LawsonOctober 7, 2017 at 12:07 AM

      Wow, my thoughts exactly. Well put!

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  2. AnonymousOctober 2, 2017 at 5:08 PM

    Dennis--

    For me, the color version for information, the b&w for feeling. So I prefer the b&w, since I don't need information about this scene (if his apron were yellow instead of orange, so what?), but the sense of a man who has long been making a living in a potentially dangerous place--water behind him and a non-placid sky--is very moving.

    Note that I'm not saying this about ANY color vs. b&w comparison, even though in some theoretical way a color version would always have more information, namely what the colors were.

    Thanks for the post!

    Walter Foreman

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