Ice Fog from the Meat Packing Plant (Color vs B&W)

[Don Schaeffer]

[Greg McCary]

The B&W has way to much grain in it so my votes for the color.
Greg

[GB1]

I prefer color here. I like the way the white clouds stand out against the blue sky.

[Ronnoco]

You need to discover what you may be doing wrong that is causing so much grain in these photos.

Ronnoco

[Don Schaeffer]

You are right. I do get a lot of "grain." First of all. this was shot throug a taxi window that wasn't the cleanest.

[livin4lax09]

just looks like a tight crop on a point and shoot sensor to me.... that's whats causing the graininess, which really isn't as much grain as it is just artifacts.

[trog100]

buy a "better" camera.. us a lower ISO on the one u have.. shoot pictures in better light.. dont crop so tight and enlarge.. dont over post process so much..

film "grain" might well be considered artistic by some but with digital "noise" is a mess..

trog

[Ronnoco]

The write-ups on your camera, Don, indicate visible noise at high ISOs so you should be shooting at 80 or 100 to minimize it. Major editing such as cropping and dealing with exposure problems can also make noise worse.

Using noise algorithms in post processing can reduce noise but often at the cost of loss of sharpness, so you need to be careful when using them too.

Ronnoco

[MB1]

Actually I like the "Grain" in the B&W image but I would like more stacks and less pole and lines.

BTW Are you working on a "From the back seat of a taxi" series here??? It is an idea that could work........

[gahspidy]

I was thinking also that this looks like a crop from a larger image, due to the excessive noise. Yes, check that you are shooting at the lowest possible ISO that you can use to get the shot. Most point and shoots suffer tremedously at higher iso. My girlfriend has the Kodak P880, and while it is a great camera especially for the price, it suffers real bad at over 200 iso. It can still produce a good photo at upper iso, but nothing that would make a large print or enable a considerable crop.
I like the framing and overall composition of your picture. I like the b&w version best as it goes well with the subject, but the noise is too excessive. You may want to try reducing as much of the noise as you can, and then adding a more "effective" noise from Photoshop filter etc. that mimics the grain on a high iso b&w film.
MB1 has a good idea about a series from the back seat of cabs

[Don Schaeffer]

Thanks guys. I always have grain problems or noise problems. This was a grab shot as most of my photos are. Don't forget, all these photos are reduced to get into this forum from 2200 X 1900 or so down to 640 X 480. Other than that your advice is well taken.

PS. The Kodak is the best camera I could afford. I think it is a tremendous bargain for the money.