At The Pier (in B&W or Color?)

[Tuna]

I'm normally partial to B&W - but in this one, I am having trouble letting go of the color...

Any thoughts?

Tuna

[molaselake]

I think this picture looks a lot better in black in white. But then again, i too am partial to that. I think the color in the landscaping is distracting and it just looks so much more mysterious without it. I dont know why, but it gives me the feeling of a traveling carnival.

[jar_e]

Oh, I'd go black and white for sure. The tones are great, and though you lose the pop of the color, it's an easier to look at image with lots of varying components. Nicely done,

Jared

[drg]

. . .I'm normally partial to B&W - but in this one, I am having trouble letting go of the color...

- - - - - - - - -

Personally I'd choose the color. The blue sky and golden sand set each other off better than the sky and sand in the b/w. The touch of aqua/green of the roof at the right also adds a very different quality as well. Its the beach! Its supposed to be bright!

I like the photos composition quite well with the railings and the person anchors the whole image

[Overbeyond]

A hard call here but I would go for the colour on this one mainly because the sand in the B/W one is a little hard on the eye for me, almost as if it's slightly burnt out and consequently not enough seperation from some of the other light tones.
Tom

[Chunk]

I'm normally partial to B&W - but in this one, I am having trouble letting go of the color...

Any thoughts?

Tuna

I'd try a different conversion. I thought this one left a bit more detail in the sand and a bit more in the sky as well. Perhaps a very slight S shaped curves adjust afterwards to bring the contrast up.

I do like the complementary colors in the color version.

[F-15_Flyer]

wow i think this one should be photo of the week. this is a great picture. definetely black and white. as someone said before its very mysterious, and it just makes you want to walk right on back to that building and walk in it. contrast is excellent, composition couldnt get any better then that. it looks like you had some nice light to work with as well.

superb job on this one, its goin in my photography pictures folder if you dont mind.

[Todd Patten]

Tuna! I was just talking about you in my recent post. Good to see work from you.

I personally like the BW, but like others, I am partial to black and white photography. For me, the color image is good, but the colors are not so striking that they stand on their own and dramatically enhance the image. The black and white version is very nice. I like the high contrast personally. Maybe it's because of the post production in the BW, but it seems so much sharper than the color image.

[PlantedTao]

I would go with the B&W version. The colors do not add that much to this photo, IMHO.
The B&W version allows me to focus on the person and building because both stand out so well against the sand. The building does look a lot more mysterious/interesting in the B&W version.
Both photos are a great and have there own appeal.
Very nice composition and once again you have captured a very interesting scene.
Cheers.

[OldSchool]

Hi Tuna,

I'm usually not a B&W conversion fan unless there is a good reason to go there. However, I think both versions work well here. I like the skin tones, sand, green awning (sp?), sky, ... They all work well together. But, I also realy like the B&W. It has more of a timeless feel to it. So, I can't decide.

Which do you like?
Tim

[Old Timer]

It's no contest Tuna. B&W hands down in the winner here. Although the color image is nice it pales in comparison to the impact that the B&W has. YOur subject takes center stage in the b&w where she seems to get lost in the color version. Even the beautiful curves of the fence stand out more andguide the viewer though the photograph more in the b&w version. I like the softness of the color version but for me the b&w just pacts more whollop. Very nice photograph.

[Dzerzhinski46]

Dear Tuna,

Normally I would like black and white, but unfortunately not this time. The big patch of sand is too bright and distracting. I might try a different conversion. Very difficult.

Drew

[Arctirus]

They both look a little over photoshoped to me, especially the B&W. The B&W to me looks like it's not quite sure if it wants to be a pseudo-IR shot or just an overly sharp greyscale. I'm not being sarcastic at all here but I think if the color one was saturated a just little more it would have a cool 50's art deco look to it. Not to be overly picky but there is a very small dark spot just under the left side of his hat that my eye is somehow continually drawn to, maybe that's just me though.

[readingr]

Tuna,

I normally really like your B&W but the sand in this one lets it down. I feel there should be a lot more detail in the sand because there is so much of it., e.g. the sand near the fence looks great but the rest is just bland.

The colour on the other hand looks really good and the colours all seem to blend nicely together. So I think I prefer the colour version for this one. But the B&W has some good points too, e.g. the building the man in the foreground.

Roger R.

[Tuna]

Wow - I haven't been able to get on all day so it is nice to see so many comments and critiques to help me decide. Thanks to all. So far, I think we have 6 for the B&W, 3 for the color and 4 on the fence.

First, I would easily prefer the B&W version if it weren't for the sand (as mentioned by a few of you) and attempting to burn it in didn't work after my conversion (which was 80, 60, -40. Very close to your suggestion Chunk - great minds think alike?). I could have tried a different conversion for the sand but it would have ruined the near surreal (some feel IRish) effect my original conversion had for the rest of the image- which some seem to like as well as I did.

But for some reason, I couldn't let go of the color version that easily. It seemed to speak of the beach to me. The colors all seem to have a pastel quality and as Arctirus mentioned, it is near art deco in it's overall effect.

Thanks again!

Tuna

[gahspidy]

Tuna, good shootin. I'm also one partial to b&w and usually find it very effective in most cases. I see what you see in the color version here, and feel that when an image is working well for it's colors,leave it be. The soft blue of the shirt, the yellow sand, the beautiful greens in the awning, the scattering of colors in the distant signs and the blue skies create a mood and appearance that goes deeper than the b&w. I'm for the color.

[Dzerzhinski46]

First, I would easily prefer the B&W version if it weren't for the sand (as mentioned by a few of you) and attempting to burn it in didn't work after my conversion (which was 80, 60, -40. Very close to your suggestion Chunk - great minds think alike?). I could have tried a different conversion for the sand but it would have ruined the near surreal (some feel IRish) effect my original conversion had for the rest of the image- which some seem to like as well as I did.

Dear Tuna,

I think I understand what you are wanting from this photo. In color, it does have the lovely, I guess I might say Mary Casset or Winslow Homer quality about it, which is alright. It could also work as an IR photo. A little softglow and grain will solve the dilema. Though, I am not sure that would please everyone. It would be completely different in mood. You really threw a curve with this one. Hope this helped.

Drew