…and it does confuse. Usually I go out with the camera set on bw so I see a bw preview. However, that does not stop my brain from reacting to things that are in color. But I think this treads the line because it is as much about form as anything.
Another problem is that they come in to Lightroom in color and I have select all and desaturate. So you catch a glimpse of them in color. Which just makes you wonder, what if?…
Back in the day when I had a darkroom, most of my “important” work was done in b&w because I could make my own prints and control the output from start to finish. Having that control at my disposal meant that the images that I produced were unique to me.
When I had to ditch the darkroom due to a move and a lack of space, I was adrift until I got my first scanner. This gave me control over color and the ability to put my own stamp on the image. From that point, I never looked back. At this point, I cannot conceive of shooting b&w as my whole world seems to be about color.
For me, color adds an emotional hood that b&w could not provide. In your photo above, the color image wins for me. The warm color on the left is such a strong counterpoint to the cool colors of the shadows on the right. In b&w, the left side just seems busy and distracting as where in color, the balance between right and left holds up and adds dynamic tension the image that makes it stronger. In my opinion.
Nice photo! I would vote for the black and white version. But if the left side of the frame, specifically her hair and jacket, were burned in a bit, the color might be better.
Glad to hear you say that. It’s one of the main reasons I’m still shooting film. Although I suppose other people are happy with the added flexibility. Different strokes . . .
Color. You can’t miss out on the colors of the couple on the left mixed with the already B&W sailor uniforms, which haven’t changed since the heyday of B&W photography.
This image needs to be in colour (I’m British) because for me the subject of the photograph is colour. The couple on the left are purposefully dressed colourfully whereas the sailors on the right have to dress in monotone. An interesting argument arises in the image, one not unlike the discussion we are having. The couple are faceless, does our choice in fashion distract from our faces, our true identity? Is the purpose of the uniform fair in making the sailors equal in appearance?
Conscientious and I have had an email back and forth about street photography, and if I had to guess, this would be an example for him of how much of street photography is a visual pun, a one liner. While I don’t think this picture rises too high in the pantheon either, I don’t think it is a simple one liner. The subject of “subject” has come up and it is interesting to read what some of you have made of the “content” of the picture.
For me, this is a kind of picture that I make that really has no “subject” at all, it is about a purely visual experience that you can have on the street, a visual pleasure and delight in certain “collisions” that occur.
Perhaps for me I am liking it better in color because the bars that the sailors are wearing is a mini version of the color patterns the couple are wearing. It is kind of like music, a harmony is generated.
As visual “jokes” go, this one is a small one, a pleasing one. In improvisation it might be like when a musician quotes camptown races amid a solo. Taken by itself, it is not that satisfying, but within a larger group of pictures it might succeed. It kind of depends. Or maybe it is just the vamp where the piano is playing two notes over the rhythm section.
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Wrighting.
Color. (Isn’t it really confusing to have this option? It would confuse the shit out of me.)
…and it does confuse. Usually I go out with the camera set on bw so I see a bw preview. However, that does not stop my brain from reacting to things that are in color. But I think this treads the line because it is as much about form as anything.
Another problem is that they come in to Lightroom in color and I have select all and desaturate. So you catch a glimpse of them in color. Which just makes you wonder, what if?…
Back in the day when I had a darkroom, most of my “important” work was done in b&w because I could make my own prints and control the output from start to finish. Having that control at my disposal meant that the images that I produced were unique to me.
When I had to ditch the darkroom due to a move and a lack of space, I was adrift until I got my first scanner. This gave me control over color and the ability to put my own stamp on the image. From that point, I never looked back. At this point, I cannot conceive of shooting b&w as my whole world seems to be about color.
For me, color adds an emotional hood that b&w could not provide. In your photo above, the color image wins for me. The warm color on the left is such a strong counterpoint to the cool colors of the shadows on the right. In b&w, the left side just seems busy and distracting as where in color, the balance between right and left holds up and adds dynamic tension the image that makes it stronger. In my opinion.
Nice photo! I would vote for the black and white version. But if the left side of the frame, specifically her hair and jacket, were burned in a bit, the color might be better.
Glad to hear you say that. It’s one of the main reasons I’m still shooting film. Although I suppose other people are happy with the added flexibility. Different strokes . . .
What does it matter when there’s not a clearly defined subject?
A toughie, but…
Color. You can’t miss out on the colors of the couple on the left mixed with the already B&W sailor uniforms, which haven’t changed since the heyday of B&W photography.
This image needs to be in colour (I’m British) because for me the subject of the photograph is colour. The couple on the left are purposefully dressed colourfully whereas the sailors on the right have to dress in monotone. An interesting argument arises in the image, one not unlike the discussion we are having. The couple are faceless, does our choice in fashion distract from our faces, our true identity? Is the purpose of the uniform fair in making the sailors equal in appearance?
Conscientious and I have had an email back and forth about street photography, and if I had to guess, this would be an example for him of how much of street photography is a visual pun, a one liner. While I don’t think this picture rises too high in the pantheon either, I don’t think it is a simple one liner. The subject of “subject” has come up and it is interesting to read what some of you have made of the “content” of the picture.
For me, this is a kind of picture that I make that really has no “subject” at all, it is about a purely visual experience that you can have on the street, a visual pleasure and delight in certain “collisions” that occur.
Perhaps for me I am liking it better in color because the bars that the sailors are wearing is a mini version of the color patterns the couple are wearing. It is kind of like music, a harmony is generated.
As visual “jokes” go, this one is a small one, a pleasing one. In improvisation it might be like when a musician quotes camptown races amid a solo. Taken by itself, it is not that satisfying, but within a larger group of pictures it might succeed. It kind of depends. Or maybe it is just the vamp where the piano is playing two notes over the rhythm section.