Colour & B&w Version Comparison

Wow Dave! They are both fantastic. If i was forced to choose I'd lean toward the color version. I see more depth in that one. Both are really beautiful shots.

Definitely the color one for me. As Gary said it has more depth. There's more separation of the various elements.

IŽd vote for the colour version too. Mainly because the eye is nicely lead from the foreground to the background to the beautiful grass colours with lots of details to look at and the right trees / bushes stand out enough against the mountains. The pure white cottage with its details is beautiful to look at as well.
I think all these details get lost in the b/w version. The trees melt into the mountains loosing their details due too many blacks (especially the left ones) .

If you can brighten the blacks getting more details so that the trees stand out more against the mountains both image had my vote.
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However, you have captured a wonderful mood in both images and I love the blurry sky in the B/W image :)

i like the black and white over the color, the color is kind of muted and dark and my eye tends to go to the top of the trees which are strangely dark. but keep both if you like both. many like getting black and white because they all match each other.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I prefer the color as the elements stand out more (depth). But both are "keepers".

Thanks for your comments and input everyone. I'm wondering if it's because the colour version is a colour and b&w mix that it works. I personally feel that if I used a straight colour edit the scene wouldn't be as atmospheric, or at least not convey the atmosphere I want it to (I tried it before the b&w conversion and it didn't)

"my eye tends to go to the top of the trees which are strangely dark" - that's an interesting comment Mike. Most people tend to be drawn to lighter areas of an image, not dark. The trees are darker because the light was coming from behind the mountains and I had to bring out some of the detail (this wasn't an HDR). The trees are slightly darker in the b&w version, though still contain detail.

Personally, I like the color version - the muted color is wonderful for the atmosphere of the scene. I would keep both, though - the black and white is lovely, as well.

It's a tough choice and may be more of an eye of the beholder thing. I prefer the BW, however that probably is simply my personal leaning. The stone pulls my attention more in the BW.

I like both and both have sales potential.

Personally I like the BW better but then it is because I have come to expect these fantastic black and white images from you and you are very good at it.

I will almost always get around to doing a black and white and a color if I think the image works well in both. Even when I think one is absolutely better I have had clients email me and ask for a black and white version.

My untrained eye likes the B&W better, but I like the color one too.

although i am a big fan of your monochromes, in this case i like your colour version better. the colours are perfect for the subject and the landscape elements come out better.

edit: am wondering though what would happen if the sky were pushed more to the b&w.

I am a fan of your awesome black and white photographs but am pulled to the color version this time also. The colors work so well!

I prefer the color version as well.

Hate to be part of the majority, but color reveals so much more of the landscape. If I were to buy one of these, I'd choose the atmospheric color version, definitely.

Color for depth and light.

I go through this a lot. Eventually I have to decide if the color is actually adding to the photo, or if the real story is in the light, and the color is just a distraction. In this case I think your b&w is a much stronger image. The composition is basically the rock and the building, and the color just draws attention away from those 2 strong objects. The b&w is more 3-dimensional - the rock really comes forward.

I "grew up" with black and white - got a home darkroom kit for my 11th birthday, over half a century ago. I have always love good B&W images.

With that said, I like both of those images and they should both be offered for sale. I have a similar "set" (pair) of a local bridge with rocks and water - and have (thus far) sold one of each. You just never know what a potential buyer likes, or see, in the comparison of B&W with color. I plan to go back and re-process several of my offerings into a B&W version of the color image(s) I now have on my ArtistWebsite.



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~ Bill
~ US Pictures .com

It seems colour has the lead on this one. It's still 50/50 for me so I'll be making both available to customers. Thanks everyone for your input though, it's been interesting for me to read the different opinions along with the reasoning behind them.