We were getting our recertification for ADE/CPR last month and while on a break I walked around with my Panasonic Lumix LX5; I love that little camera for just this reason. I couldn’t take the big camera with me that day, but I wanted something with me. We were in a pretty ‘sterile’ corporate center, but I believe you can find pictures anywhere, so I went walking for fresh air and a fresh vision. Found this crazy pattern on yellow walls. The color image was fine, but I just knew I’d love taking it into NIK Silver Efex Pro 2 to convert it to monochrome. It’s the sort of image that can work both ways, I think. See the color image below. Which do you like better?
Hi Brenda,
I’m the dissenting view today… I like the color version better. The processing to create the B&W image is really very nice: the contrast is great & the texture is much better than the color image below it. However, the warm exposed color of the walls, and the shadowed color striving to push forward draw me in closer.
It’s OK to be a dissenting voice, LeftCoastKenny! lol. In fact that’s why I posted the two versions. We all see differently. The color is warm and inviting but you pointed out something in the black and white that stood out – texture. Sometimes, the color can overpower other elements. The color was attractive, but as I lifted the camera to make the picture, I started thinking in black and white. They certainly both work in my opinion, for different reasons.
Thank you for your comments.
For me the darks are punched down in the b&w and the whites pop more. This contrast amplifies the effect created by the sharp angles and bold lines making it resonate. The window seems to match the background on the right but jumps in front dimensionally because of the lines and values, making me look longer and harder trying to put the puzzle together in my head. In the color the organic flesh tone and lighter darks take away the vibrancy of the composition with the right angled shapes or vice versa making it flat or not as strong as the b&w. It might be a trick of the eye too and the dark in the background seems darker because of the whites in the b&w and the darks in the background and the whites of the window seem lighter in the color seem lighter because of the peach. I think this is what goes on in peoples heads when they look at the two. Great comp either way! b&w hammers it home tho I think.
Thanks, Kalani – well said! There is a trick in the color image that it doesn’t look the same – color really affects how our brain interprets the scene. I prefer the black and white one, too. Have a great day!
Hi Brenda,
Good to keep a small camera with you. B&W all the way on this one. The play of the lines and light is so much more interesting to my eye in the B&W image. The tones in the color image make your mind reach further into the color, but that isn’t what is fascinating about this image. Well done. Simplify the image and you can’t much better than lines, and light.
Thanks, Jerry for your comments. It’s interesting how color can change how we see things, isn’t it? have a great day.