Which suits this best - B&W or Colour

Shot with the GRIII - initially thought the monochrome made a better image, but with a little more PP on the Colour image now I'm not sure

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Any preference :

I can't decide between them and I'll explain why.

The colour one has some deep beautiful shades of green and rich contrast that directs the eye towards the ivy, while the three trunks are slightly distracting due to the vignetting that dampens the colour they are adding to the scene.
The monochrome image has a mood that evokes a sense of solitude and balances the image between its foreground and the background, as well as the three trunks on the right hand side adding to the image in this case. The vignetting doesn't do any damage here. The only downside is the loss of that vibrant colour as it is replaced by the beautiful structures of the trunks and ivy leaves.

The colour version is better, because of the richness of the greens and the subtlety of the varying light level among the different layers of foliage.

Or you COULD go mad and convert it to sepia.

I had a quick go at that in PSE-11 - it looks...different. I can post it if you like, prior to it heading to the pixel graveyard that is the Recycle Bin.

Please do Steve - I haven't done much toning recently, I know Sepia is one of those tones that really suits some images and does nothing for others

OK, but remember, you asked for it




Not great (to say the least!) but I think it does support your statement about certain images suiting certain treatments. I remember an article in one of the photo mags a while ago that made the point that colour and mono images need to start out as what they are to be. As you pointed out, mono images are based on tones and their interactions whereas colour images depend on the colours - you can't just take any image and turn it into mono - colours don't always convert to tones that work. When taking mono images, you need to think ahead. That's possibly why so many digital cameras have a mono option, and Leica sell versions of the M series models that are mono only. Makes using filters easier too, I should think.

Sorry, went on a bit there - I do that sometimes.

Cheers Steve, that's a very worthy conversion (IMO) and it's notable that the Sepia has brought out the lighter areas really well, particularly on the tree trunks and highlights on the ivy. Just shows there are many ways to skin a cat

Thank you.

Definitely colour all the time, very few shots are better in B&W.

The colour version for me - it seems to have depth (in a 3D sense), whereas the mono seems flat. The colour contrast - green foliage and brown bark - also raises the colour version above the mono in this case.

Philip

Colour for me, has a richness to it that the B&W does not.

Thanks for the comments it looks like the Colour version is the more popular

I'm still unsure - the B&W image looks really good on some screens and less so on others, I think that is it's weakness. The colour image has enough splashes of vibrance to draw the viewer in

In isolation I think the mono would have made a great image. It's just the comparison with the colour version that causes it to lose out a bit.

It's interesting though. Some images have the opposite effect where the colour version doesn't look as good when compared to the mono version.

I am going to be honest here John, neither work for me I am afraid. They lack a focal point in my eyes....sorry

The black and white works better for me if you go for a square crop and lose the dark area on the right.