Which works best?

I am having a lot of trouble deciding which of these works best. They are both the same shot but one has been converted to black and white






Both attract attention to the guy in the bright orange coat.

Which one do you prefer and why?


EDIT: Changed to new images.

Oh yeah! I didn't see that colour in the grass...

First
and infact,
I would change the colour of the coat to something more aesthetically pleasing
its too obvious being luminous orange, a more subtle colour and tone would work better I think.

I like the colour image best, but I'm not sure the guy in orange does anything for the shot - I'd probably have cloned him out!

Well, here are some alterations based on the first reply:

EDIT: Removed images as links no longer exist. (image updates in first post)

I'm not sure about getting rid of the person at the moment... I'll have a play in lightroom...

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I like the black and white.

For me the colour version is too blue and the colour cast just keeps pulling my eye to the cliffs. In the black and white I go right to the guy all on his own on the somewhat desolate and cold looking beach and I feel sorry for him out there with only his bright orange coat to protect him from the cold.

Not sure if thats what you were after, but that's what it looks like to me.

The new version of the B&W has a halo around the guy which spoils it for me, the first one was better.

just my 2p

That is what I was looking for with the B&W version. I know about the damned halo. I spend quite a while after trying to fix it. It didn't work, I'll have to go back to the original image and start afresh. The blue cast is how the AWB recorded the scene. The detail in the sky dissapears if I change the colour.

I like the colour version, and I like the orange man.

He serves by his presence to emphasise the loneliness of the scene.

G

Thanks, I was going for the desolate theme with the lonely and cold person (It was winter).

I will get some further adjustments done tomorrow and see how that goes.

I will rid the little orange man of his very noticeable halo as well.

Updated the images to get rid of the halo caused by negative local contrast on the little lonely orange man.

How is that now? (Colour image unchanged)