Colour or B&W

Hello all,

I'm looking for some comments on the following pics. I don't know if I prefer the colour or B&W. Also any comments on how the could be improved.

Subject: Old Otahu Flat School - Southland, NZ
Camera: Canon 20d 18-55mm


http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a...FlatSchool.jpg



http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a...atSchoolBW.jpg


Cheers
Rodney

I would go for the coloured version because I realy like the simple colours in the photo. The black and white looks kind of... gray to me. Just a lot of close gay colours instead of a larger contrast.
But anyway a nice shot, especially the coloured one :)

Hey there fellow Kiwi :)

Thoughts that first come to mind ...

1. Shoot it again 1/2 hour after sunset when all of the harsh shadows have disappeared.

2. Shoot wider and then crop excess top/bottom for a more panorama look (with building approx 1/3 in from right-hand side of shot) (go for 2:1 to 3:1 aspect ratio).

3. Bring out more textures in the wood with sharpening, and make them more contrasty.

4. Encapsulate it with a boarder

5. Fix the converging verticals

Hope this helps :)

PS: You might be able to see some of what I mean by taking a look at this shot I took the other day ...

http://backup.cambridgeincolour.com/...293/medium.jpg

I am a big fan of of B&W myself overall.

But for this picture, I would go with the color for sure, hands down.

As mentioned above, the colors are nice and simple, and the structure stands out perfectly.

Good shot

Cheers

The color shot is just more appealing

Rodney - As posted, the color version is better. However, I think the B&W treatment deserves a second attempt. What conversion method did you use? As I see it, the B&W version needs more pop in the sky to differentiate the blues from the clouds. Try a red or orange filter, which should darken the blue sky, and add some contrast to see what you get. Check out this next link for how I do my B&W conversions:

Capturing images in B&W

Rodney

I like the B&W, but it's not quite there on exposure, I think. The sky needs a bit more exposure, and the darker areas at the bottom need more contrast. I put it in RAW editor and lightened the dark areas, and increased overall exposure slightly. I then put it in CS4 and selected the dark areas and boosted the contrast. You can see extra detail on side of building now.

I think it's worth you having another go at it as last poster said.


ORIGINAL
http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/a...atSchoolBW.jpg

EDIT VERSION
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...Schooledit.jpg

Nice clean-up, but I think you kinda took the "sad" out of the b&w. Much better photo quality indeed, but it now lacks that feeling of an old abandon farm house. Not, trying to insult you carregwen, please don't misinterpit.

Chris
Minolta X-700, Canon Rebel 2000, and soon Canon 20d
But, I still need a lot of practice

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hoffstriker

Much better photo quality indeed, but it now lacks that feeling of an old abandon farm house. Not, trying to insult you carregwen, please don't misinterpret.

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If you had had the life I have..... you wouldn't feel insulted at anything (time now for a :))

Thank you everyone for the very helpful comments. Now, I'll have to go back and shot it again :)

Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodders

Thank you everyone for the very helpful comments. Now, I'll have to go back and shot it again :)

Thanks

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No worries :)

If you think of it, take a shot from the same position, but much wider (compose for about 3 to 4 house widths of space to the left, and about 1 or 2 to the right) (just trust me on this one!), and I'll see if I can turn it into a master piece for you :) (in an ideal world it would be great if you could shoot it RAW, and send it to me).

Colin,

I will do that!
Come to think of it, can I shoot in RAW with a 20d?

Cheers
Rodney

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodders

Come to think of it, can I shoot in RAW with a 20d?

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You can indeed. It's one of the main menu settings.

I like the color version a little better. The black and white version would be better with a little more detail. Return on a cloudy day and try to bring out an interesting sky to go with the building. I like old buildings as they seem to evoke nostalgic emotions and a bit of curiosity about the unknown history.

Chuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by carregwen

You can indeed. It's one of the main menu settings.

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Thanks Carregwen.

Silly me, I didn't think to look under the "quality" setting :o. The camera instruction book was mis-placed a while ago. On second thoughts did I thown it away, thinking me man don't need that. :cool:

Also, I like the image makeover you did. Its amaizing what small changes here and there can do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rodders

The camera instruction book was mis-placed a while ago. On second thoughts did I thown it away, thinking me man don't need that.

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You might find this very useful... http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.co...OS20DIM-EN.pdf