Case Study: B&W vs. Color

This is one from the middle of March -- one of the first few nice days of spring we saw. It was taken with my 85mm:


When I first edited this image, I left it in color, which looks like this:

I like the image okay in color, but I think a black & white treatment unifies the four kids and makes the image look more cohesive. I also think it makes it look more timeless. Fortunately, three out of the four kids are wearing lots of white/light colors, so they stand out even with the b&w conversion, which is nice.

Bummers in general:
1. It's a bummer that the boy on the left is behind the bar.
2. It's a bummer that there are such harsh shadows.
3. It's a bummer that I shot it at f/4 instead of f/8, or something more appropriate.

One last note -- I cropped the image to 16:9, which I think works really well for this composition.
I think the two trees framing the scene are nice, too.

5D classic

Have these two photos from yesterday morning. Tried out a used 5D at Caribou Coffee, and when I got home to look at my test photos, I thought these two were actually kind of neat-looking.

This one's at ISO 400 with my 85mm @ f/1.8, 1/2000 sec:
























I'm wondering which one looks better. This one was at ISO 1600 with the 85mm at f/1.8 and 1/8000 sec. (I was kind of testing ISOs.)






















I think the man stands out better in the second one, but I like the visible bank of windows on the first one --- I think it turned out better. Love the black and white conversion for these.

Some may say the "dark masses" on either side of the man are regrettable, but I like them. I think they, along with the B&W conversion, show a sense of isolation. Maybe I'm just trying to talk a crappy photo into being better, but it really does appeal to me.

As a side note, I tried out my sister-in-law's flash, and after reading my manual again, I don't think it works on my cam. Kind of a bummer. I also think I'll let my husband sell her 100-300mm lens. I might hold on to the 35-80mm for now.

Photojournalism, B&W

So, I ran across this website today about social documentary. I was looking at this photo series that a man in Illinois did on homeless people, all in black and white, and I was thinking that I needed to experiment more with B&W.

Usually I love the look. I think I read once that B&W is a good treatment to use if the color in the color version doesn't add anything to the story (or maybe is not particularly exciting). I also think B&W treatment adds a certain drama to a photo, but that's not to say that color photos can't be dramatic, because they absolutely can, of course. I would also hazard to guess that good B&W landscapes are fewer and further between than good B&W portraits, still life, etc. I'm sure most photographers would say that they consider applying B&W on a case-by-case basis.

I happened to take a few photos of my friends the other night at their house (they may soon resent being friends with me if I keep posting photos of them!) that I thought looked better with a black and white treatment. But I'll also post the color version for comparison.

B&W:






















And the color version:






















I liked B&W better for this photo for several reasons:

1. The color doesn't add anything.
2. In fact, I think the color detracts from the photo, partly because of that purple-ish TV glow resting on them.
3. I think M stands out more in the foreground in the B&W version.

I also want to experiment with treating some street photography in B&W. I'm thinking I might find it more appealing that way. There's something about a random street scene in color that looks like, well, a random street scene. For some reason (and I feel like this might be the mark of an amateur...?), a B&W street photograph looks more intentioned. Like it was meant to be.