A tale of two views....

ccd333 · Jul 24, 2005

...of the same scene. My question is.....which one captures the spirit of the area best? My intent was to evoke a sense of ruggedness to the landscape, primarily because it is so fitting for this particular area. So far the opinions are divided. Some like the more vivid realism of the color image, others have expressed more of a connection with the monochromatic B&W conversion because they thought it did convey the rugged quality of the scene more effectively.

This is looking up (south) the drainage of the West Fork of the Cimarron River east of Ridgway, Colorado:

and here's the conversion done with some minor post processing (color filter, contrast bump):

Sony DSC-W1
ISO 100
f/7.1
1/200s
Manfrotto 676B monopod

Nikon Fan · Jul 24, 2005

I think the sense of ruggedness is best displayed in the black and white photo. It seems to give the mountains a more powerful feel, and really shows the water crashing against the rocks.

Wonderful photo and composition here! You landscape photos are always very impressive!

darin3200 · Jul 24, 2005

I also think that the B&W works better. However, the conversion seems to be lacking, maybe the lighter grays are too dark. Is it okay if I play around with the levels?

ccd333 · Jul 24, 2005

Go for it, Darin. Thanks for asking first.

Thanks very much for the kind comments, Amanda.

Dave_D · Jul 24, 2005

Is that open for others as well? Please

seven · Jul 24, 2005

I think the colour one is better, because of the many different colours... I'm not a big fan of black and white anyways...

Eric. · Jul 24, 2005

seven said:
I think the colour one is better, because of the many different colours... I'm not a big fan of black and white anyways...

I'm sorry but I think I want you to go away for that. B&W makes the world a more colorful place!

P.S. I also think the B&W is a much better image. It's more captivating. Also maybe the title would be better suit as " A tale of Two Colors" or something like that. Because theoretically they are the same view

elsaspet · Jul 24, 2005

Oh, I like the color one best. It's just to vivid not to be seen. Congratulations on another wonderful photograph!
You're like Ansel Adams in color......no wait that's someone else.:greenpbl:

303villain · Jul 25, 2005

as far as the ruggedness goes, i like the b/w better, but to me the trees seem a little "blocky" on the left side, the trees are tough to make out, but it could be my screen, and the glare from the window behind me, i think playing with the levels might help, as mentioned before. great location though! wow!

Ohio · Jul 25, 2005

I like the first one better. It seems more logical for my eyes to look (from bottom) at Light green
Dark Green
Dark/Gray
White
Gray
Blue/White
With at wild river indifferent about the colors surrounding it

The shadow on the mountains makes it look fake in a way, I think the spirit of the area is best depicted on the color shot.

kilifila66 · Jul 25, 2005

I like the b&w version in terms of what you are going for. For me it evokes my memories of the old coal miner photos from Colorado. It makes me think of grittyness and rugged outdoor life. Very nicely done on both accounts.

poonone · Jul 25, 2005

It is almost there... I think just a bit more contrast and some dodging to pop the great sunlight on the mountains. I am missing a place to focus in on immediatly and that makes me think dodge and contrast to bring out the best features more....of course this is just an oppinion. But.... good picture to start with.

--------------
hhrya.com

darin3200 · Jul 26, 2005

Here's my B&W conversion, all comments welcome

Dave_D · Jul 26, 2005

this conversion was done in 5 layers. desat, water, trees, mountains, the sky. I found that trying to adjust levels of the entire image at once was good for one part, but bad for another so I sectioned it.

capturedinfocus · Jul 26, 2005

I really like the vibrant colors. I messed around with both photos a little, so here.

I used a soft overlay action in photoshop to sort of give it that extra "pop" of color and contrast. Then I used the channel mixer to convert it to black and white.

I'm a big fan of the soft overlay action. Here's the site where I downloaded mine...
http://www.nickgallery.com/web_pages/technical 8.htm