Colour or Black and White?

#1 Andrew

I can see your dilemma - they both work pretty well. I prefer the b&w because it makes the dull-colored church "fit better" in the otherwise vibrantly colored photo, IMO.

2:02 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#2 Mark Goldstein

Thanks Andrew.

I really wish that I'd not cropped the top of the spire, but I couldn't physically walk back and further and the lens on the Canon G3 wasn't wide enough :-(

2:08 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#3 DamianG

Mark, definitely color ... The color version directs vision to the two people "admiring" the view.. in the B&W version, they are dismissed as part of the scenery.... color also enhances the contrast between modern and old.
One thing about cropping .. check the tree at left.. I would have cropped out the trnk, and rather show the branches alone ... just my 2 cents.... by the way Mark, are you going to publish some more pics from Tenerife?
regards !!!

2:23 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#4 Mark Goldstein

2 replies, 2 different opinions!

Damian, I could crop out the trunk of the tree, especially as I already cropped the image to correct the perspective of the original shot. The church looked as though it was about to fall over at any moment...I could go back to the original and totally straighten the church - although I would lose quite a lot of pixels doing that.

I *really* need to find some time to revisit my Tenerife photos - there are still a lot of shots that I haven't really sorted out, and I need to post them all on my portfolio site (http://www.markgoldstein.co.uk) as well as on PhotographyBLOG. For 10 reasons or another I just haven't got round to processing them. Reminds me of when I used film!

2:34 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#5 nitesh

color

2:40 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#6 Teller

I'd say that both look positively bizarre. As if their put together in Photoshop for some booklet about perfect future I prefer coloured version myself even though the church seems to make the picture a bit out of balance. But colourless sky works not so good in the bw version.

2:52 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#7 fredy ross

I really like your photos of this incredible building but whether colour or black and white I think your should straighten the photo with photoshop. fredyr

3:16 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#8 Bill

Neither. The photos main subject is not about color, but shape and form. The church has square and edges, while the other building has only curves. Also the fact that you cropped the top of the church and it leans inward hurts the photos. :( Would like to see a photo without the top of the church cropped and straighten out.

Also I got to say that is one ugly looking building. Not the church but the one that looks like it was made out of thumb tacks. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so now you know how I feel.

Bill

3:27 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#9 Mark Goldstein

Teller, it's definitely from the present, not the future - just ask anyone from Birmingham! God knows how they got planning permission for it...

Fredy - I've already straightened the perspective quite a lot from the original shot. I'll completely straighten it later and see how it looks.

3:29 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#10 Mark Goldstein

Bill, I can straighten this shot out, but I'll have to revisit with a wider-angle lens to avoid chopping the top off the spire. Which version do you think emphasises the shape and form then?

The Bullring Centre definitely falls into either the love or hate category of architecture...

3:35 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#11 Josh

I think I prefer the colour one. I think bigger versions would look better, as there's lots of things in the photo. With the black and white I think more contrast and brightness makes it look better, and with the colour, adjusting the levels to add more whiteness, and more lightness in the church makes it look more appealing to me.

4:00 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#12 Mark

simple. B&W.

4:08 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#13 mattan

I definitely think the black-and-white version looks better. Purely because I believe it highlights the contrast in form - the smooth curves of the newer building against the sharp edges and angles of the church.

5:32 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#14 Ed Garrard

The black and white is better, but too dark. I would mask the building in the back and then lighten up the rest a bit. And straighten the church!. Only natives would notice the distortion in the shopping mall.

6:36 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#15 John Powell/DAPA-Group

Mark, for what it's worth, I prefer the colour version. By cropping off the top of St. Martins Church you missed the magnificent golden weather vain that sits a top and glows in the sun. Sadly as you have taken this shot looking due south you will never get St. Martins in sun light. As for the Selfridges building, it's one you either love or hate, personally I love it. The photo opportunities are ten fold for the creative photographer, but as you have found to your cost! Go armed with the widest lens you have, it's well worth it.

8:23 pm - Monday, July 5, 2004

#16 Sheila Macdonald

I think the black and white works best here as there is not enough colour in the shot for this to be a major factor. The modern building shows up much more starkly in the B&W and the contrast between this and the old church is more pronounced - which is I take it the message of the shot.

12:24 am - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#17 Paresh Pandit

The B/W works better for me...
The Cathederal [or is it a tower or something else?] has lesser impact in color...
It's color isn't appealing and doesnot fit in with the colors of the rest of the picture [the way i see it - subjective! ]...
Personally, I believe it is under or just plain dull...
B/W, I believe,does more justice to the scene...
What say you?


Regards

Paresh Pandit
Mumbai, IN
July 6th of 2004

2:04 am - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#18 Freeman

Option #4, sepia
Option #5, DueTone

B&W is just another PoV, then why not try out more, maybe you will like option #4 or #5.

3:48 am - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#19 glad

I am in favour of the b&w photo as the two main elements stand out the curch and the new selfridges building, nothing distracts and the two are sdhown next to each other, in sharp contrast, new v old or as I might put it the old temple of worship v the peoples new temple of worship - shopping!

1:25 pm - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#20 Wei Chong

I like the b/w. Tones are more continuous w/ the B/W. The colors in the picture really don't add anything to the picture. I find the red dot and face colors mildly distracting, compared tothe b/w.

3:37 pm - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#21 Alvaro Cuberos

I prefer B&W, but the church is too dark for my taste. I tried to correct the perspective and open the shadows in the church using Photoshop.

4:19 pm - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#22 William C Bert

I can't decided Mark. Maybe a re-shooting the photo again, correcting the problems mention by others. Just make sure it not a clear sky, but a sky with clouds. The clouds adds interest to the photo.

Bill

5:20 pm - Tuesday, July 6, 2004

#23 Rodrigo Gómez

Hello Mark.

I think the Black and White version works better for me than the color one. I agree with the others that say that the shot is about form, not color (but only you know what was what it made you take this photo), and for me the B&W shows better this. Maybe a little more contrast, so the difference between the church and the other building (a mall isn't?) is more "dramatic" (not that it needs, but for photographic purposes

11:34 pm - Tuesday, July 6, 2004