911 Truthers at Ground Zero

Jack'll do · May 10, 2010

Spent a weekend in Manhattan recently and came upon a small group of Truthers presenting their point of view to a diverse group of onlookers at the WTC site. Of the first two I prefer the color image. Can't make up my mind about the second pair. What do you think?
Comments and critique are always welcome.

sabesh · May 11, 2010

^^ I prefer the colour shots as they have more depth and realism.

Patti · May 11, 2010

I like the B&W. The main fellow stands out more, and the other people are easier to see/concentrate on without the distraction of colour but that's just me.

Richard · May 11, 2010

Patti wrote: »

I like the B&W. The main fellow stands out more, and the other people are easier to see/concentrate on without the distraction of colour but that's just me.

The colors are not particularly attractive and do not add anything to the story you are trying to convey. The best parts of both shots are the expression and posture of the guy on the left, and the orange cone and red sweater simply call attention away from that.

lizzard_nyc · May 11, 2010

Jack,
It's great to see you posting here.

I really like shot #1. I like how they are all looking at the speaker, listening with utmost attention and the little boy is the only one not looking, he's reading the material. I also like his stiff little hands as though he's very tense. He reminds me of my son and makes me wonder how many questions he had for his parents after leaving the demonstration.

I like the b&w, as others have said, with the color my eye wonders around to the bright orange and red.
I also like your conversion. It's hard to get it right with such bright conditions.

bdcolen · May 11, 2010

Jack'll do wrote: »

Spent a weekend in Manhattan recently and came upon a small group of Truthers presenting their point of view to a diverse group of onlookers at the WTC site. Of the first two I prefer the color image. Can't make up my mind about the second pair. What do you think?
Comments and critique are always welcome.

Hi, Jack - Welcome!
Definitely the black and whites. In both cases the color is distracting and harsh, and overwhelming the people. Without the color we see the faces, the gestures, and postures - which are very well captured - much more clearly. So black and white.

clap

Jack'll do · May 11, 2010

Thanks for looking and for your comments Sabesh and Patti. In the first pair I am torn between color and B&W. In #1 IMHO the speaker and th little boy stand out by virtue of the fact that they are in the foreground. I also like the color version because the skin tones illustrate much more clearly the ethnic diversity of the people than in the B&W. One of the reasons I love NYC is the international/and cultural flavor I experience there. I don't find the color distracting in this case perhaps because I tend to like slightly over saturated colors in my non-street images. In the second pair, I prefer the B&W as the color version almost gives the impression that the speaker is passionately expounding on the virtues of orange cones!

Jack'll do · May 11, 2010

Richard wrote: »

The colors are not particularly attractive and do not add anything to the story you are trying to convey. The best parts of both shots are the expression and posture of the guy on the left, and the orange cone and red sweater simply call attention away from that.

Thank you Richard. I actually think that the little boy stands out better in the color version #1. The little boy is actually a main player here as the orator interacted with him frequently. It turns out, although those who were not there would not know this, that the boy was a shill. His parents were part of the Truther group and he had obviously been coached in advance to ask pertinent questions.

Internaut · May 11, 2010

I prefer the colour ones in this case. Very different looking location but reminds me of Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas on any weekend.

JordanRHughes · May 11, 2010

I like to BW ones.

Jack'll do · May 12, 2010

lizzard_nyc wrote: »

Jack,
It's great to see you posting here.

I really like shot #1. I like how they are all looking at the speaker, listening with utmost attention and the little boy is the only one not looking, he's reading the material. I also like his stiff little hands as though he's very tense. He reminds me of my son and makes me wonder how many questions he had for his parents after leaving the demonstration.

I like the b&w, as others have said, with the color my eye wonders around to the bright orange and red.
I also like your conversion. It's hard to get it right with such bright conditions.

Thanks for the nice words Liz, and for the detailed commentary. As I mentioned to Richard, the little boy was probably a little tense as he waited for his part in the demonstration. In the first image I actually lean more to the color version.

Jack'll do · May 12, 2010

bdcolen wrote: »

Hi, Jack - Welcome!
Definitely the black and whites. In both cases the color is distracting and harsh, and overwhelming the people. Without the color we see the faces, the gestures, and postures - which are very well captured - much more clearly. So black and white. clap

Thanks BD. As I have said, most of my work is in color and I tend to like bold colors for the most part. I look at at color and see that it usually adds to an image rather than detracts. Having said that, there are definitely some of my images that I prefer in B&W (tho I'm not always sure why).