Seeing In Color....

twodragonfliesphotography

Came across this fellow one afternoon as we were coming back from hiking. He was painting a beautiful river scene from one of the old style bridges. Talking with him we learned that the old bridge would soon be replaced. I thought the color/B&W conversion made for an interesting perspective.....



(Copyright Scott Jenkins)

momwac

twodragonfliesphotography wrote:

I thought the color/B&W conversion made for an interesting perspective.....

I agree. First time I can recall seeing a selective-color image where it made sense to portray the human subject in black and white. I also like that the colors aren't muted. Nice conceptual work!

rustic

Nice idea, and I agree with momwac that this is one time where selective color brings a different meaning to the shot. Is there any other paint in the shot (ie, on the brushes in his left hand, or on the shelf below the easel) that could also be in color?

My only complaint would be that the background is a bit busy, and thus distracting from the overall shot. Not sure if there would be any way to tone down the brightness on the railing behind him.

All in all, I like it!

rutt

Still no cigar, though at least this makes some sort of sense. Selective color is a gimmick. It always completely dominates the image. So you say, "Gee, selective color. What's the point? Oh, yeah, the picture is color, some sort of higher reality, where the real color is." Fine. But then what? It's over. No need ever to look again.

In this shot, I'd love to see some of the colors in the scene repeated in the picture. And the paint on the palette.

rwells

twodragonfliesphotography wrote:

I thought the color/B&W conversion made for an interesting perspective.....(Copyright Scott Jenkins)

Scott,

To me, this is the most important part of this story. ^


You, the photographer, wanted to use this technique to portray something in your image. I personally believe that the photographer has the right to choose what they will for a given image.

Who cares if some feel that selective color is a gimmick?

Vignette's could be called a gimmick, but are and have been used for decades.

Levels, contrast, etc could be called a gimmick, but have been used for a long time now.

GND filters, blending images.

Etc, etc, etc...

It all boils down to what the photographer wants...


I don't understand the mindset that if a photo doesn't fit within the "box", then it's flawed. --- If this was the widespread mindset, there would'nt be much artwork in this world.


I liked your image

twodragonfliesphotography

First - thanks to everyone for their thoughts! I appreciate the positive and the not-so-positive - both always give me a good perspective and something to ponder... :-)

Rustic - I definitely agree with you regarding the busy background of the bridge! I did a few tweaks on the brightness of the railing but nothing to my liking so decided to post for now. In the old days I was fairly good at burning and dodging in the B&W darkroom but haven't quite mastered this in PS Elements yet. Will work on that and maybe repost. There were drips of paint just below the canvas and as I played with keeping them in color realized it caused my eye to dart between them and the painting - so left them muted. Perhaps I'll evaluate them again in color and see if it pulls me in more... Thanks again!

rustic wrote:

Nice idea, and I agree with momwac that this is one time where selective color brings a different meaning to the shot. Is there any other paint in the shot (ie, on the brushes in his left hand, or on the shelf below the easel) that could also be in color?

My only complaint would be that the background is a bit busy, and thus distracting from the overall shot. Not sure if there would be any way to tone down the brightness on the railing behind him.

All in all, I like it!