Workers

Juano

I've been pondering on this one for a while. I tried a BW conversion, but I think I like the variety of colors. I tried different crops, but settled on the original full frame. Thoughts?

Richard

This is a tough one to crack. The implied interaction with the outstretched arms is great, and (once I noticed them) the hands coming out of the second hole are good. OTOH, some of the strong colors compete for attention, especially the yellow of the bushes, the blue valve and the orange of the hazard sign. B&W reduces the competition some, but the overall effect seems cluttered. The best I could do with it was a square crop in color, eliminating the bushes and sign. I liked it in B&W, but the hands were less noticeable. Maybe B&W with some local adjustment on the hands? Dunno.

Juano

Thanks Richard! It seems you followed the same path I did... I tried to isolate the hands coming out of the manhole, but didn't like losing the rest. Maybe there's just too much going on.

Juano

Take 2, following Richard's suggestions.

sarasphotos

Yep, Juano, the crop in B&W captures the essence without the distractions.

Richard

Better. The conversion seems flat to me. I'd brighten it up and increase the contrast to give it some punch.

Juano

sarasphotos wrote: »

Yep, Juano, the crop in B&W captures the essence without the distractions.

Richard wrote: »

Better. The conversion seems flat to me. I'd brighten it up and increase the contrast to give it some punch.

Thanks guys. I will try to give it some additional "pop".

Juano

Take 3, with additional contrast.

Earache

Nice work refining this one Cristóbal - I think Take 3 is the best version... and I like it!!
Now we see just the story of the workers - and the hands (all 6) are great!

One more suggestion for a bit of additional crop off the top and bottom; Down from the top, enough to just eliminate the object on his chest...
And, up from the bottom to just eliminate the partial object on the right-lower edge.

Juano

Earache wrote: »

Nice work refining this one Cristóbal - I think Take 3 is the best version... and I like it!!
Now we see just the story of the workers - and the hands (all 6) are great!

One more suggestion for a bit of additional crop off the top and bottom; Down from the top, enough to just eliminate the object on his chest...
And, up from the bottom to just eliminate the partial object on the right-lower edge.

Thanks for the suggestion Eric, I think it will look better.

Richard

Looks good .

ziggy53

If you look at the scene as a "chaos and intervention" story then the distracting colors and original scene work to that end. The tighter crop and B&W treatment simplify the scene and provide a different story.

I think that both the original and the crop have individual merit and like them both.

denisegoldberg

ziggy53 wrote: »

If you look at the scene as a "chaos and intervention" story then the distracting colors and original scene work to that end. The tighter crop and B&W treatment simplify the scene and provide a different story.

I think that both the original and the crop have individual merit and like them both.

I thought I was alone in my preference for the original (color) photo! I really like the first photo, and I do prefer the color version.

--- Denise

Juano

ziggy53 wrote: »

If you look at the scene as a "chaos and intervention" story then the distracting colors and original scene work to that end. The tighter crop and B&W treatment simplify the scene and provide a different story.

I think that both the original and the crop have individual merit and like them both.

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I thought I was alone in my preference for the original (color) photo! I really like the first photo, and I do prefer the color version.

--- Denise

I am also torn between both... Interesting discussion, thank you!