Pavement Patterns Again
Well, I couldn’t help it — a few days ago I went back to the place with the broken asphalt and photographed it again. I photographed it for the first time about two months ago and then a month later again, but this week was different. I was on my way to work and it was raining lightly, but exactly that rain made me drive around to “my spot.” I was hoping that the asphalt surface might be shinier and thus appear more interesting.
What do you think? Was it worth taking out the tripod and getting wet for this image?
I’m having a hard time deciding if I like the color or the black-and-white image better.
Just so you get an idea of where these images started, here is the RAW image without any manipulations.
Color.
They are are both good. However, I would prefer the colour one by a very small margin. The B&W one might be better if it contained a very contrasty subject, one which was very different from the rest. Like a ball? Like a piece of white dress hanging? The colour one, however, includes minute red and yellow dots sparkling around. The patterns are also there, so, we do not loose anything as compared with the B&W one. My two cents!
I also prefer the color one, no question. That neutral-tan stripe across really makes it for me.
Thanks for the comments so far! Looking at the screen I too like the color version a bit better, but printed on paper, I clearly prefer the black-and-white image. Printed with Epson’s advanced B&W driver and with a light sepia toning it looks very good indeed.
Maybe the difference is the resolution. On screen you cannot see the subtle details in the asphalt, but in a print you can. And this is where B&W excels, in that there are no colors to distract from these patterns. On screen you cannot see the small details, so color wins by a small margin.
Greetings,
I come to you via Michael Johnston’s “The Online Photographer” after having read your Steve McCurry article.
Regarding your question should it be B&W or Color?: I have a different point of view. I want the color in the bricks but the color in the lower asphalt is distracting. Would you consider mixing the two (converting the lower asphalt to B&W)?
If you do, please drop me a line at XXXXX to come back and take a look.
Tks! – Tom Bullard