Chasing our tails - colour or BW?

[ashcroft]

Studio lit and stacked (9 files) in Helicon to get the full DOF.

[NorthernFocus]

B/W. To my eye it makes me focus more on the geometry. In the color version I start studying the pears in detail. Plus the reflected light on pear skins and table top is more evident in the color.

[FrankMi]

Wouldn't it depend on your purpose and preference for the image Rob?

[Shadowman]

Nice capture and conversion.

[Geoff F]

Colour for me. If there was a fraction more of the wood grain in #1 it might help. Somehow it seems a fraction 'cramped' to me; which isn't happening with the colour version.

[ashcroft]

Wouldn't it depend on your purpose and preference for the image Rob?

Indeed. But I'm just playing (rainy day!)

[ashcroft]

Colour for me. If there was a fraction more of the wood grain in #1 it might help. Somehow it seems a fraction 'cramped' to me; which isn't happening with the colour version.

Yes, I agree. I think colour adds space to a shot - maybe that's it.

[KimC]

Color for me - it seems to offer more depth increasing the richness of the image.

[Mark von Kanel]

Color for me - it seems to offer more depth increasing the richness of the image.

+1

[IzzieK]

+1 to Dan's comment (Message #2)

Oh btw, I did a stack image yesterday and the center turned out soft...I did about a dozen or so files but I used Photoshop merge function and also used Microsoft Ice for the first time. Both results are almost the same...what am I doing wrong?

[FootLoose]

Colour by a long way, but tone down the highlights on the pears.

[ashcroft]

I did a stack image yesterday and the center turned out soft...I did about a dozen or so files but I used Photoshop merge function and also used Microsoft Ice for the first time. Both results are almost the same...what am I doing wrong?

Either the programs didn't handle the stack very well (I find that sometimes happens), or, more likely, you didn't take enough shots to cover the focus range from front to rear. It's easy to establish the two extreme points but it's tricky to get the right number of focus steps in-between. That's why Helicon Remote is good as it does it all for you, and you can adjust the number of shots. I didn't know that ICE did stacking - I thought it was just for panoramas?

[mugge]

Colour by a longshot or perhaps do a super contrasty b&w
Cheers Mugge

[Manfred M]

While I tend to prefer colour, in this case, I prefer the B&W.

Compositionally you are playing with textures, ines and shapes here.

When I look at it, it strikes me that this shot, with its naturally subtuded tonal range is all about textures; the wood, the ceramic bowl and the mottling on the pears. The colours just get in the way here.

The second level of the image is definitely the shapes and lines. The wood grain and the lines made where the wood is joined contrast the round bowl and the round fruit. This too is brought out more clearly in the monochrome version.

[Mike Buckley]

I think it depends on whether you enjoy seeing the image more as a study of textures, lines and shapes or as a study of color. Manfred has explained the former. The colors are the wonderful warm brown tones (the wood, bowl and brown spots on the pears) that complement the somewhat cooler green tones.

I prefer the color version mostly because in this case I like the study of colors more than the study of textures, lines and shapes. I also prefer the color version because the edges of its shadows fade more gradually and delicately than in the monochrome version.

[ashcroft]

I prefer the color version mostly because in this case I like the study of colors more than the study of textures, lines and shapes. I also prefer the color version because the edges of its shadows fade more gradually and delicately than in the monochrome version.

The textures were enhanced by a little trick. I put the colour shot into Silver Efex Pro to convert to BW and I select either high structure harsh or smooth preset. That boosts the local contrast and makes it more gritty. To get the colour back in photoshop select the SEP layer and change the blend mode to luminosity. If it's too much effect then just reduce the opacity slider before saving. It can make a big impact to a shot. But it only works with shots that have plenty of detail to start with.

[IzzieK]

Either the programs didn't handle the stack very well (I find that sometimes happens), or, more likely, you didn't take enough shots to cover the focus range from front to rear. It's easy to establish the two extreme points but it's tricky to get the right number of focus steps in-between. That's why Helicon Remote is good as it does it all for you, and you can adjust the number of shots. I didn't know that ICE did stacking - I thought it was just for panoramas?

I tried Microsoft Ice with the thought that in Photoshop, pano automation is selected by using Photo merge. Why not Microsoft Ice?

[Jill]

Rob,
Personal preference but I find in this case I like the colour.
The black and white may work but needs to be worked on.
The tonal range of the table and fruit is too similar.
Jill

[Mike Buckley]

The textures were enhanced by a little trick. I put the colour shot into Silver Efex Pro to convert to BW and I select either high structure harsh or smooth preset. That boosts the local contrast and makes it more gritty. To get the colour back in photoshop select the SEP layer and change the blend mode to luminosity. If it's too much effect then just reduce the opacity slider before saving.

You can get a similar effect in any software that has a High Pass filter. Set the blending mode to Overlay, use a basic starting point for the radius of about 25 and set the opacity to meet your needs. Relatively little opacity works for me in most cases. That works whether applying it to monochrome or color.

Considering that you like using the High Structure presets in Silver Efex Pro, you might also be familiar with the Structure and Fine Structure settings that can be made globally. You can also make them selectively using Control Points.

I prefer custom-tuning my adjustments from scratch rather than using presets and those settings really allow you to affect the structure as little or as much as you want and in the desired range of tones. In fact, I rarely use Silver Efex Pro but when I come upon an image that I need to fine-tune the structure to the max, I use it for that purpose.

[GBO25]

Colour for me but you know what else I would have done -I'd have lined the pear stalks up with the "join" lines in the background woodgrain while still keeping the shadow where it is at the bottom to conceal the part you don't want seen.