My view of Sedona AZ

[Plumcrak]

First off, I have to thank Mike Buckley for the inspiration. I always thought of Sedona as magnificently colorful. Well it is that, but as Mike proved, it is also magnificent in monochrome.

We visited the Sedona area 5 years ago, long before I had any real interest in photography. I had purchased a small Nikon P&S just before the trip and like any "real" man, I never read anything pertaining to settings, options or directions on this new little contraption. Heck, you just turn it on and push the button...right??

Well, if you take enough photos, you are bound to get a couple that might be keepers. These are no where near as good as Mikes captures but at least I have something to strive for next time I go out that way.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Grand Canyon
6.

7.

[Donald]

Jon

Yesterday I was watching one of the NIK software webinars (you can get them on demand after the live webinar if you miss it at the time). It was this one.

Now I know it's been said many times before, but in this webinar, Jennifer Wu makes the point very well about what it is that makes a good B & W. She speaks about how, in a colour image, colour carries much of the 'reponsibility' of making the image great, but an image with the colour taken out, it has to be the others things (lines, tones, shapes & texture) that carry the image.

If you look particularly at 2 & 7 from your series above, I think these are wonderful examples of how the extraction of colour makes us really see and appreciate the beauty of the lines, tones, shapes and textures. We see an image that we would otherwise never have seen if it was in colour, because what we would have seen would have been, I'm sure, wonderful colours. I'll bet for example, that in a colour version, that beautiful play of light and shadow in the ground at the bottom on #7, would have been lost.

Similarly, I would suggest that #1 doesn't work so well as a B & W, although it may be a spectacular colour image. Because we're being pushed to appreciate line, tone, shape and texture, what we have is, with respect, a big lump of rock. There's texture, but there isn't anything very attractive, to me, in terms of line, tone and shape.

Now, you and others may disagree with my thinking, but are thoughts for consideration.

[Mike Buckley]

#2 and #4 demonstrate best for me that monochromes work well to bring out the shape and texture, perhaps in ways that a color version wouldn't.

By the way, my uncle, who was a "real" man, had a theory about the best way to assemble toys on Christmas Eve: when all else fails, read the instructions, but not until all else fails.

[splashy]

The beauty of Sedona is the clear blue sky, red rock and all the other amazing very bright colors.
The 2 and 7 pictures are probably the best color pictures of the set and because of that turn out good in BW.

It is funny that when we finally succeeded in making perfect color pictures (better lenses and camera's, higher DR) we try to turn them back to BW, I think certain things deserve color, like Sedona, others can be in BW like urban.


This BW thing is like the milky waters, often you mis the real dynamics of the moment.

[Donald]

This BW thing is like the milky waters, often you mis the real dynamics of the moment.

Or you could turn that on its head and say that colour distracts attention from the real dynamic of the lines, tones, shapes and textures. In fact, I'd argue that colour can make you miss the real dynamic of the moment

And the point about 'real dynamics' takes us back to what the likes of Adams said about the image being 'real'. He presented what he saw in his mind at the time of capturing the picture. That was not necessarily what other people who might have been standing right next to him at the same moment, saw. So, what is real?

[Mike Buckley]

The so-called real dynamics of the moment vary from person to person. As Donald mentioned, what might be real to me might be unreal to the next person and vice versa.

[Plumcrak]

I will admit that the colors are magnificent...





but so are the B&W versions...just in a different respect

[Plumcrak]

Donald, #1 didn't work too awful well in color either...