Morning Read

[Chris Calohan II]

Though I gave this thought, it wasn't until a friend strongly suggested doing my Diner Series in B&W that I took the challenge to heart and started the process. I used CS6 B&W Adjustments with some added contrast then took it into SEP2 and brush in the effects I wanted. In many cases I might add up to 8 or more efex passes in Silver Efex Pro2. I've posted the B&W challenge as well as the original color version and would like some opinions, comments, suggestions, etc.

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Morning Read: Chris Calohan

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[Maggie Terlecki]

Though I gave this thought, it wasn't until a friend strongly suggested doing my Diner Series in B&W that I took the challenge to heart and started the process. I used CS6 B&W Adjustments with some added contrast then took it into SEP2 and brush in the effects I wanted. In many cases I might add up to 8 or more efex passes in Silver Efex Pro2. I've posted the B&W challenge as well as the original color version and would like some opinions, comments, suggestions, etc.

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Morning Read: Chris Calohan

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This is so interesting Chris,

The b/w version is so different from the color one and I don't think one is better than the other, just very different in how I read it.

To start off with, I like them both.

In the black and white version, I feel the subject to me is more about this man, reading his morning paper. I wonder about him and why he doesn't read it at home. Reading a newspaper is an exclusionary act, leaving others out, but also may well be that he feels a need to be with others yet needs something to do to not just look at the wall. Although there is depth it pretty much ends at the back wall, and all my attention seems to go to this individual. To me, this one depicts a portrait of this man's morning more than perhaps just the diner.

In the color version, it changes, drastically, for me. I now feel it's more about the diner, and the man is just a part of the scene. I now realize there is another customer behind him, father along the counter ( a man that was not obvious to me in the b/w version. I start to notice that there is a huge bottle of ketchup on the counter that was just a big dark something in black and white. I notice the red lamps shades and the colors in the background and that window to the outside. My roaming makes me notice more and more elements and I notice the arrows and wonder why. This one to me helps me explore the diner more fully.

I don't know if this helps you with your request for critique. I like them both and I realize if someone said this is a diner in b/w, I would have taken the time to wander around the image and find the diner, but thought you'd be interested in my initial reaction.

kindly,
Maggie

 

[Asher Kelman]

This is so interesting Chris,

The b/w version is so different from the color one and I don't think one is better than the other, just very different in how I read it.

To start off with, I like them both.

In the black and white version, I feel the subject to me is more about this man, reading his morning paper. I wonder about him and why he doesn't read it at home. Reading a newspaper is an exclusionary act, leaving others out, but also may well be that he feels a need to be with others yet needs something to do to not just look at the wall. Although there is depth it pretty much ends at the back wall, and all my attention seems to go to this individual. To me, this one depicts a portrait of this man's morning more than perhaps just the diner.

In the color version, it changes, drastically, for me. I now feel it's more about the diner, and the man is just a part of the scene. I now realize there is another customer behind him, father along the counter ( a man that was not obvious to me in the b/w version. I start to notice that there is a huge bottle of ketchup on the counter that was just a big dark something in black and white. I notice the red lamps shades and the colors in the background and that window to the outside. My roaming makes me notice more and more elements and I notice the arrows and wonder why. This one to me helps me explore the diner more fully.

Maggie& Chris,

This is a most important comment and should be read by everyone here deciding between color and B&W. Each color brings mood and seduction, identity and personality that B&W just cannot do. We cannot match the rich images of barbecues or kids covered with ketchup, or ketchup on one's white shirt on the leather seats of a car, from a B&W picture of Heinz Ketchup. The reds define to place, the diner!

B&W, really defines the man here and makes all those flashy things of lower rank. This is so well described by your comments, Maggie, and is spot on!

Asher

 

[Chris Calohan II]

I really liked Maggie's descriptors and was taking my time before responding, wondering if I made a conscious decision to change the perspective or if the conversion process changed the image without my input.

Both, I think. I did change the emphasis on the wall behind the reader to try and draw attention more to him and less to the environment, but in honesty, I also did this to help define some stronger blacks in the image. I alos strengthened the reflection in the countertop to again, push the eye more toward the reader.

In the color image, my focus was much more on balancing outside light streaming in the windows, neon and tungsten lights. I have to say it was challenging though helped immensely by the lens choice (35mm/1.8) and a good, solid pre-production exposure. That in itself, as Asher has pointed out, changes the focus from the reader to the ambiance.

Thanks so much, Maggie for how you constructed your response. It was well recieved and much appreciated.