Tiny girl

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted June 11, 20082,085 views18 comments

Let me start with apologising for not having posted and commmented on NPN for months

..., but I intend to participate again!

Years ago I had seen a black & white image of the baobab alley with a little girl walking in between these huge trees. I was highly impressed by that photo and it was one of the reason I wanted to visit this special place myself. I was lucky to find this little local girl walking here (without any tourists in the frame!), just like I could remember from that photo. But whether my photo is as good as the black & white one in my memory... I hardly make B&W conversions myself, but I gave it a try here. Which one do you prefer?

Baobab Alley, western Madagascar.

Camera Model Canon EOS 40D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/50
Av( Aperture Value ) 8.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO Speed 320
Lens EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM + circular polariser
Focal Length 85.0 mm
Image Size 3888x2592
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Color Temperature(5200K)
AF Mode One-Shot AF

Vincent Grafhorst
Gaborone
Botswana
http://www.khwaiphotography.com

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on June 11, 2008 at 3:24 AM

Here the B&W version.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Nevesely on June 11, 2008 at 10:13 AM

What a neat place! I prefer the B&W version myself. Mainly because of it's stronger contrast.

Registered on June 14, 2005, 147 Posts, 1550 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on June 11, 2008 at 10:27 AM

Very nice. I like the color version. I don't like the little tree in the bg next to the big tree front left. A step to the right would take care of it.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Curtis Knight on June 11, 2008 at 6:25 PM

B&W for me. That's a nice conversion. It has a great surreal mood and almost looks infrared. Beautifully done

Registered on October 28, 2004, 53 Posts, 468 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Sinkovich on June 12, 2008 at 12:12 AM

Black and white, no question about it. Great day with the clouds and the child is more pronounced with the B&W. Very nice shot.

Registered on October 13, 2007, 29 Posts, 71 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Mangas on June 12, 2008 at 11:11 AM

Wow Vincent, Very powerful look in both. I looked at the color version first while reading your post and didn't know about the b&w one until you mentioned it. I scrolled down to look and my first reaction was an even bigger WOW!
I actually prefer color work. Color emits a feel to me that b&w doesn't. But, having said that. This b&w shot is awesome. Probably the best I have ever seen. I really like it. But I really like the color also. Ok, does that help. Just send me one of both and I will be happy!
Thanks Vincent. Tremendous job.

Brad

Registered on November 9, 2007, 94 Posts, 568 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Staubus on June 12, 2008 at 11:13 AM

I like both. The color one works because of the nice sky, and the b&w one works because of the shadow on the tree trunks.

Kent in SD

Registered on November 11, 2003, 121 Posts, 2098 Comments

Comment posted by Etienne Corten on June 12, 2008 at 11:58 AM

Prefer the color version,Love it,good composition,the light and the sky is superb, and whaw these baobabs !!!

Registered on December 10, 2007, 86 Posts, 1158 Comments

Comment posted by Winnie Ho on June 12, 2008 at 12:41 PM

Vincent, congratulations on a wonderful image. I'm glad you followed your inspiration to this moment where all the elements come together perfectly. We are able to appreciate the immense size of these magnificent trees by the presence of the little girl. Nothing wrong with the colour, but the B&W had a bigger impact on me.

Registered on January 6, 2008, 93 Posts, 1788 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on June 12, 2008 at 12:46 PM

Great shot. I prefer the warm light of the colour version but they both say different things so they're both keepers.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Kargus on June 14, 2008 at 5:47 PM

Hi Vincent,

Great comp and timing to catch the girl in the light. Her presence really completes the image and adds a greater sense of scale than the road would do on its own.

I prefer the colour version for the terrific quality of the light. I do like the B&W as well but the contrast is just a little too high, for me. In the B&W, the bright side of the left-most baobab tree tends to pull my eye away from the rest of the scene.

Registered on January 19, 2007, 47 Posts, 1051 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on June 16, 2008 at 6:08 PM

I think I have to go with the color, but only slightly better. Fabulous composition, what a scene. Congrats

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on June 17, 2008 at 1:07 PM

Hi, Vincent. Nice to see you back.

I like both, but I give the edge to color only because it's my personal bias. These are such powerful images. Congratulations.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Logan on June 18, 2008 at 1:16 PM

Really nice, a very surreal photo! Both are great for their own reasons - it looks like a fantasy! Thanks for sharing!

Registered on October 26, 2007, 38 Posts, 117 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Anderson on July 21, 2008 at 6:40 PM

Fantastic! Must have been quite surreal to walk into the photo you've had for years in your mind. You've captured the exotic unique land even better than a traditional landscape by including the girl for scale and cultural reference. Congratulations on a well deserved EP!

Registered on January 31, 2006, 228 Posts, 3072 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on October 29, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Wild! Like the color version

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Mannino on July 4, 2010 at 10:09 AM

What a great picture. I prefer the b&w myself. The color is great as well but without the color drawing some of your senses in the b&w, you can better appreciate the contrast and impact of his trees. Great job.

Registered on November 16, 2009, 22 Posts, 65 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on July 6, 2010 at 11:09 AM

The composition and subject are wonderful, so it comes down to a personal preference in the color/b&w race. In this case I prefer the color. Have you thought about a b&w conversion leaving the girl and her clothing in color? Might be very effective. Whatever your choice it is an amazing image!!!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments