Going through some collections made during the past couple of years, I came across this image from September 2005, taken on my way back from the Tetons. This is off US 287 between Lander and Rawlins. The black soil made a stark contrast to the fall colors.
Wow, curve ball, high and inside! I was expecting a wildflower wall hanger and got a fall color wall hanger instead!! Beautiful comp, simple and effective!
To me, this photograph is all about color. Color is why I made the picture in the first place. The contrast between blue and yellow is the dominant motif.
inspired by your suggestion, I made a BW version in Photoshop; after fiddling with the BW conversion settings (and trying the Black and White command in CS3) I decided that the defaults in the Color Mixer worked the best for this particular image.
To me, the results are still questionable. From a photo that started out being all about color relationships, in the BW version it becomes all about textures, or lack of texture. Essentially, the texture of the trees and rocky ground compared with the smooth (no texture) of the sky.
Although the BW version has an interesting look - similar to Infrared - it doesn't work for me. But I am very interested to hear what others have to say.
Definitely works best as intended and visualized. I am just partial to the IR look of yellow against blue (when converted with an orange filter), hence the suggestion. After seeing the b/w version, I say ... color!
Very nice, Nat. The strong diagonal and unusual color palette give it a unique feel. Seeing your comments regarding the color vs b&w is interesting - the blue & yellow are definitely strong, but it's the black soil and strong diagonal associated with it that is the more dominate motif, to my eye. The blue & yellow are icing on the cake! Either way, I like it!
Discussion
8 repliesTo me, this photograph is all about color. Color is why I made the picture in the first place. The contrast between blue and yellow is the dominant motif.
inspired by your suggestion, I made a BW version in Photoshop; after fiddling with the BW conversion settings (and trying the Black and White command in CS3) I decided that the defaults in the Color Mixer worked the best for this particular image.
To me, the results are still questionable. From a photo that started out being all about color relationships, in the BW version it becomes all about textures, or lack of texture. Essentially, the texture of the trees and rocky ground compared with the smooth (no texture) of the sky.
Although the BW version has an interesting look - similar to Infrared - it doesn't work for me. But I am very interested to hear what others have to say.