A COLOURFUL PARTY IN THE PARK

For ABC Wednesday I posted this shot as a monochrome, a black and white shot. This was the original image, before I desaturated the colour. Which though is the better image?

The black and white one is a classic ground eye shot. I said this before but it's the kind you see in
Sunday supplements and music mags. You tend to notice that certain shots are favoured for different concepts and mediums. This version is in it's natural state, which is already quite bright and rich in colour. You wouldn't see this image though. If this image was used the colours would all be bumped up, saturated, very artificial. No individual colours would be picked out the image it would be saturated en mass. The grass would have a yellow hue, the sky a richer blue and certainly the guy with the pale pink shirt would find he was now sporting a hot pink shirt. To me this already has a vivid enough hue anyway, but that's' just the way it is. Take a look at your Sunday supplements this weekend. None of the colours will be natural.

Personally I prefer the monochrome. It's timeless as well as retro. It emphasises the foreground blur and has more depth. On the other hand the colour here draws you to the bareback skin tones, the green bag and of course the pink shirt. The image feels more complete as a b&w whereas the colour feels disjointed and will eventually date the image. B&w images have a longer shelf life, but aren't always the best version of the image.

So on a personal note what do you prefer? No right or wrong answer, it's personal taste. It's just to give you an idea of how one image can have two identities and how the market place uses them. I haven't even commissioned the colour one, it's gathering virtual dust, just the black and white which I put for tender. It's sells and I know it would always outsell the colour if I chose to offer for use.

It's been a crap day here. Confined indoors due to the weather. The internet has been a nightmare again, so my absence may have been noted. Apologises for negelecting blogger duties. Gary is in the zone at the moment. Sarah Palin, I have news for you. You are a godsend to the political cartoonist! I think he will have to tone down the sketches he has at the moment. It must be amusing to our American Friends out there, that in the backwater of nowhere known as Ramsey, Isle of Man, your electioneering is followed so closely, it pays ours bills.