Color or Black and White?

by Sherri on June 7, 2008

Photo #1 - Original color photo of an old car, Auburn, California Jeff and I were out for a walk in our neighborhood recently and this really cool old car drove by. Fortunately, I brought along my digital camera that day. I was able to grab this pan shot, as the guy proudly drove by. While looking through my images today, I came across this color photograph and decided it would look great in black and white (see photo #2). One of the great things about shooting in digital is that you can easily turn any photo from color to black and white.       Photo #2 - adjusted the saturation in PhotoShop I don't think I have shot in black and white since I was studying with the New York Institute of Photography, many years ago. I prefer shooting in color by a long shot. But, shooting digital and using PhotoShop, you can have the best of both worlds!
1 Peggy Sherman June 8, 2008 at 10:27 am

Hi–happened over here by a circuitous route and had to comment on the black and white transition. I have a terrible time making a color photo into a black-and-white (not as a process, as a choice)–and yet I often like them better once I force myself to. I like your car photo as a black and white!

2 Sherri June 8, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Hi Peggy,

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. How did you find us? Did you do a search for paddling blogs?

I’m thinking at this point that I like the 2 photos equally.

Thanks again,
Sherri

3 christie provost June 9, 2008 at 12:35 pm

great job panning, i love it!

i really can’t choose. i love the color, i get such a sense of time and place there, like i’m walking down the road myself. the bw is great too, very clean and nice contrast. so no decision from me! lol

4 Sherri Meyer June 10, 2008 at 5:38 am

Thanks Christie. I think if I HAD to choose one I’d pick the color, because I prefer color. But, I still think this photo works quite well in B/W too.

5 Richard Wong June 15, 2008 at 10:10 am

That is a real classic shot Sherri and I like the motion blur. The white picket fence seals the deal. I prefer the color, mainly because I don’t like B&W photography.

6 Sherri Meyer June 16, 2008 at 5:53 am

Thank you for your comment Richard. I was really lucky to get this shot. It was one of those “grab” shots. Sometimes they are the best ones though.

I also love this white fence. I use it as a background quite often.

7 Jim Goldstein June 16, 2008 at 2:26 pm

I think the choice is dependent on the tone you’d like to convey. The B&W definitely has an older feel to it that works well with the classic nature of the car. The color works equally well setting a slightly different tone to the nostalgic nature of the older car. I wouldn’t be surprised if a photo buyer would use each photo in a slightly different way based on the difference in “tone” (not just color tone) of the image.

8 Sherri Meyer June 16, 2008 at 5:41 pm

Well said Jim! Thanks for your input.

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