Tell The Truth

Carnival Worker Taking a Break (Folder #4) sees me taking his

picture, quickly pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and makes this

face, which I gladly capture.

 

Afterwards, I think to myself in the real world there are three

dimensions, height, width, and depth. But when you make a

photograph there are only two dimensions and an illusion of a

third. It occurs to me that color photography emphasizes that

illusion and black & white photography does not.

 

I decide to be as honest as I can with this carnival worker and

present him in black & white. I decide to try and tell the truth.

Truthful portrait. Telling!

Looked at this image several times, left & came back.

 

Your comment is very telling in itself. The image is of fine technical quality, as are your others. As per the B&W... IMO..when color is not a contributing or major component/factor of a capture it is then secondary, inparts unneeded

information, & weakens the image. In this case I feel that B&W truly supports the image, & while perhaps not becomming, is very truthful, telling & a fine capture.

Great shot in the moment. I like the sharpness with all the different materials and design arround him.

Great capture, Howard. He looks like a real clown.

 

As for the 3-dimensional issue, I personally think it has nothing to do with whether an image is black & white, or color. It probabably has something to do with angle of view (especially use of wide angle,) near & far (placing subjects higher or lower as well as size difference,) leading lines, atmospheric elements (fog, smog, etc.) A black & white image can be as deep or as flat as a color image, I think.

I was getting philosophical not technical. The fact is all photography is two dimensional, Color, B&W, Sepia. Height and width and that's it. DOF is an illusion. I was wondering what impact that thinking would have on an image. This particular image in color has a totally different feel than it does in B&W. The color image better replicates reality but as an illusion of having depth. The B&W image does not offer that illusion. Remember, this is a philosophical discussion.

 

 

Aaahhhh...I see, Howard. Yeah, in that case, the b&w is more 2-D in comparison to the color version then.

 

BTW, glad you posted the original. I think that the color version better matches his personality. ^_^

Aside from the discussion..I think that in general carnival in its nature is colorfull, So for me the colored version tells more of its characteristic than the B/W version. Pnina

No question, I prefer the B&W.

 

In the color version my eye, (jumps around, perhaps subconsciously) is looking at/assessing the color. In the B&W "my eye" is much calmer,not jumping around or fighting with the image.

 

 

Comparing & addressing the 2 versions brings forth some interesting issues...thanks for posting it.

 

 

 

Great choice for B&W. I agree that it is much calmer than the color. You made two great captures in one! :-)

I like the B&W in this one because the background does not compete as much with the subject. A multicolor background distracts from the subject, especially a subject with such vibrant colors. So, in that aspect, the B&W has less depth because the viewer's eye is not drawn as much to the background. Perhaps one might reach the conclusion that images with brigthly colored or busy backgrounds might be better in black and white. That's my take on this, for what it's worth.

I can see aspects of the illusion that you are talking about as in the B&W photograph the horses nose and face musculature appears to be flat, clothing texture appears smooth while in the color photograph it looks like it is a carving and the clothing seems to have texture that you can touch and feel. This is interesting as I have never noticed it before. By adding contrast in a color photo you seem to get a lot more seppareation between foreground and background too.

 

All I can say is Interesting!

 

Don

I am inspired by your mission and goal in your bio. Be true to it, discount the ratings game, and create. Life is one continuous learning process with constant change as an inevitability.

I prefer the b&w image. The man is already a colorful character so you can take away color in the image and it works.

Excellent funny portrait and a great B&W tonal range !

As always Howard, a shot to learn from. On a related note, carnival rides are safe, right?

Howard, I agree with Pnina and Wilson on this one. My personal favourite is the colour version. It's fun, whacky and a bit off-the-wall. It's a very spontaneously captured shot that doesn't take itself seriously at all and brings a smile to the face of the viewer. What else does one need - you've succeeded marvellously.

 

Warren

Both color and B/W are very well done. Howard, your personal inimitable style

Excellent!

Really a great capture...I like both too!:)))

You consistently capture the best candid portraits I've ever seen. This is another! Wonderful!