The Art of Choosing Color v. Black & White, and a Late at Night in Manchester
Decisions Shape Stories
First this: It’s 2 am, and both the city of Manchester and I are wide freakin’ awake.
I’m padding around a generously upgraded hotel suite, courtesy of the folks at the Leven Hotel, who likely felt sorry for us after the airlines once again misplaced our luggage. They still can’t find one of the bags. I guess the suitcase that appeared to be painted by Jackson Pollack was too hard to identify. Seriously???
I find myself annoyed and restless. That’s why I’m up and about.
But the good folks of Manchester are not annoyed at all from what I can see. They’re tirelessly and continuously in motion. I forget my sleep deprivation and the misplaced baggage entirely, and get my camera. I gotta do something with this. I need to deal with the Very Long Exposures that I need, and find a stable way to shoot through the window. So I drop my shutter speed down low, prop myself and my camera up against the window and the back of a sofa, and aim almost straight down.
It’s awkward and uncomfortable, but it works. I shoot for a long time.
So I make a few things. And now that I’m creating something rather than stewing over the !#$!% airlines, the insomnia isn’t quite so annoying.
Here’s one:
And here’s another:
And now, my friends, we turn to the first part of the subject line. Color v. Black & White.
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You can see what I tried to do with motion. Both shots have similar amounts of blur and they are essentially the same background. They have a lot in common.
But what about e-motion? What do the two different images convey emotionally?
By the way, since this is not an interactive post, I’m merely asking you to pause and think. If we were together in one of my classes or seminars we would discuss before continuing. For now the pausing is left in your own capable hands.
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So. How DO the two images make you feel? How would you choose between them, if you’d like to use one?
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For me, it depends on the kind of story you want to tell.
If you want to convey the sense of a hard, gritty city, it’s the B&W one. For that image I also made sure that grain was visible to intensify that feeling.
But if you want to imbue more energy and vibrance to the scene? The color image has a sleeker, almost neon element, between the scooter’s motion and the trailing, vibrant lights.
(Tip: It’ll be easier to “feel” one or the other’s impact if you scroll and isolate one image at a time, I suspect.)
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It’s important to consider both the subject and its treatment to successfully tell a particular story.
When I was younger I learned the phrase “Begin with the End in Mind.” I’d read Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” It’s still a classic, and useful in almost any pursuit.
It may seem odd to introduce Effective Habits when discussing emotional connections, but stay with me here.
I had entirely different plans for these next two images before they were taken. Different stories to tell. Each story has its own emotional elements.
Charlotte is lovely, and an amazingly generous vocalist. Being in her audience is uplifting, and can bring tears to your eyes. I wanted to elicit the feelings that are delivered by her beautiful songs. The warmth of her glowing face surrounded by vibrant blue sky, those were critical elements for this single-image story.
On the other hand John, you may be surprised to learn, is a New Yorker who lives in Salt Lake City, where I met him at a Country BBQ.
John’s impressive. If I did my job making the image, you’ll feel it. He doesn’t sing like Charlotte, so far as I know, but he’s very accomplished. An extremely skilled, quietly generous, complex man. I wanted to focus entirely on texture and detail because there is already a lot to examine without colors “piling on.” A bit of grain enhances the story. As with Charlotte, I had the end in mind before I looked through the camera.
Yes, some images can “work” both ways.
But the choice is important based on the story you are trying to tell.