There’s no question in my mind that there are times when monochrome is the right medium for an image and other times when color beats the pants off mono. I love B&W and shoot it almost exclusively these days but I use color transparency film for my macro photography.
Red Begonias (click to enlarge)
I love begonias, especially red ones. This picture is the color original of the sepia image I posted the week before last for Sepia Scenes. And the winner is…. The red begonias?
Begonias (click to enlarge)
Here’s the sepia version. Yes it’s nice and I do like it, but when you compare it to the original??? The color version sings to me — yet the sepia version has a kind of timeless elegance. The media are different and those differences can be striking. Is there a clear winner? I really do like the red begonias, but something about the sepia version won’t let me go either. OK then. I like both.
I’m just getting started with my experiments. I have another sepia image of flowers waiting in the wings that has a magic that the original lacks. I bought two new B&W contrast filters for the express purpose of exploring macro and still life with B&W film.
Kind of like the Saturday matinee at the movies when I was a kid. Every week there would be a new episode of a serial before the main attraction. Will the hero survive the fall off the cliff? Beats me. I’m simply going to play around and discover. Some discoveries will stink while others??? Stay tuned for the next episode.
Be sure to visit Lisa’s Chaos for more Macro Monday photos. Thank you Lisa. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share.
Nice Macro John, I like the color one more
Have a nice week ahead
Beautiful..elegant..and a lovely soft diffused beauty!
They are both stunning!!
Now I’m torn.
I loved that sepia shot and have thought about ever since but you throw this color shot in the mix today and I’m stunned at the beauty.
Very lovely Sir!
I’m a big fan of B&W, but it’s hard to select a monochrome flower over one in full color. I vote for the first.
I do like the color shot better, my youngest and I were just discussing that very thing about my gerber post, the color for many flowers can be part of their personality so seeing it is better. In this case not just the color of the flower but the lovely soft green background needs to be present (good out of focus backgrounds do it for me) it compliments the whole photo!
Peace unknown, yet reachable to be found. Very nice photography
Beautiful flowers and I prefer the colored version.
Both photos are gorgeous.
Happy Macro Monday.
I like the colour one, too. You’re right – it sings!
I love them both!
Either way both are beautiful. I think Thanks for sharing!
MacroMonday:Pinecones
I love that the one in color looks like a painting. Really nice.
You’re right, each photo strikes a different feeling in me. The sepia leads me to days gone by and the color feels happy and refreshing.
My favorite is the colored version.
I like B&W but I LOVE colour too. There’s a place for both, I think.
The color shot wins hands down. There is a softness in the color picture that doesn’t show up in the sepia.
Beautiful pictures I can tell that you added an effect, but I’m not sure exactly what. Is it a texture?? I love the look!
The color version cropped from a 35mm color slide. Didn’t do anything to that one. The texture on the sepia version is from sharpening. I think I sharpened twice. I’ve been playing with “oversharpening” my mono conversions from color. If you’re careful you can mimic the look of grain when you sharpen.
While they are both beautiful, in the instance of this flower, the color version sings to me. I agree with lisaschaos comment and think it’s very well expressed! ~ks
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’m enjoying your photography and your words and i will be back.
Joanna
They are both beautiful. For me it depends on my mood and today I am liking the sepia version
Beautiful, John, and thank you for your warm welcome to Macro Mondays.
As a kid, I spent time in my grandfather’s, and then my father’s dark room. I played with filters, lights, films, papers, chemicals, etc. and got a feel for how very complicated film photography can be, and for the endless creative possibilities. Kudos to you for still practicing the art!
As for me, I am now all digital. I have so far only published (on my humble little blog) untouched originals, but at some point will start playing with the wealth of tools for digital photographic art.
Thank you Ferd. Once upon a time I had an enlarger and all the good darkroom stuff. Our bathroom would become a temp darkroom with all the trays in the tub and the enlarger on the toilet seat. Worked OK, but alas, I had to sell all my stuff to buy groceries.
Now, I develop my B&W film and scan with my film scanner. I like the digital darkroom — a lot. I use Picture Window Pro. A great editor for a modest price $89.
Oh, and I have a new home for the blog. My previous comment pointed to my old site.
Hey there! thanks for the link to your cool other blog. Sorry about assailing (sp?) your architect’s eye…may there be no tiles in your sky. I’ll try your suggestion and see how it works…
Sepia in this one gives a more melancholy feel. The color version is very tender.
Both are really nice but I think the flower does better in colour. Thanks for stopping by.
Both are wonderful but the eye is drawn to the color which is a natural reaction. The sepia is an example of why I love monochrome. I can see details in the flowers that are overshadowed by the color in the other photo. I like each one for different reasons.
Both are stunning photos!
Thank you for visiting with me:) What a beautiful blog you have and so many beautiful pictures you have on it:)
Those are both truly beautiful again.
And yes, the colour one def has it’s own awesome song.
The sepia one would work very well on a remembrance or condolence card though.
Love them both!