Torn - Color or Black and White?

[John Seaman]

I think you could improve on the mono version. A nice feature of the original is the contrast between the white and yellow areas of paint - this has been lost somewhat in the conversion. I used Nik Silver Efex and found that the High Structure preset did a pretty good job of this, as well as emphasising the textures in the paintwork. I also think that you could bring out more detail in the two wall lanterns, by selecting them and lifting the shadows using the Shadow / Highlight control in Photoship.

 

[Mickeyess]

I think you could improve on the mono version. A nice feature of the original is the contrast between the white and yellow areas of paint - this has been lost somewhat in the conversion. I used Nik Silver Efex and found that the High Structure preset did a pretty good job of this, as well as emphasising the textures in the paintwork. I also think that you could bring out more detail in the two wall lanterns, by selecting them and lifting the shadows using the Shadow / Highlight control in Photoship.

Hi John.
Good suggestions. I used to have the Nik collection and it may be just what I need given that I enjoy black and white so much. I've been working with Photoshop exclusively for a few years.
Thank you John.

 

[Ricochetrider]

IMO there’s enough color here to warrant a vote for color over B&W. I agree the colors appear over saturated, possibly beyond their reality- but not having been there, I can’t say definitively other than my reaction to how it feels. But overall I prefer the color over the B&W.

That said, there’s enough texture in the scene to make a strong case for the B&W version, but I feel like it could be better presented. As it stands it’s a bit flat.

Compositionally, I don’t think this strong enough to really hold up well in black and white. Your color version is much more engaging!