Which do you prefer?
It was a beautiful snowy day,
whether captured in black and white
or color.
Sometimes there are very subtle differences.
Not long ago, we had to buy either black and white or color film. We were committed to the results. Now with digital photography we can work magic with our camera’s software or by using programs such as PicMonkey.
Do you edit your photos?
If you enjoyed this you may like Barcelona – A Photo Journal
All photographs were taken with a Sony Nex-3N DSLR and edited in PicMonkey.
Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
I don’t edit much, usually just straighten my wonky horizon and cropping. I actually like all of these you posted in color. But the black and white ones are good too!
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Thanks Michelle! I used to do a lot more editing, but this new camera’s auto-adjust is amazing. It was fun to play with them!
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I definitely prefer the color, Susie. Fantastic photographs.
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Thanks Colin! Not an Ansel Adams fan then…Great to see you!
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I prefer the color, as well. Gorgeous pictures, Susie.
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Me too. But they are all good
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Thanks Pecora and for stopping by!
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Thanks Debra! They were fun to experiment with!
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I have to admit that I like the color better. When it comes to editing, my favorites are the ones that aren’t quite the focus or shot I was aiming at, but in their errors, I see things I never expected.
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I agree about the shots. A camera can be more of a toy sometimes than a tool. I have a blast with mine! Except when I go on a haunted tour and they disappear for 15 minutes….
Thanks so much Barb!
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I prefer color. The only editing I do is compressing or cropping, and I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager for that. I’ve never tried to figure out programs like Photoshop. Never heard of PicMonkey. Remember, I’m old and tech-challenged (I think that term sounds better than stupid).
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I first discovered PicMonkey through Coleen Patrick who uses the program for “signatures.” There are a lot of fun effects to use. It’s pretty easy David! You’ll have to try it sometime!
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I love them all. That’s what I want for Christmas, a good camera. All I have now is the camera on my cell phone and it has no flash! 😉
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Well as far as I know this is the smallest and best value for an DSLR, but there are a lot to check out and it depends on how you p,an on using it.
Thanks Maria!!
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I usually like color but sometimes when a photo is in black and white you can see the details more.
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Great point Emily! I used to be an illustrator and worked mostly in black and white so I love the monochromatic images.
Thanks!
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USe of color or lack of it depends on the story/post – color/lack of it makes different focus/emphasis. Black and white is stark but sophisticated or calls earlier times. Editing is a great tool to make thing fit just right
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Great points!! I agree about black and whites and they can somehow be more dramatic or spooky too!
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From these three pairs, B&W, color, color respectively. I enjoy editing my photos especially using app on iPhone 🙂
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I’ll have to get an iPhone next time!
Thank you. They were fun to play with. 🙂
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I edit everything and just love black and white..:) Lovely pics Susie
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Thanks Linda! You create some great effects Linda! It’s fun to fool around with.
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With the photos above, you already have such contrast, and highlights with the frame contents in colour due to the natural ability for the snow to create depth of field, along with negative/white space. B&W can aid in increasing the depth of field in a photograph when put to use in a frame that has much more colour, above the effects of the snow does this already, and so the B&W versions seem to dull themselves in a way to the eye. Giving a sense of being taken sometime ago, like those one sometimes comes across in an old book.
Do I edit my photos? Depends on what genre of photography I’m working in at the time, journalistic no, artistic, yes, but never to out right set about to deceive without purpose, when what can be done in the field through manual manipulation, rather than turning to digital tools.
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Thanks for stopping by and for your informative comment. I graduated in art, but never took photography. I am really enjoying my camera and am learning through experimenting. One of these days I will take a class! It sounds like you teach them!
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I don’t take enough photos,… no teaching classes, just love what different photographers find to light each emerging soul within a photograph. All the best with the photography!
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That’s a very cool way to look at it- “find to light each emerging soul within a photograph.” That’s exactly what I hope to capture.
Thanks Sean!
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I like all of them. B&W has its place. The colour in the second is subdued, like that lots.
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Thanks Nelle! It’s so great to see you!
I would love to blow some of these up. One idea I had a while back was to print all the creepy pictures and frame them then put them out for Halloween!
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I tend to prefer black and white, I just love the way it looks and the mood it conveys. Still, I love all the photos you posted!
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Aww! Thanks so much Darla!
I remember taking a lot of black and white photos for a while. Film was so expensive. Even when on vacation, I took pictures very sparingly. Nothing like now when I take thousands!!!!
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B&W for me and I don’t really take many good pictures. When I get keeper all I do is crop.
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There is something a out how black and white photos reduce the picture into positive and negative space. I love playing with balance, but like you, I often crop them to get that effect.
Thanks for coming by John!
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In this case I prefer the colour. I like how the coloured leaves of fall are being taunted by the winter snow.
I do edit my photos in photo shop, depending on how I am using them.
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I love your word taunted. One of these days will have to break down and buy photoshop. I would have so much fun adding paint to the photos.
Thank you so much!
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Nice shots Suzie. I edit the crap out of some of my pics, others are just watermarked. you can have the snow, thanks! 81 and sunny today, yay!
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Nice! I’ve really been enjoying your photos.
It snowed nice big wet flakes for a while now its just damp.
Thanks so much John!
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I’ve always preferred black & white…
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Me too, but if the photos are super saturated, but natural then I love the colored eye candy too!!
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I love these in color. Lots of depth. Love.
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Thank you! I never know what I’m getting and it’s fun to load them on my computer. It’s like magic!!
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Wow, both are magical, but I like the subtlety of the colour in the eagle pic. The contrast of colours between the autumn leaves and snow is stunning!
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Thanks Alarna! There were two ducks on the lake and I had to move fast since they were swimming away. It was one of those magical mornings!!!
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I like the 1st and 3rd in B&W and the 2nd in colour! Gorgeous photos – the first one is my favourite!
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Thanks so much Diana!
It has been great fun to practice taking shots with this camera. They are especially fun to throw into editing to see what happens….
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Back in the day when I used a 35mm SLR I alternated between b&w film which I could process myself and color slides. B&w when I was wandering around in city areas and color slides when I took to the woods. Caught some wonderful buildings that don’t exist and a butterfly that landed just long enough for me to snap it. I’m learning digital now and the ability to manipulate.
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Very cool Tom! You are ahead of me. I have been playing with the macro setting, but rely on the auto setting. I will have to experiment!
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I have always been partial to black and white, for what it DOESN’T give you, and thence, allows you to find on your own. On that first pair of shots,the color is ever so subtle…it reminds me of something out of Currier and Ives.
You’re a talented photographer, Ms Colorado.
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Oh thank you Mr. Thorn! It was one of those mornings when the lighting was perfect!
Great point about how black and white holds back. It is the same reason why it always disturbs me when they colorize old movies….
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Too hard to choose! They’re all pleasing to the eye.
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Thanks so much! It was fun to compare them. I’m not sure which I like best either. 🙂
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I didn’t like any of them, Susie. All of them had that white stuff in them…, and it didn’t appear to be sand on the beach. I do my best to ignore any trace of them til that “stuff” is actually on the ground…, and when that happens, I like to retreat to somewhere sunny and warm. As to the choice you offered…, b/w is great for clarity of form and composition…, color is wonderful for the completion of visual descriptiveness (I think that’s a word).
How ya doin?
Paul
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Great Paul!
So your not a fan of snow. Good thing you aren’t here in Colorado. It snowed those big goofy wet flakes this afternoon!!!!
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We call those “big goofy wet flakes” lake effect snow…, and I like it even less ! Did you get enough of that stuff to start a base for skiing?
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No. They are making snow. It has been a cool fall. 🙂
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Susie, the shots you posted are all lovely. As for a preference, whenever there’s snow in the shot I lean in a black & white direction. My boss is a hardcore photographer. Last year we spent hours pouring over her images of snow scenes to find the right one for our company holiday card e-blast. When it comes to the shots I post on my site, I might do a little cropping and if a license plate or an address is visible, I might blur it, but I do minimal retouching. Now that I have an iPhone, it frees me from having to schlep my little Canon point and shoot everywhere, even though my Canon does take superior crappy images. Yet, the iPhone takes better pictures at night. So, go figure.
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Thanks V!
That is a good point about snow. It usually sets up a more monochromatic photo and the snow creates its own shape and subject.
I would love to buy an iPhone. My droid takes great outdoor photos, but it sucks at night and has a weird focal point that is always in telephoto. I have to back up to take a picture.
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I’m very content with my iPhone. Verizon gave it to me for free with a $30 upgrade fee. The contract is a penny more than what I was paying for my dumb phone (pre taxes and fees) i.e. $60 vs. $59.99. It was well worth the 30 clams. What’s that saying Susie? “Once you go Mac you can’t go back.”
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Hahaha!!! That’s what I hear…
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