Three's a charm - right? Here are three treatments of the same image. I am asking that you respond with your opinion as to which image gives you the most "impactful" or "emotional"...

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

Here are three treatments of the same image. I am asking that you respond with your opinion as to which image gives you the most "impactful" or "emotional" response. Not necessarily the one you feel may have the most (or least) technical merit but the one that just kind of "grabs" you. And if none of them do, please let me know what you might do to improve it (or them!) Thanks in advance for your critical eye and helpful comments!

(Download)

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

The trees are the primary subject in 1 and 2, but the sky takes over in 3.
I'm not a big fan of B/W, maybe because when I started photography, color was special.
#1 is probably what I would have produced, but #3 is the one that I think has most impact. That probably says a lot about my artistic talent. And my artistic taste, as well, so fold that into my answer.

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee

Black and white (with the house cloned out). The third image appears to me to be a different shot from the first two.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

No. 3 for me all the way. The trees look like they are reaching out to grab the energy blazing through the sky.

I like No. 2 but not as well. Although it really brings out the detail in the trees it has a more subdued energy.

No. 1 just says its cold outside to me.

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

saxman71 wrote:

Black and white (with the house cloned out). The third image appears to me to be a different shot from the first two.

I did replace the sky in #3 as it was the only way I could get the kind of sunset that I wanted. The tree is the same in all 3 images.

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

#3 has the most impact. I like #2 but perhaps as mentioned, with the house removed.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

The black and white speaks to me. At first glance, I thought, “remove the house,” but the more I looked at the photo, the more I realized it belongs there.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Tommy, you've spoiled me with your consistently compelling compositions (sorry for the alliteration, it just popped out

), so I'm struggling here because none of them appeal to me.

How I see the choices: in all of them the sky competes for attention with the stark trees. But the visual impact of the stark trees is lessened by the busy-ness of the surroundings. I very much like the idea of this series, however!

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee

tommystrat wrote:

I did replace the sky in #3 as it was the only way I could get the kind of sunset that I wanted. The tree is the same in all 3 images.

That's interesting. Changing out the sky against a busy image like that tree would be challenging for me. Can you explain how you went about doing that?

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

saxman71 wrote:

That's interesting. Changing out the sky against a busy image like that tree would be challenging for me. Can you explain how you went about doing that?

I used Luminar 4's AI Sky Replacement feature and did it in 1 click! I used to struggle with replacing the sky, halos, chromatic aberration, etc. but this feature does a great job with very little effort!

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

Linda From Maine wrote:

Tommy, you've spoiled me with your consistently compelling compositions (sorry for the alliteration, it just popped out

), so I'm struggling here because none of them appeal to me.

How I see the choices: in all of them the sky competes for attention with the stark trees. But the visual impact of the stark trees is lessened by the busy-ness of the surroundings. I very much like the idea of this series, however!

Thanks for your candor, Linda! I see what you mean, and perhaps I can reduce the "busyness" of the surroundings, as the starkness of the trees was my primary goal. Appreciate your input!

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

I really like #3... the sky in that one really pops and makes it for me. However, I do like your B&W image as well. The focus is right on, it is sharp. I do agree with saxman71 about getting rid of the house in the B&W image, I think it would be much better without it. It looks like you did remove the house in #3 though.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

OK I'm probably put my foot in my mouth again but here goes. First you are asking me to evaluate two totally different photos. Two are in color and one is black and white. My decision is I like the B&W best. Why, it is an honest representation of the image. I don't know how much PP is involved which is a compliment.

IMHO, the first is a snapshot and the third is an attempt to rescue it.

I too would like the house to disappear.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Curmudgeon wrote:

OK I'm probably put my foot in my mouth again but here goes. First you are asking me to evaluate two totally different photos. Two are in color and one is black and white. My decision is I like the B&W best. Why, it is an honest representation of the image. I don't know how much PP is involved which is a compliment.

IMHO, the first is a snapshot and the third is an attempt to rescue it.

I too would like the house to disappear.

B/W images can be produced in different ways. Digital cameras record images in color. If you have the camera set to B/W, it still takes a color image and uses a particular conversion to make it B/W.

Since you're starting with a color image, making it B/W involves converting all the colors to pure luminance with no chromatic information. Since there are three colors you can convert them in different ways involving linear conversion or non-linear. These will result in different B/W images, similar to taking a photo with B/W film, but using color filters on your lens.

So just because ain image is B/W, that doesn't mean it's an "honest representation" of the image.

Of course, that doesn't mean you can't like the B/W image over the others.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I agree with some of the other comments. The B&W is also my preferred version but with the house removed. Unlike the colored versions it projects an interesting intense and stark image of a lonely subject on a grey winter's day. By comparison, I find the other two images must less compelling.

I didn't care for the last one because it looked to me like an over dramatized Luminar sky even before I realized it was a different sky then the other two, and before you indicated you had replaced it with Luminar. The problem with Luminar skies, in my opinion, is that to make the feature more appealing they provide intense and very over saturated looking sky images. As a result they sometimes tend to replace the original subject as an image's main focal point. That is what is happening here. The last picture is all about the sky, not the tree.