Cades Cove Scenic - Color or B&W

Please give me your opinion on whether you like this better in color or B&W. It was an overcast day at Cades Cove in Smokies National Park with sporadic rain throughout the day.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Any and all.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Any and all

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Nikon D810 w/ Tamron 24-70 @ 30mm, 1/80 @ f/16, 400 ISO, Tripod
RAW Conversion in Capture One Pro 20, processed in CS6 with TK’s Luminosity Masks, B&W processes in Silver Efex Pro.

Hi Bill,

Thought for a second this was one if Ian Wolfenden’s images from the English countryside…

I think I’m pretty much favoring the color version. The greens combined with the distant fall color make for a good combo. the sky is a bit neutral in both - you are fortunate to have some contrast and definition in the clouds.

The composition is solid; the tree has good space around it and the eye naturally wants to explore the distant landscape.

The b&w version I think doesn’t have enough tonal range; the forest in the distant is a bit more lost.

So, the color version for me. The only thing I think you could do there would be to try and boost the contrast/definition in the clouds.

Lon

1 Like

The composition is good, as Lon mentioned. I agree, the tonal range is limited. My problem with the color version is that there is so much sky without color it draws the eye there and the colored part of the photo is lost. That color/non color issue obviously isn’t present in the black and white and for that reason I prefer it. I suggest increasing the darks with a levels adjustment in PS (or the equivalent).

1 Like

Thanks @Lon_Overacker and @Tony_Siciliano for your comments and suggestions. I agree with the lack of tonal contrast, so I went back increased that somewhat. Hope this helps.