Johnson and Cook XV
More from my series taken near the corner of Johnson and Cook Streets here in Victoria. This house is on Johnson, just a few steps east of Cook.
I think the slightly pushed colour HDR treatment made from two images works very well for this place, giving it a little extra grunge to that which it has carefully accumulated over the past few years. The black and white is a more polite rendering. I like the window reflections, especially the porch window, in the colour version. And the reflection on the not-active van in black and white.
.
Canon EOS 5Dii, Nikkor-N 24/f2.8mm lens, ISO640, 1/125th and 1/500th.
.
.
burnt embers 
I like both, Ehpem – the color one is slightly surrealistic and the B&W seems very dreamy. But it is more the form and structure of the image that appeals to me. Something about the balance and angles of straight lines of the steps, windows, and door flanked by the roundness of the shrub and the truck. Hmmm, I really like this shot!
LikeLike
Hi Lynn – thanks so much, I am glad you like the composition. I was a bit concerned because I had left out the upper right corner of the house when framing the shot, and that seems a bit of a shame to me. Trying to image the place without the truck and I realise how much it is what caught my eye. It would not be nearly as interesting without it wedged in there, though the blue sign jars a bit for me and maybe needs desaturating a bit.
LikeLike
The color version gets my vote. Though it almost looks monochrome, I miss the green shrub and red conduit on the left of the house that’s missing in the B&W version. Those touches of color bring some extra interest to the house.
LikeLike
Thank you Ken, as I said to Andy, I spent a bit of time bringing up those touches of colour. It seemed an obvious candidate for black and white, being nearly monochrome. Probably I can do something better if with a bit more grit to it.
I can’t help feeling a bit glum when I see this nice old place so decrepit. It is waiting for the wrecking ball. At one time that front room must have been very nice with the angled window facing south west and a narrow dirt road out front, well removed from the front of the property.
LikeLike
(You may want to sit down for this.)
I like the color version better. I think it captures the character of the building a lot better, especially the discoloration on the steps.
LikeLike
Good morning Melinda. What did you have with your coffee? I processed this one in black and white first, but when I went back to it a few days later is was really quite dissatisfying. I am glad I went back for another try.
LikeLike
It was a rather shocking turn of events, wasn’t it? Going back for another try was a good call.
LikeLike
I think you sum up the attractiveness of the grungy colour version very well. Somehow the black and white version loses something in the translation – as you comment, it is a little ‘polite’. The colour though it is subtle (almost monochromatic) just provides additional nuances – the rusted pipework on the left corner and the green algae growing on the steps being two obvious examples.
LikeLike
Thanks Andy. Your comment about the touches of colour are gratifying as I deliberately boosted the colour on the pipe and the algae.
LikeLike