Snake in the Grass

I took this photo several months ago, but didn’t really think too much of it. It was cool finding a snake skin in one of the local cemeteries, but the image was not what I hoped for. Nice bokeh going back down the image into the background, but the colors were all so similar, it just seemed muddy.

For black & white week, I decided to take another stab at this image. Because I use Adobe Lightroom to process my images, I have a little more control over the contrast in an image, especially when converting it to black and white. More on this topic in a post a couple days into the future, but in this example, the software allowed me to take an image with zero contrast and make something bold well defined.

I think this image works as a B&W, and fails in full color. What do you think?

Comments

  1. IHSAN says:

    definitely like it better in BnW. Lightroom gives us so much control over the contrast and hue and tone of each ‘color’, you can actually choose what to bring out in a photo ;)
    IHSAN recently posted Dog-like Horse

  2. Klaus says:

    Yep, looks better in B&W. The color version is kinda flat and looks more like a snapshot.
    Klaus recently posted October 2010- Blog Summary &amp Income Report

  3. Rachel says:

    While I do think the B&W one is more haunting and probably does work better, the second one has an entierly different tone to it. It’s more ethereal and hopeful — even delicate. Just my personal opinion.

  4. Sophia @ CPR Training says:

    If not for the twig of grass, I’d almost not know the scale at work here. Beautiful.

    I do actually prefer the color one, myself.

  5. Alexander says:

    I agree. The black and white version looks so much better. It feels a lot sharper, in a good way.
    Alexander recently posted Trying to shoot the sun A photographers progress

  6. Alexa Stone says:

    I think this image works as a B&W, and fails in full color. What do you think?

    I like both images but the B/W image has something special, I prefer the B/W image
    Alexa Stone recently posted DenTek Comfort Fit NightGuard Review

  7. It would not matter if it was color or black and white, I know too many people who would have a heart attack just seeing this picture.

  8. I like the black and white MUCH better. Seeing that picture really made me go “Whooooah”. I don’t know, you can just see the scales more clearer and crispier.

  9. Kim @ Dematic Conveyor says:

    Very cool. But kind of freaky at the same time. I like the b&w effect because the scales definitely pop out. My son has a pet snake and would love this picture. Wonder if he’ll try and snap a shot of when his snake sheds its skin.

  10. James Lee says:

    Thanks for all the comments, everyone. As I look back at this image, I have to say I still greatly prefer the black and white version.

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