“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.
Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they are never weakness.”
~ Brené Brown
Of yesterday’s undecided photos I finally picked this one. Marcie Christensen asked me to share why I chose this image over the other two. First, let me say that I only combine B&W and color images when I like the composition (or some element in the image) but hate the color. I don’t like many color photos anyway, but that’s another story for another time. To tell the truth, I loathed the image in color. Absolutely hated it…except for the library. I thought it was warm and inviting, but against the super dull sky and worse-than-bland landscape, it was buried. I thought I might like it in B&W. That turned it into an image that more closely resembled the cold of the Kentucky winter day, and that’s what I was looking for. I liked the B&W image save for one thing: the warmth of library had turned cold, too. I was curious if the warmth of the library in color would stand out against – but not overwhelm – a B&W landscape without being too tacky. This is an important point because it’s way too easy to make a tacky combo image. The “just because you can doesn’t mean you should” rule applies here. Combination photos rarely work, in my opinion, mine least of all. Still, I combined the two and now I had the warmth of the library in a winter setting. When I looked at the scene in real time it looked more like this anyway (I know that sounds weird, but there you have it). One thing I missed in the combo image, however, were all the other lights. They were sparkly and warm in color. They got lost in B&W. I’m not entirely sold on their addition in the combo image, in part because I wasn’t very careful about adding them, but they’re sort of sparkly again and that helps. To use a cliché, this is how I polished a turd. I wouldn’t say this image was wildly successful in its transformation, but it’s a whole lot better than where it started. I enjoy experimenting, and I always learn something from it. That part is always a success.
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