Fog in Ireland -Color vs B.W

Photographed in Ireland whilst driving around

70-200 handheld and then cropped 25% or so - fortunately had a few pixels to play with since I used the D850 45 MP camera

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Technical Details

Is this a composite: No

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This is a really hard choice but I will go with the color version.

Carl,
Hard to choose which version, but I am leaning toward the color as in my eye I picture the greens of Ireland. Really nice atmospherics and light on display in this image.

As presented, it’s close but the color version has slightly more impact. But with this light, clouds and the shapes in the mountains, my gut instinct says this would shine more in B&W, if processed differently. You could add some more contrast to get more drama out of the clouds for one thing. I’m far from experienced with B&W, but here is rework that tries to add more drama via increased contrast.

Beautiful image, Karl. Almost an abstract and the light is absolutely gorgeous. Black and white or colour? Often a difficult choice because they are really two very different images. If I were to go B&W I’d probably go in the direction that Ed is hinting at - more contrast and drama. I’d really work dodging and burning (or what Sean Bagshaw and Tony Kuyper call cloud sculpting) in the sky and push the drama of light on the curve of the mountain a little more. But, for me, the colour version simply has more impact. In my own work, I’m always asking - “Does the colour enhance or distract from my intention for the picture?” I don’t completely know your intention but if it is about nuanced light, then the colour nails it.

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This is such a string composition you can go in several directions, with color, low-frequency detail and contrast. I love the color for the subtle blues and golds with the hint of greens. A wonderful eye to catch this fleeting view!

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Thanks again @Ed_McGuirk , @Diane_Miller , @Kerry_Gordon and @Ed_Lowe

To me a B/W option ( not that it’s necessarily better ) was worth considering given the spot light, curves and fog. The question is how much of contrast and where. Yes, that artistically personal. But seeing someone else’s perspective is definitely worth considering.

Here is my variation of this

Forgive my late and probably irrelevant comment, but I much prefer your “Irish Fog” to this one.I’m Irish, and the cropping of this photo (with the lowlands cut out), while creating a dramatic and beautiful shot, to my eye makes this feel like a much higher mountain range, eg the Alps. “Irish Fog” is instantly recognizable to me as Ireland. All that said, to others it’s probably irrelevant whether a view conjures up a familiar countryside or not, so this is an entirely personal reaction!

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