First, the results and thank you for voting. Two thirds of you preferred my colour image so I think I have a clear steer on that. No vote today but again two versions of the same image that I think convey very different moods. I rather like this if only for the strong eye contact. Although the red is a very powerful influence on the image I feel the monochrome version is overall stronger. To me the eyes have a more plaintive and penetrating quality.
I was grateful for the feedback on the last post (is that a bugle I hear?) and I will respond individually to the comments. The reassurance offered is gratifying but it is all relative and it depends on to what standard you wish to aspire. I genuinely feel that I have another step up in me but I can’t see how to unlock it. I do agree with Steve Gingold that revisiting places pays dividends. I would shoot Antarctica very differently if I went again. I will go back to Cambodia I hope and have another go at Angkor Wat. I would love to tackle Venice with a fresh eye. I also believe that I get frustrated and shoot for the sake of shooting occasionally. I am better at passing up the easy or generic shot but I guess I am still a serial recidivist at heart.
Next week will be a forced break as I am heading off to London for a shortish business trip. Its a different way of spending my retirement 🙂 Then I have a business trip to Singapore coming up (did I mention I was retired?) and then Mrs. Ha is whisking me off on the wings of paradise (well, Emirates actually) for a holiday with friends in Portugal. Life is so busy I can hardly find the time to take photos.
Tomorrow I start a long stint all wired up as the cardiologist wants to see what my heart does over a 24 hour period. I guess there is a good reason for it but it is jolly inconvenient. I need to do it before I go to London or I shall never get round to it and I don’t think walking through the airport with wires all over me and a clicking box strapped to my chest is likely to get me further than the nearest anti-terrorist cell. I have never been a huge advocate of water-boarding as a treatment for heart problems. I don’t think an orange jump suit will suit me either. Must clash with my hair. So tonight I shall seek out dear old Cilla Black on Spotify and reassure myself with repeat plays of “Anyone who had a heart”. My dear old late mum bought the 45rpm when it first came out. But then she also bought things like The Bachelors (I believe), Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (Silence is Golden) and Millie (My Boy Lollipop). Which probably explains my upbringing. In the Red corner we have Mrs. Hardacre and Engelbert Himperdunk and in the Blue corner, Mr. Hardacre with his Chopin & Liszt. What was a boy to do? Turn to sex and drugs and rock’n’roll? Looking back it would have been the ideal solution but I think I opted for heading out to the golf course every non-school day instead. And that is probably where it all went wrong.
Fore!
Wow really outstanding pics. so simple but tell so much.
I think out of all that I like best ENGELBERT HIMPERDUNK !!!! 😀 Wotta guy !!! Do you intend to assuage our anxieties re your 24 hours strapped to torture machines (afterwards, I mean) ?
And I entirely forgot to say that the reason you think the eyes are more piercing or whatever is the MUCH STRONGER CONTRAST in the B&W !!!
MR, if I knew what assuaged meant I might. Did you know I am locked out of your blog. I keep being told it’s private and I’m not welcome.
When did you last try ? – because it isn’t shut down now, I promise.
Yes I can get in now. Thanks M.R.
I think you’re correct about the monochrome, the red background just sucks your attention from the story of the photo.
Thanks a bunch! I’ve now got ‘My Boy Lollipop’ ringing in my head……i know that it shall be there all day. Well at least I can hum it to myself as I do last night’s dishes and a spot of light dusting 😀
Definitely the B&W today. The red background, although jolly, is distracting. The eyes have it all. Excellent photograph.
Good Luck with the Ticker Test – My goodness you are going to be busy. 2 trips back to Europe, a stint in Singapore. Great post, Andrew. Thank you.
Yes, in this instance I prefer the black and white! Such beautiful dark eyes!!
Good luck with your tests and your travels, sounds an interesting time ahead!
Thanks Barbara. I’m all wired up now. It’s been a long day.
OMG, the Tremeloes, that’s dating you… 🙂
AV
Indeed it does. I feel sad for people who missed the 60s.
I love colours and it looks great in colours, but the strong version is the black and white. I agree the lovely red is distracting.
It seems everybody agrees. Red is too strong.
The two pictures form a study. Hard to believe in how many ways they are different both in detail and holistically. Good look with being tested for you good heartedness and enjoy those destinations. (I can see where the air miles come from now.)
Thank you Simon. They found a heart. It is still beating. Only another 16 hours to go and I can be disconnected.
I’ve never been a big fan of B&W but I must agree that this B&W photo is stunning. This is now going to force me to reconsider my position on colour only 🙂
Antarctica?!!! *sigh* Dream destination.
Joanne, Antarctica was our retirement trip. My wife loved it. I did too of course but she had better sea legs. The best place was South Georgia before we even got to Antarctica. It is well worth doing if you can. There are some posts about the trip if you go back to around late December 2012, Jan 2013.
Don’t aim to please US, Andrew–please yourself first, and the world will take notice. You have the artist’s eye…we have varying opinions and are fickle. I am reminded of a quote by Henry Ford: “If I asked the people what THEY wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.'”
Please yourself first, man. Your work is totally excellent, immediately compelling!
Thank you very much. I am perhaps the hardest person to please but maybe one day I’ll take a photo I’m satisfied with.
The eyes have it…Black and White takes it for me too, Andrew. The color is quite nice as well and I guess it may depend on what you were trying to convey with the image. I think there is greater intensity perceived in the monochrome and more “prettiness” to the color.
I don’t do ‘pretty’, Steve. Except Lulu and Mrs. Ha of course.
I neglected to wish you luck with the monitoring, Andrew. I think you should challenge the boarding folks…there might be an interesting tale to tell. 🙂 Of course I don’t really think you should and your description of the imagined incident is a good laugh. Another distant memory…Cilla Black. 🙂
Never mess with airport staff, Steve. Of course you could offer Murph as a sniffer dog 🙂
I feel like they’ve looked into my soul in the B &W. Very moving image. I hope they are safe and well.
Also hope your telemetry result is normal.
I think I can get cable news on the monitor, Caroline 😉. I did like the B&W too. More emotional engagement.
Almost can’t believe they are the same picture, and the B&W is a million times more dramatic- I love it!
Agreed. I think this is a good example of knowing instantly that it will work in B&W.
With this one the Black and white is the better image. I find the red background far too distracting in the colour image and I end up looking at the wall instead of the subjects. In the black and white image the subject is front and centre and the background stays where it is.
Both are powerful, Andrew. But in the black and white photograph, the baby’s eyes have a plaintive, waiting-to-see-and-understand quality that is touching and profound.
Thank you Marylin. The eyes have it!
Good luck with your heart test – I’m sure everything will be alright 😉
Regarding your time “problem”: Rentner haben nie Zeit!!!!!!! =D
the monochrome version is clearly my favourite. The red colour is so distracting that it overwhelmes the image IMHO. Well done for the B/W conversion!
I am hoping the ticker will be ok Sandra. It is still ticking this morning anyway.
It was not fun when my ticker was sort of out of control two years ago, so I really hope everything will be fine with yours 😉
The images could, perhaps should, be considered as totally different pictures. The monochrome is, as you say, all about the eyes, there is both challenge and pleading in them, so they rate high emotionally. In the colour one, the red background gives the skin a very pleasing softness of tone. The two children become instantly more vulnerable and more physical, with rate lower on the character scales, but are much more tactile and inviting. Both are very interesting and give great pleasure. Good luck with the tests and enjoy the travels free of security problems.
Thanks Hilary. Its good to have a positive slant on the colour version. It is indeed softer but the B&W engages more, I feel.
Great pic. I prefer black n white, even if it isn´t a vote.