Tuesday
Mar202012
Indecision on the River Thames
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 | Jim Nix 
This is the classic view of Big Ben, shot from across the River Thames in London. I was there firing brackets left and right, and as a result have several hundred shots from here, all slightly different. As you can see there was some nice drama in the sky that night, but that led me to a point of indecision: do I process this HDR in color or does it look better in black and white?
I decided to offer up both and get YOUR feedback. What do you think?
I like how the orange color just pops, as well as the streetlight on the bridge, in the color version. But in the monochrome the details of the Parliament buildings are richer, and the shadows of the buildings in the river seem to stand out better...hmmm...so hard to decide.
Reader Comments (14)
Nice shot Jim. I think you hit it on the head - details in the parliament building vs the color. I'd go with the color as I think the light on the bridge gets a little lost in the B&W
They are both gorgeous but that color one is the bomb! Yeah, I said it...a phrase that's outdated. That color one inspires me so! Heading to London myself, a little later this season, and hoping to capture something as beautiful as this. Not sure this can be beat, however. Outstanding!
Color...without a doubt! Nice work.
I like both but I think, just to be different, I would go with the mono version and replace the sky with something less contrasty from one of the original exposures. The super-high contrast with bright highlights in the sky distracts me from the great detail in the building.
By the way, do I have to give you the lecture about the fact that Big Ben isn't visible in this shot? You can see the tower that contains Big Ben but not the bell itself :-)
Gotta go color here Jim, this is exceptional. I love the glow that the whole image has!
That mono shot is just to cool for school man. Love the dark darks and the awesome highlights.
Definitely the color version, Jim. The sky in the b&w version looks more like smoke than clouds and makes the image look more like it was taken in the blitz.
While the B&W is very dramatic the color one wins it for me hands down. The color of the sky and the reflection in the water are beautiful and the glowing of the building is stunning. Great shot.
I'm going with the color version. The warm orange glow won my vote. Nice work.
Both are great Jim. I will go with the color version. Love the reflections! Great work!
Len, Debbi, Mike, Dave W (I know, I know), Dave D, Aaron, Mark, Edith, Steven and Rich - thank you all so much, I really appreciate it!
Sorry for late comment, Jim but the b&w wins hands down! The surreal contrasts and drama far outweigh the color. . .to me anyway.
Colour works best for Jim.
This is a classic composition and one I have many of with varying skies. Nice Job.
Mark and Marc thanks for the visits and comments today my friends!