Red Barn and Clouds

I enjoy black & white as well as color photography. Usually I can make a decision whether my subject is a black and white or color subject. One way of making that type of decision is to evaluate your image by asking the question is color or tone a dominant theme of the subject. I love the way Ansel Adams captures all of those gray tones in his black & white images. A good way to know if you have the best tonality you possible can get is to look at your image and see if you have absolute black and absolute white with many grays in between.
My favorite color photographer is Jay Maisel. His use of color in his images causes the viewers to look at color in a new a interesting way. What is a successful color photograph? Can this image keep your attention without the color? If no is the answer do not hesitate, go for color.
Let's get back to the image at hand. I kind of threw out the rules on this image. I had to have the red barn but I knew the giant thunder head behind the barn would look much better in black & white. With Photoshop I was able to get my cake and eat it too. I know it does not seem fair. It is kind of like using photo steroids but as an artist you can set your own rules. I wonder how many painters use blue for their sky when it was really gray at the time they were painting. It is a brave new world for photographers. Don't be afraid! LynnFreeny.com