Your eyes, they turn me

Last weekend, my friend Natasha surprised me with a visit. While she was here, we went to the local arboretum to hang out a bit, and I managed to take a few pictures of her. In particular, I was quite happy with the photo below (along with its black and white version):

From a purely visual perspective, there’s a lot to like about this shot. The color of Natasha’s eyes, hair, lips, and skin are really set apart from the green of the surrounding wood. Her face is framed nicely by the wood and her hair, and your eyes are drawn immediately to hers, which look particularly beautiful here. Her expression, combined with the diffuse light and cool colors gives the shot a very ethereal quality.

The black and white version has a completely different feel. The pink color from her headband and shirt are neutralized, which reduces some of the visual noise in the photo. The wisps of hair on either side of her face stand out a lot more too, acting as boundaries that keep your eyes focused on her eyes and mouth, which really stand out against her freckled skin. Now, instead of having an ethereal quality, the photo shows Natasha as crestfallen and resigned. I love it.

Just so you all know, Natasha is a rather jocund young lady. After having her look so sad, I told her a dirty joke to bring out her more typical ear-to-ear smile:

Either will do, I suppose.