The Candle
Altering photographs so that they consist of a black and white with an accent of color is a technique that has been around since the beginning photography. Before we were able to reproduce color in photographs images would be hand tinted to give them realism. Since the advent of color prints it has become more of a novelty technique. Today it can be accomplished on the computer using selective masks.
The scene in this illustration lends itself the selective coloring. The interior of this building indicates a time long past. It was a natural choice to leave the candle in color to indicate the present imposed onto the past. I like the way the door is cropped allowing us to see only a portion of the opening.
There are a couple comments I would like to make. For some reason the candle seams to low in the composition. I can’t put my finger on just why but I feel it needs to be further away from the bottom of the frame. Speaking of edge relationships, perhaps the hanging pot on the right could have a little more distance for the side.
I would also like to see more contrast in the black and white print. The grays are a little muddy and some work with the levels and curves would give the image a little more snap.
Click on Image 
Modified 
July 7th, 2008 at 7:33 am
I’m not sure my comment is a proper one since it suggests a radical change in the composition, and it came to me while scrolling down the picture. First, I agree on giving a stronger contrast to the tonal range; second, the metal bucket, the chain where it hangs from and the door, are so strong elements, that when you come down to the candle it sort of feels as if there was no need for it. If you cut out just above the candle, you get a great composition. The candle softens the whole scene, it even makes it romantic, when my appeal is more towards the medieval look of the building. Anyway, just an opinion, not a suggestion. Jorge
July 7th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I appreciate the comments. Maybe the presentation would have been more realistic had I not lent color to the candle
The site was in Croatia at a house in the mountains where meat was being smoked as well as wine being brewed. The
home was supposedly more than three hundred years old. The
smell of smoked meat permeated everywhere.