The water textures are the best part about the black and white version. I am with Bland and can't wait to see the final edit please post when you are ready :)

I have to agree with Pierre about the artifacts around the sails, it is very distracting. If you shot this in RAW, I would reset the WB based on the side of the boat, or sails which should warm the image up a bit. Also, boosting the mid-tone contrast will remove the haze over the background and add some clarity. Add a little saturation, and contrast, and you should have a good looking image. With that said, it is tough to tell with the sky looks like, you may want to shift that color to a nice sky blue. As far as the crop, I am of the belief the sky needs to be cropped more so the boats are on the top third line.

To me this looks a little better. Sorry I kind of just messed with it myself.

I like your shot and I think the key to your shot is your parents will be wanting to see a picture of the bay with some boats in it, and not some boats sitting in a bay. If I was cropping it I'd leave the width be and crop just enough of the sky out where there's more water than sky but not as drastic as your first picture.

I like the B&W more because the waves stand out more than the boats. Looking forward to seeing your final edit.

I like the color version better I think. I am a real fan of black and white work though. One rule of thumb to keep in mind when deciding if a shot looks better or even decent in black and white is to look at the histogram and see if you have captured the full spectrum of colors well. For example, grafitti often contains a lot of color so its a naturally beautiful subject in B&W. Anything with a lot of contrast will obviously look excellent in black and white too like dark areas with lighter areas imediately around it. Like wooden pillars with wet and dry areas on it look great with water surrounding it. Then add a nice dramatic sky and away you go. Storm clouds in white and blue sky coming out dark black in B&W prints always draw a lot of attention from a viewer.

Your B&W shows software HDR-like artefact in the sky around the sails that I find disturbing and would need to be smoothen. Your venturing in post processing appears to be at its beginning and you surely will refine your art and taste as you gain experience.

I often find that the output of software effects is just a starting point, more material to work with and is best blended and mixed with other technique.

I recommend that you look at the work of others and try to find for yourself what you think works and doesn’t. There is also a lot of trainning material on the net.

I could tell you that I find your shot not to be that great or interesting, not sharp enough or too grainee for my taste, that I like this or that better but at the end, it is what you see in it that really count.

Rx4Photo said:
I agree with the color rendition but Is the lavender hue intentional or was that a coincidental phenomenon with the sunlight? IMO your lower crop line can be a bit higher (crop off that tiny water ripple on the lowest left corner of the frame) and add a little more sky (just my opinion). A few clouds would make things more exciting but I guess we don't always get everything when the moment is right.

its tough to get clouds with the angle I'm shooting.

The blue lavender tone is a post enhancement that I might have pushed too far.

here is the original that I didn't think had much pop

I agree with the color rendition but Is the lavender hue intentional or was that a coincidental phenomenon with the sunlight? IMO your lower crop line can be a bit higher (crop off that tiny water ripple on the lowest left corner of the frame) and add a little more sky (just my opinion). A few clouds would make things more exciting but I guess we don't always get everything when the moment is right.

Please make that a bit smaller, Niko would not be pleased about that.

I like it with less sky and more water, the water is more interesting, I like the way the ripples sort of point towards that blue boat.

thanks for the input everyone

here is a cropped version I thinks work a little better

Yes, the B&W version has a lot of noise, especially in the sky. It can look charming, however, when done right. I would also say trim the bottom, especially so the ripples are gone, so that the boats can dominate the image. The ripple draws my eyes. It's not bad, but I feel that the boats and the waves are waging war for my eyes.

The B&W version is way too noisy. Colour + 1

B/W v color is is not an issue, it would depend on the room, in which it is being hung

As other say look at cropping, may be cut the sea AND the sky, so it is long and thin

The best thing about the rule of thirds is that once you learn it then you can start breaking it. If this is the view your parents see out of their window or off the back porch, then, I say go with it. If you want a more dramatic look then lower your point of view. (lay down or use a tripod) keep in mind the rule of thirds and have a main subject. To answer your question, i'm a big fan of b&w, but I would go with the color on this one. Hope this was a little helpful.

I like the colour one better.. the standing red kid/guy on the blue boat makes a point of interest.. but other than that I agree with Gareth.. you need to crop it more .. may be a more landscape shot removing most of the sky as well as part of the water( the waves have some interest and story to it .... )

if i was being perfectly honest I would say neither. but the b&w is better.

I have no idea what this photo is of. is it about sky? is it about the water? is it about boats?

how big are you going to print? how many pixels do you have to play with? i would probably take 2cm off the bottom, and 1cm off the left. even better, re-shoot and compose better.

you need to learn about the rule of thirds if you want this to look better. it looks as though you have a nice subject and camera, but need a bit more compositional skill.

this probably sounds really hard and offensive to you, but others will agree. i hope you find this critism constuctive and not just annoying and out of line.

Niko...not sure if this type of post violates protocol....if so delete away...

Pretty simple question....does B&W or color work better for this shot.

This is a bay behind my parents house and will be a gift to them.