Hey John !
By the time you’ll read my late answer, you should be back home. The photo we’re talking about, I processed it in B&W as well. But as I was in a color mindset this late afternoon, color was the way to go for me. You’re right when you say that “subjective thing”. When I struggling to see which one is better, I ask myself if the color adds anything to the picture (or if the color is distracting). For this one, either in mono or color, I have everything. Long shadows, the compo with the silhouettes and the motion with the kid fooling around. What the color version adds is the warm tones. Are these colors distracting to me ? I don’t think so.
That’s why I ended choosing the color one. But I must say that the mono version emphazises on patern and texture (just looking at both right now). Things I didn’t pay attention before as I focused only on the color one.
I’ll keep this mono one as I might go for a portfolio review in october and I wante to present only B&W photographs 😉
And for thi Liverpool thing, a blog might come (one year after my trip overthere…) ! 😉

Cheers John !

I’m sitting at a bar in Toronto reading my your blogpost! We return to England tonight.

Colour can be so difficult to shoot, especially when you have a black and white mindset. The guy with the red shirt and yellow wall only works in colour in my opinion. That said, in your comparison images I think the black and white works better, even though you say it’s obviously colour that wins. It’s that subjective thing again…

Anyway, my beer has been drunk and I can’t afford another so must go. By the way, Liverpool is also the city of blue, ask any Everton supporter! I don’t believe that the weather was good 😉