RE #3
"Seems like the best photos are the ones that you’re not ready for, ya know? "
Very true. Many major awards given out where the "right place, right time" off the cuff shot wins over the studio/planned shots.
B&W removes the distractions from this photo, instead of focusing on what is obviously a boy and his father, in color, the human eye is drawn to that safety orange life jacket like a moth to a flame. In color, the eye sees the individual components and focuses on them, rather than studing the picture as a whole.