Colour assignment 3 - Similar colours

For the primary and secondary colours, there are conceptually six pairings of adjacent colours:-

- green + yellow*

- yellow + orange*

- orange + red*

- blue + green*

- red + violet

- violet + blue

I have included one photograph from each of the colour pairings marked with an asterisk for this assignment.

Image 9: Rice fields - Island of Bali

Canon Powershoot S3is: 35mm f3.5 at 1/200th second (iso not recorded)

I took this photograph in September 2007. The late afternoon sun was just catching the colours of the rice in the small fields behind where we were staying. I chose this viewpoint where the grassy banks between the fields seem to zig-zag between the fields of rice.

Comments on colour

Simplifying the colour composition into diagramatic form, there are two principal colours.

The backlit grass is light green with quite a distinct yellow tinge. The blocks of rice are a light yellow heading into orange. The backlighting makes both colours bright with dark shades around the lower levels of the rice beds. This contrast creates a reasonably vibrant picture.

Both colours seem to have a similar strength and they balance well together. To me the colours and composition embody the the bringing together of the sun, growth and harvest in an idyllic pastoral scene.

Image 10: Leaves in autumn

Nikon 18-70mm at 70mm: Iso 800 f5.6 at 1/2000th second

This photograph was taken in UK in November 2007. I have included this photograph as I like the way that the morning sun is bringing out the rich leaf colours and their glossy surfaces. The photograph was cropped to include a diagonal swathe of leaves from top left down to bottom right.

Comments on colours

There is a fairly random pattern of yellow and orange leaves intermingled so that orange is placed against yellow and vice versa. The sunlight is maximising the saturation of the leaf colours giving a vibrancy to the picture.

There are touches of an almost lime-green on some of the leaves behind the plane of focus which adds a piquancy to the main body of yellow and orange, which I like.

(I have not prepared a diagram of the colour composition for this photograph as the colour distribution is spread fairly evenly over the frame.)

Image 11: Bali Temple offering

Nikon 18-70mm at 38mm: Iso 400 f4.5 at 1/160th second

Taken on the same holiday in Bali in September 2007, this wooden bull's head is decorated with nuts, seeds and grains, some in natural colours and others dyed. The offering was part of a month-long ceremony and it was kept in the shade inside a temple. The bull's expression is somewhat reminiscent of the logo of the French processed cheese, "Le Vache Qui Rit".

Comments on colours

This subject is a complicated mix of colours which I have attempted to show diagramatically as follows:-

A saturated pillar-box red is the dominant colour appearing on the snout, mouth and shoulders. Red also circles the eye and is dotted in the headdress. The side of the face and the ear is olive green, whereas the top of the snout is a mid-brown. Gold and orange appear in the headdress visible above and around the sides of the head. The red and gold are the brightest and most saturated colours which as a result stand out. The olive green and brown on the face are relatively muted natural colours and these seem to recede.

Whilst this is a very colourful subject, this is primarily due to the red and gold (and black and white). The maker of the bulls head has used red to draw attention to the bulls eye and its mouth the most meaningful points of the face. Gold in the headdress is a lighter reflective surface which makes the red appear richer and darker.

I do not know what is the symbolic significance of these colours in Balinese culture, but it is interesting to read in The Photographer's Eye by Michael Freeman that "(Red) is energetic, vital, earthy, strong, and warm, even hot. It can connote passion (hot-bloodedness) and can also suggest aggression and danger.".

These would seem to be exactly the characteristics portrayed by this bull.

Image 12: Cross-channel ping-pong

Nikon 18-70mm at 18mm: Iso 200 f8 1/200th second

This photograph was taken last week whilst crossing the English Channel from Caen to Portsmouth and it exemplifies the use of cold colours.

I chose this viewpoint as the table tennis table is at the intersection of the strong diagonal lines from the staircase on the right hand side and the front edge of the funnel on the left hand side.

Detail interest is provided by the handful of hardy passengers tucked into sheltered corners on the deck.

The reflections in the water on the deck provides some foreground interest but it is relatively muted.

Comments on colour

The blue and green tones of the deck are essential to the chilling atmosphere of this photograph. In black and white the scene is drab but does not send a shudder down the spine.

The table tennis table not only provides a focal point, but the blue-green colour seems to accentuate the blue of the deck and grey sea and sky.