dimanche 14 novembre 2004

Abstract Color It's in the Contrasts Colour can be a subject in itself... and is not hard to find. Admittedly colour emphasis does change with the seasons, but just because we're heading for the depths of winter and much of the more striking colour is disappearing from our natural surroundings there's no reason to put the camera away. There are always colourful subjects to be found at this time of year... natural perhaps, but certainly man-made. As a subject colour can be handled in many different ways. The results can be muted soft pastels, creating either a sombre or a romantic mood... or they can be rich, vibrant, even violent, showing just how powerful colour can be. If strong colour appeals one effective way to emphasise this is by contrasting the colours... as has been done with these examples in an abstract way. Most photographers are frequently bored visually and so overlook or actually miss subjects through not looking. As a photographer this is not a very good excuse, or attitude, because you should be more aware of many, if not most of the potential subjects around you. So as this winter approaches look for the contrasts in colour... especially the strong and bold ones. Contrast in this sense differs from what the we as photographers usually visualise when that word is mentioned. In terms of black-and-white, contrast is the difference between light and dark tones... but here, with colour, contrast is the effect created when two colours meet with a bang! There are no hard and fast rules as to which colours contrast each other... or for that matter, which colours work well together... it's what pleases your eye. In general though, the more vivid the colours, the greater will be the contrast. Strong primary colours will often contrast with each other. For example, red and green. This is a combination frequently seen in nature, such as green foliage and red flowers... think of a rose. On the other hand the prime colours red, green and blue also contrast with their complementary colours cyan, magenta and yellow, respectively. Contrasts can be manipulated by varying the strengths of the colours... darkening one colour and lightening the other to shift the balance of importance. For example, a yellow contrasting with a dark blue has the effect of making the blue even darker while the yellow will look positively brilliant. The three photographs here rely on their strength of colour for their effect. Although they were taken on Kodachrome - which is still regarded as the standard by which other colour transparency films are judged for the best possible colour rendition - here, as with most colour films, I underexposed by 1/3-stop to increase the colour saturation a touch more. However, as there are now films specifically designed to produce more vibrant results such as Fujichrome Velvia and Kodak Elite Chrome Extra Colour, I now bracket some of my exposures (1/3 higher, normal, 1/3 lower) so that I can pick the best two results of three slightly different exposures of the same subject or colours when viewing them together on a light box. It is important to be aware of the powerful combination of contrasting colours and strong, interesting shapes too... and you may have to use a variety of lenses and your eye for design to crop and frame a new-found composition to achieve this. As a theme for picture making "colour" is not the most obvious choice. But for that very reason it is certainly worth trying when you are assuming that everything around you is dull and boring... because in fact it isn't! 7:55:30 PM    comment []