WHAT-IFFING: Unnatural Colors

In July, I was thinking about complementary colors and began playing around with a picture I have of a green palm frond I photographed in Florida.

Off the top of my head, I don't recall how I turned it into this -- I would have to bring up that file and look at all the layers and see what the sequence was, and since I'm having computer problems at the moment, that's not in the cards.

Even though these are ridiculous colors for a palm frond, I really liked the vibrancy, the combo of purple and yellow, and the overall simplicity of the picture.

It looked good as a full-frame horizontal image, and when I squarified it, it looked good that way, too.

So here they are. Two formats and an example of what just playing around can do for you.

All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you for your understanding and kindness.

A little fall color

On one side of our yard we have a large stack of logs that look particularly good after a rain. Colorful pine needles tend to collect on them, too. Add to all that the fact that they are about chest-high and I'm a happy photographer! No major bending or stooping.

Here are three that I took recently; the first one was taken this morning. And for that photo I offer this explanation:

Photographed early this morning under overcast skies, so the bluish nature of the light accentuated the purple color. I also underexposed a bit to keep the color rather rich. And I'd like to thank Mother Nature as well as Golden brand's "Dioxazine Purple" acrylic paint for their assistance.

Yes, I painted the first leaf. But look at the third picture -- I didn't paint that one, and yet . . . PURPLE!

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Same shot, different color

This began as a photomontage incorporating a variety of pictures of peeling paint and some paint splattered on concrete, to which I added little circles and other elements. So the "bones" of both photos are the same.

What makes them different is the color of the final layer of texture. One texture was grey and the other purple.

Each color brings out certain things in the background elements and I ended up liking them both.

Two-faced, double-sided Gemini that I am, I'm drawn both to ultra-subdued images as well as brightly colored ones. So the day I created these was a happy little day for me. Or was it . . .

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

It's a good day to . . .

. . . be polite. In Charleston, South Carolina, they're not so crass as to say "KEEP OUT" or "NO TRESPASSING." No, no. It's "Beyond this point, by invitation only." In script. In gold. On purple.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

ROYGBIV: VIOLET!

The last color in the spectrum is called violet, but it sure seems to encompass a variety of colors including purple. I mean, when does "violet" become "purple?"

I think of violet as being very light and purple as being quite dark. But then, frankly, I don't really care. Let others do the testing and I'll just do the looking.

So. Looking through my photos, here are three that I consider violet/purple. Look at the bluish tones in the hydrangea flowers and compare that with the reddish tones of the building in the third photo. The final photo seems to be somewhere in between.

That's it for now with the ROYGBIV extravaganza. It came in handy while I was gone, something I pre-programmed to fill the space, and something I hope you found interesting.

And what did I learn? To pay more attention to colors, to variations of color, and to not really pay attention to their names, but rather how they work together, don't work together, and how they can play very nicely with one another if you're careful.

Roygbivally yours,

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Purple Paradise"

PURPLE PARADISE
Purple is the color of creativity and eccentricity, but darned if I can think of anything interesting to say about it. It's allegedly the favorite color of adolescent girls, and I have nothing to say about that, either. The L.A. Lakers uniform is purple, but, alas, they're probably not going to do well this season. What I will say is this:

Roses are red,
Violets are purple, damn it, not blue!

©Carol Leigh

A soft spring

This is one of the few flowers the deer don't eat, thus giving me a chance to do some photography. I used a 100mm macro lens, a 50mm lens, and some extension tubes to move in close. I also purposely overexposed by 1.3 to 2 stops to make things look lighter and brighter. A very wide aperture (f/1.7 to f/2.8) created shallow depth of field, making everything look soft.  ©Carol Leigh, who wishes all it took was a little overexposure to make her look lighter and brighter!

P.S. An accompanying haiku:

soft in spring's new light

the flowers arrive (again)

reaching toward the sun