What is Colour? The hues, shades, and tones around us. They are not simply more than the visible spectrum of light from waves of electromagnetic radiation. Yet, they are so much more. Science may give us an answer, but colours are still an unexplained mystery to our human eyes. Imagine having to describe colour to a blind man.Try as we might, no one can truly describe colours; our language and mind is too limited to interpret the stimulating phenomena of visible light. Regardless, that is exactly what I wanted to achieve in my photography, to illustrate what the colour really was, to let the audience feel the colour as I felt it, to harness the incredible power that something as simple as a colour has.
As mundane as it might be, exploring colour in my photography was an exciting path for me due to the amount of focus I have put towards black and white photography this year. It was refreshing to not only use colour, but to use it as the focus and overarching theme of the series. As I approached this assignment I found myself gravitated to photographing green. Maybe it was because of the lack of green I have had, but also because of a deep, personal connection to green. Through my early memories of childhood until now, the colour green has always been a prominent shade in my life. From the colour of my mother’s eye to the dark green of grass in the summer, I associate green with the most joyful and tranquil aspects of my life. With my own connection to the colour as inspiration, I think I was able to make the series something that spoke to me and may speak to others.
The most prominent element in my series is definitely the use of colour. However I also used similar, simple compositions and close up shots. All of my subjects are portraying small details, from the twist of the grass or the texture of the iris. I felt that using small details and macro like shots, reflected how I saw green as a colour from small memories and particular moments in time. Another thing I attempted with all the photos was to fill the frame with the colour/subject that was being portrayed.
As I took on this series with the goal to show the viewer how I personally saw the colour green, I think I was successful with the final results. I have also learned how powerful the use of colour can be in photography when used in the right way. Through the year, I used black and white a lot to simplify my photos, and show them as transparent, clean compositions. However, you can still approach photography in this way without sacrificing colour and saturation. The importance of colour as an element of design is something that I will take away from this series and also using personal connections as an artist. Because the stimulating phenomena of visible light is so much more; it is a mood, an atmosphere, and a story.
As mundane as it might be, exploring colour in my photography was an exciting path for me due to the amount of focus I have put towards black and white photography this year. It was refreshing to not only use colour, but to use it as the focus and overarching theme of the series. As I approached this assignment I found myself gravitated to photographing green. Maybe it was because of the lack of green I have had, but also because of a deep, personal connection to green. Through my early memories of childhood until now, the colour green has always been a prominent shade in my life. From the colour of my mother’s eye to the dark green of grass in the summer, I associate green with the most joyful and tranquil aspects of my life. With my own connection to the colour as inspiration, I think I was able to make the series something that spoke to me and may speak to others.
The most prominent element in my series is definitely the use of colour. However I also used similar, simple compositions and close up shots. All of my subjects are portraying small details, from the twist of the grass or the texture of the iris. I felt that using small details and macro like shots, reflected how I saw green as a colour from small memories and particular moments in time. Another thing I attempted with all the photos was to fill the frame with the colour/subject that was being portrayed.
As I took on this series with the goal to show the viewer how I personally saw the colour green, I think I was successful with the final results. I have also learned how powerful the use of colour can be in photography when used in the right way. Through the year, I used black and white a lot to simplify my photos, and show them as transparent, clean compositions. However, you can still approach photography in this way without sacrificing colour and saturation. The importance of colour as an element of design is something that I will take away from this series and also using personal connections as an artist. Because the stimulating phenomena of visible light is so much more; it is a mood, an atmosphere, and a story.