Thursday 26 May 2016

Colour Collaborative: May: Photograph


















It intrigues me how everyone has their own style when they take a photograph. Some bloggers' pictures are so distinctive I could tell you instantly whose they are. Wouldn't it be great if we all went to the same place and took pictures of the same things and then compared them afterwards. A subtle framing technique or a little emphasis on a detail or allowing less light into the camera. We all have our moves.

The choice of subject is personal as well. Looking back over my pictures I see a lot of green, of course, but very often stone as well. It's a combination I love. Every morning on the school run I look at the walls of the church and the castle and marvel at how they've been there for hundreds of years, throughout storms and ice and the punishing glare of the summer sun. They just get softer in appearance and more beautiful. Over the centuries they have witnessed everything; triumph and tragedy, kings and peasants, joy and bloodshed.

I'm drawn to photograph nature, but also old houses and cottages with their gardens and trees and plants trailing around them. The gentle colours of nature, with a backdrop of stone or aged brick are my favourite. The top two pictures are typical I think. Leaves of every shade, from mid green to an acid almost yellow green and a gentle dusting of white blossom. Old stone, old brick and a wooden gate. Colours so subtle I don't have names for them. And a timber framed house with a gorgeous burgundy hedge. I don't need a thousand flowers of every colour, a range of greens and browns and greys is enough. That's not to say I don't love flowers, I do. Just not a riot, more of a gentle touch.

I think my colour choices reflect my personality. I find too much colour a bit overwhelming. Fine for a while, but I don't think I could live with it. I put the bright pink house in there for contrast. I loved seeing it, loved it, but my default setting is nature's palette. My eyes would constantly be searching for somewhere soothing to rest. In my photographs I'm trying to find that place.

Tell me, what do you return to again and again in your photographs?

To visit the other Colour Collaborative blogs for more of this month's posts, just click on the links below:



What is The Colour Collaborative?

All creative bloggers make stuff, gather stuff, shape stuff, and share stuff. Mostly they work on their own, but what happens when a group of them work together? Is a creative collaboration greater than the sum of its parts? We think so and we hope you will too. We'll each be offering our own monthly take on a colour related theme, and hoping that in combination our ideas will encourage us, and perhaps you, to think about colour in new ways.

24 comments:

  1. I am with you on having a lot of green growing things in my photographs.. but also capture the colors of flowers, too. I wish I had old stone churches and castles for my backdrops.. you are so lucky. And the thatched cottages.. you're so blessed. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  2. Although I entitled my last post "Color Crazed" I'm not sure my photos are generally boldly colorful. Thanks for challenging me to think about it. With my point and click method, I try to give glimpses of life around me and am just thrilled when my photos are not too blurry. I appreciate the general soothing palette of your photos and I agree your contrast photo is outstanding! xx

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  3. I'll have the 3rd house down please; it looks very Miss Marple. Love the pink one too - was it taken on holiday? It doesn't look like the UK. I always love your photos. My camera is very basic and I just point and click so it's always a bit hit and miss. I think your idea of us all photographing the same thing is lovely - mine would be the dark, blurry one! xx

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    1. It was taken on holiday, down in Cornwall on the Lizard Peninsula. Fabulous isn't it. In fact this is just a bit of it, it's wider than in this shot. I'll see if I can find a photo of all of it for next time. CJ xx

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  4. I don't do anything technical with my camera other than use the macro setting. For me it's flowers that get me every time. I do love colour and have favourite combinations, usually involving lilac-blues, raspberry reds and green. Weathered stone is a wonderful subject in combination with soft foliage, and make for very restful images - yours are gorgeous.
    Cathy x

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  5. Yes, I think it would be nice to get together and take photos of the same thing, with our very personal styles. I always enjoy your photos very much CJ, they have a calming effect on me. xx

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  6. Hi CJ -
    That would be a great idea. I'd love to see how we all photographed the same subject (a bit like the Landscape Artist of the Year programme).
    I agree, I find a lot of bright colour overwhelming. I really admire those whose homes are a riot of pattern and colour but it would be too stimulating and distracting for me. Having said that, I think one of my favourite pictures you've shared is the one of the raspberry red house. That and the old brick wall with cow parsley.
    Sarah x

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  7. I see you managed to photograph all my houses without me knowing ;-). Nature's colours win every time for me. I often wish I could find fabrics to echo them. I love your thoughts on the old stone walls xx

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  8. I've never considered that I have a style but I do tend to veer towards natural subjects unless Martyn is taking me off to photograph steam engines. When this happens I like to set the engine in a landscape and between trains look around for other things such as the drivers or stations.

    When I take bird photos I like those where the bird is 'doing' something best. I take a lot of close ups of things too.

    Your photos are always so interesting.

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  9. It would be amazing for us all to take photographs of the same thing, I am afraid mine would be sadly lacking I have no technique at all except for pointing the camera and pressing the button. One of these days I want to go on a course to learn how to take a good photo, you certainly have a rare talent for photography.

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  10. A most enjoyable, and interesting, post with wonderful pictures.
    I think that even when colours are muted the various shades more than make up for it, as you show here.
    I don't consciously return to anything in particular in my photos but perhaps do sub-consciously. Flighty xx

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  11. I have always enjoyed your photos, CJ. You have a way of framing a shot that really helps me see it exactly as I would if I were there in person. It's always right. I do go back to the same things in my photos, as I wrote in my CC post. I stray from this sometimes, which is fun and interesting, but I always go back to basics.

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  12. I very rarely photograph anything other than my garden now, a lovely post x

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  13. This was such a lovely post to read, and to look at, on what has been a rather stressful day. Like you, most of my pictures focus on nature. When I travel I also like to take pictures of homes that are different than we have here in North America. And sheep. I must have over a thousand pictures of sheep from my travels through England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. :-)

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  14. I love old stone and brick. The textures and soft colours are so beautiful which just seem to improve with age. Thank you for the lovely photos.

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  15. Lovely images - I came visiting via Jennifer and was surprised to here see my nearby town of Painswick.

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  16. I always love your photography skills and subjects. Lovely post.

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  17. Great photos. I think my favorite one today is of the little under the shade of a mushroom shaped tree :)

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  18. Yes, I think we do all have our photographic styles. You are very good at framing a shot and perspective – the pic of the yews with church, path and small person sitting under tree is fabulous. Many (most) of my photos are of plants as I love looking at them close-up and trying to capture the form and colour in different light. There are also a couple of views I return to again and again because they change daily depending on the weather, time of year, etc. I always enjoy seeing your photographs - they're very peaceful. Sam x

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  19. I love that pink house! Nature is my focus. There is always something new and amazing to discover. A lot of people do not have the access or take the time to go out and look at the world around them. By sharing nature photos on my blog, I hope to introduce readers to something new. (Or something common, but in a new light.)

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  20. Hey CJ,
    Your photographs remind me of home. It's the colour of the stone and the style of the buildings. It would be fascinating if we could all photograph the same thing, and then look at the differences. I rather like it when people post pictures of a visit or holiday in St Ives. They always notice something that I pass by, or approach a shot differently. I am drawn to nature. I like to snap on the go, catch a moment. I'm useless at styling, food or anything indoors. Probably because I have to spend time faffing about.
    Lovely post.
    Leanne xx

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  21. I looked at my latest photos to see what I capture most. it seems to be flowers and cats. although I think the teenagers might be sneakily taking the cat photos on my camera...........

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  22. You are fortunate to be surrounded by such a charming, characterful landscape. Everything is so beautiful! I love nature but am a color girl, so that pink house with the purple door definitely jumped out at me. :)

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  23. These photos are so you, CJ - the colour, the composition, the choice of subject - and you have a really unique style. I think my favourite thing to photograph is the sea, I never tire of that. xx

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