Tuesday Photo Challenge – Color Contrast

Welcome to episode 29 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge! Seeing all the great entries to last week’s theme of Nature’s Beauty gave me the idea to take a look at what makes nature photography stand out, particularly color photography: Color Contrast.

A lot of what makes for a good photograph, especially when Nature is the subject, is derived from the work of Ansel Adams. In his writings about photography, Adams talks about the zone system as a means for correlating what the photographer visualizes and the final print product. A key aspect is the amount of contrast that exists between parts of the image. While the system was developed for black and white photography, its principles can be applied to color photography.

In color photography, we have the additional luxury of using color to create additional contrast between the various components of the image. This week’s challenge is to use color contrast in your photos to its best advantage. These can be complementary colors, or subtle tonal gradations; I’ll leave the choices to you…

20150619-iceland_57a1922 — *Reaching for the Sky*

This image is from a recent trip to the Iceland where I had the opportunity explore the geothermal area in Hverir; this area has steam vents, hot water welling up from the ground and generally a great look to it. In this shot I wanted to use the coloring of the ground and contrast it against the blue sky; additional the blue of the sky is reflected in the hot water run-off to create additional interest.

For those who’d like to participate in this weekly challenge, the rules are the following:

Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

I’m counting on all of you to come up with some really cool choices; keep in mind that color is everywhere and not just in Nature! Have fun and start sharing!

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D MkIII using an EF24-105mm f/4L lens. Exposure settings were at 1/400 second with f/11 and 200 ISO.

Author: jansenphoto

A Fresh Perspective Photography is more than just a vehicle for capturing the world around me; it provides me with a palette and a set of brushes, with which I paint not only what I see, but also look to express the emotions that are evoked by the scene in front of me in that moment. Growing up in the Netherlands exposed me to a wide cross-section of visual arts that laid the foundation of my photographic view of all that surrounds me. Early influences were the Dutch Masters of the 17th century, to whom I was introduced by my grandfather during museum explorations; favorites among them are the scenes of quotidian life depicted by Jan Steen and Frans Hals and the vivid landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael. My classical high school education was supplemented by the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, where I spent many a lunch hour exploring its great collection. Here I was introduced to surrealism with a particular love for the approach taken by Salvador Dali; Dali also rekindled my appreciation for the work of Hieronymus Bosch, who often showed the folly of us mortals. Universal Connections My approach to any photographic subject is to look for understanding first; in this I look to establish either a connection between the viewer and the subject or capture the connection of the subject with its surroundings. The captured image then aims to portray this connection from a perspective that is part of my personal interpretation. This interpretation is often a form of externalized introspection, which may alternately display the connection of isolated beings and items with their environment or highlight the whimsy of the profound world, in which we find ourselves. The universe is full of connections, many of which are waiting to be discovered; part of my journey as a photographer is to document these connections. Any assignment, be it an event, a product shoot or a portrait session is always approached through communication with the client; this is where the first connection is established. Ideas are exchanged and a collaborative plan of action forms, ultimately resulting in a set of images that aim to exceed the expectations of each client. And, lest we forget, it is important to have fun while practicing the serious business of photography! View all posts by jansenphoto

35 thoughts on “Tuesday Photo Challenge – Color Contrast”

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Author: jansenphoto

35 thoughts on “Tuesday Photo Challenge – Color Contrast”

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