Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Colour Relationships.
Exercise: Colours into tones in black-and-white.

For this exercise I arranged a small group of objects with very pure, contrasting colours and even lighting.  The still life was processed first in colour, then copies processed into different black-and-white versions using a black and white conversion program.

One image was produced using no filter (neutral), then using a yellow filter, red filter, blue filter and a green filter.  This produced 5 black and white images each with different tonal effects.  Use of the filters allowed certain objects to be emphasised while suppressing others.

The six images are shown below:

Original; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

This is the original photograph of a still life that includes red, yellow, green and blue.  A mid-grey card is included so that the white balance can be adjusted in the raw file.

Neutral; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

 This image has been converted to black and white without using a filter.  Each colour has the same brightness.

Yellow Filter; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

A yellow filter was used to produce this black and white image.  The result is that the tone of the yellow item is lighter as it is the same colour as the filter.  This occurs because more of the yellow light is transmitted through the yellow filter.

Red Filter; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

Here the tone of the red tomato is lighter than in the neutral image.  However as the colour is not pure red it is not very bright.  The tone of the green pepper is made the darkest by the filter as it is the complimentary colour of red.

Blue Filter; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

The tone of the blue background to the image is made lighter by the blue filter.

Green Filter; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; F18; 1/10s

The tone of the green pepper is made lighter by the use of the green filter.  The tone of the red tomato is made darker as it is the complementary colour of red.

What have I learned from this exercise?

A strongly coloured filter will allow certain colours to pass through, but block others.  Eg, for a red rose against a blue sky, a red filter will allow all of the light from the rose petals to pass through, but block most of the blue light from the sky.  If placed in front of a camera lens, the effect on the image in black and white would be a bright rose and a very dark sky.

Each filter lightens the tone of any object that has the same colour, and darkens the tone of the others.  The darkening effect is strongest on the complementary colour.

In black and white imagery, this effect gives a powerful tonal control, and allows certain objects to be emphasised in a scene while suppressing others.

The different filters can be applied to the original image to obtain the best balance of tones in the scene.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Colour Relationships.
Exercise: Colour Relationships.

This exercise was in two parts.  For the first part I produced one photograph for each combination of the primary and secondary colours, adjusting the distance, focal length or framing so the the proportions of each colour are as given in the list below:

• Red: green          1:1
• Orange: blue       1:2
• Yellow: violet        1:3

These ratios were first suggested by the German poet and playwright J W Von Goethe when he assigned the following values to the six colours: yellow 9, orange 8, red and green 6, blue 4 and violet 3.

For the second part of the exercise I produced three images which featured colour combinations that appealed to me.

The images for the first part of the exercise are given below:

Red : Green; 5057.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F13; 1/125s

The red and green parts of this image are approximately in the ratio 1 : 1.

Orange : blue; 5047.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F11; 1/180s

The orange and blue parts of this image are approximately in the ratio 1 : 2.

Yellow : violet; 5071.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F13; 1/180s

The yellow and violet parts of this image are approximately in the ratio 1 : 3.

The images for the second part of the exercise are shown below:

Blue:Violet; 5058.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F13; 1/90s

Although the blue and violet in this image are not complimentary colours the overall effect is quite pleasing as the colours are not vibrant but muted or sombre.  As the two colours lie close together on the colour wheel, they harmonise.

Blue : Violet; 5080.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F19; 1/250s

Again the blue and violet in this image are not complimentary, but here the blue is more vibrant and there is less harmony in the image.  There is a certain amount of tension or conflict in the image due to the colours present.

Red : Blue; 5067.jpg; Pentax *ist D; 18-55mm lens, F13; 1/1000s

The red and blue in this image are almost opposite on the colour wheel and therefore naturally contrast well when used together.  This is because they are at the extremes of our colour perception.  Red is a very dominant colour, and blue is one of the most recessive.  A slight sense of unease is created in the image.  The presence of the blue colour plays its part by adding to the impact of the red.

What have I learned from this exercise?

The impact of colour in an image is all about the effect colour has on the viewer, which is often determined by the relationships between the colours themselves.  Colour relationships basically fall into two categories: harmonious colours and contrasting colours.

On the colour wheel, the colours that lie opposite one another, (yellow and blue, for example) will contrast, and colours that lie near to each other (like orange and yellow or blue and purple) will harmonise.

Setting a stark contrast between colours will create tension and conflict in a picture, while composing a scene with harmonising colours will encourage a feeling of harmony.

By using colours consciously you can change how the perspective appears in an image.  Warm shades of red, yellow and orange advance in the picture frame, for example, while cool shades of blue, green and cyan recede.  Using saturated warm and cold colours together gives bold contrast in a photograph.  For example, in an image of a red maple leaf against green moss, the red would advance and the green recede, making the leaf appear to jump out of the picture.  This high visual impact is used extensively in advertising to attract attention.

In comparison with the vitality of bold, saturated colours, muted, or de-saturated shades have a more subtle and calming effect in an image.  This is because of their restricted colour range, which can be used to convey many different moods.  Whereas bright colours seize the viewer's attention by being shocking, muted colours are more relaxing, evocative and atmospheric.

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Building a library of colours.
Exercise: Primary and secondary colours.

For this exercise I looked for scenes or parts of scenes that were each dominated by a single one of the primary and secondary colours.  The primary colours are yellow, red, blue and green.  Secondary colours, such as green, violet and orange can be thought of as mixtures of the primary colours.

With each of the colours found and photographed, I varied the exposure slightly for each of photographs.  The first exposure was made as the camera's meter reading indicated, a second exposure was made half a stop darker, and a third exposure half a stop brighter.  This changed the appearance of the colours.  I selected the exposure that more closely matched the colours in the circle printed in the course book.  The three photographs of each scene are shown below:

Yellow (Primary Colour)

4981.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/11; 1/750s

4982.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/11; 1/1000s

4983.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/11; 1/500s

Image number 4982 has yellow that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been underexposed by half a stop.  This underexposure also gives a brighter, more saturated colour.

Orange (Secondary Colour)

4997.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/45s

4998.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/60s

4999.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/30s

Image number 4998 has orange that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been underexposed by half a stop.  This underexposure also gives a brighter, more saturated colour.

Red (Primary Colour)

5014.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/90s

5015.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/125s

5016.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/60s

Image number 5014 has red that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been exposed using the settings recommended by the camera.

Purple (Secondary Colour)

5023.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/125s

5024.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/180s

5025.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/90s

Image number 5023 has purple that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been exposed using the settings recommended by the camera.


Blue (Primary Colour)

5041.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/250s

5042.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/350s

5043.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/5.6; 1/180s

Image number 5041 has blue that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been exposed using the settings recommended by the camera.

Green (Secondary Colour)

5029.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/45s

5030.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/60s

5031.jpg; Pentax *istD; 18-55mm lens with polarizing filter; F/6.7; 1/30s

Image number 5030 has green that is closest to that in the course book.  This photograph had been underexposed by half a stop.  This underexposure also gives a brighter, more saturated colour.

What have I learned from this exercise?

Finding pure colours in the natural world is very difficult.  Secondary colours can be thought of as mixtures of the primary colours.  Green is a colour that appears in extremely varied tones.  Orange is a mixture of red and yellow, and has some of the fiery, intense qualities of red as well as some of the brightness of yellow.  Violet is between red and blue, a rich, deep and subtle colour.

The three main characteristics of colour are hue, tone and intensity.  Hue is the actual colour wavelength, such as red, green or blue.  Tone refers to the gradation of the light and shade of a colour; tone helps to give the subject form.  Intensity is the saturation of the colour, or how pure it is.

Colour has an emotional as well as a visual impact on the viewer.  By using colours consciously you can change how the perspective appears in an image.  Warm shades of red, yellow and orange advance in the picture frame, for example, while cool shades of blue, green and cyan recede. 

Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: What makes a colour
Exercise: Control the strength of a colour

For this exercise I chose a brightly coloured shirt and photographed it outside.  The photographs were taken in bright morning sunlight.  A polarizing filter would have helped to increase the colour saturation.

The first photograph, (7558) was taken using the settings suggested by the camera.  Two photographs were taken either side of this setting, changing the exposure by one F-stop each time.  The sequence of exposures was as follows:

1/125 sec at f10, f11, f13, f14, f16.

The images produced are shown below:

7560; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; 1/125s; F10

 

7559; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; 1/125s; F11

7558; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; 1/125s; F13

7561; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; 1/125s; F14

7562; Nikon D300; 18-105mm lens; 1/125s; F16

What have I learned from this exercise?

The photograph taken using the settings recommended by the camera gives a reasonable rendition of the colour of the shirt.  Using a polarizing filter would help to eliminate some of the reflection of the sun from the cloth.  This would very likely have produced a more saturated colour in the photograph.

Increasing the amount of light entering the camera, by reducing the F-number has resulted in a certain "bleaching out" or the colours in the photograph being less saturated.  Conversely, reducing the amount of light entering the camera by increasing the F-number has resulted in the colours in the photograph appearing to be richer and stronger or more saturated.

Colour can define form, set a mood and evoke emotion.  Colour in the landscape can tell us the time of year and the time of day.  It has the ability to make us feel cold, warm, happy or sad.  Yellows and oranges evoke feelings of warmth and well-being, blues chill and reds blaze.  Colours can pick-up (or bring-down) the mood of a photograph.