Color again
December 4th, 2006
OK, back to something serious. Well, not to say that photography is anything to be taken seriously, but some photos are more serious than others, I suppose. This is one of those photos that I think all photographers have: One that no one but the photographer seems to “get.” I love this photo. But I don’t think anyone who I’ve ever shown it to has seen what I see in it without prompting. I’m willing to say that is most likely a failing of the photographer and the photo. But I still see it. Let me give you a hint.
Much of my work has to do with the interaction of the female figure with its surrounding environment.
OK…another hint: I’m very interested in color.
Still don’t see it? That’s ok, no one does…sigh. So I guess the photo is a failure.
What I see here, and no one else notices, is the effect the nude body has on the color of the surrounding background. If you look to the right of the figure, to the right of the shadow, you will see the “true” color of the barn siding. On the left, where the sun is striking the figure and being reflected strongly you will see that the color of the siding has been changed, warmed up, by the reflected flesh color.
I find that interesting. I know it’s subtle. I know it happens all the time, but we seldom notice it, let alone pay any attention to it. Does it matter? Maybe, maybe not. To me it is just one more small way to observe that we cannot be on this planet without changing it. Even just standing there in the sun we are changing the way the sun hits the planet and interacts with it. And the figure here is impacting the things that surround it in many ways. Color is just one, but to me it’s an interesting impact. Almost as interesting as the red rock glow in the desert canyons.
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