This week, I’m sharing my “pop of pink” with Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesdays. (If you’re yearning for a bouquet of mood-boosting colourful images, you’ll want to hop on over there right now.)
Processed with Kim Klassen’s “musiclight” texture. Font is 1942 report.
I have to admit that I am easily pleased. And one of the things that always pleases me is beautiful colour, whether in the natural world or the human-made one . But it was in Kat Sloma’s Find Your Eye course that I first understood my own preferences and relationship to colour in my images.
From the beginning I have been attracted to and repelled by certain uses of colour, but it was all unconscious until I spent some time reflecting on it in Kat’s excellent courses.
If you’re looking to refine your unique photographic style, I would highly recommend her online courses. They help you to “dive deeper into experiencing the environment around you and learn to understand what calls to you.”
I have come to realize that I am not generally one for riotous mixtures of disorganized colour in my images. I realize I am very affected by colour and too much can be jarring and over stimulating to look at.
I am most often drawn to very subtle, soft and restrained colour palettes rather than primary hues. I love monochrome or almost-monochrome images. When using more colour, I prefer analogous schemes — colours that nestle next to each other on the colour wheel (like blues and turquoises and greens) — which are often found in nature. The shifting colours of the ocean never cease to pull my camera in their direction.
The other way colour shows up in my images is as soft complementary colours — opposite colours on the wheel — like blue and orange or pink and light green. Most of the time I shoot these pairings quite unconsciously…and when I come home and look at my images in Bridge, I’ll shake my head to realize I’ve done it again!
Mark Nepo, the author of the quote above, has many wonderful books out — one of his most well known is the Book of Awakening.
If you’re a fan — or curious to know more about him — you might enjoy a wonderful interview with Mark Nepo by Jennifer Louden.
Sherrygaley.com 
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Beautiful, Sherry! Love the soft tone of pink, and the subtle texture.
I like this photo, Sherry. I was wondering how you achieved that border effect and read the comment above with the details. I’ve used the marquee tool to add a lighter or darker frame, but hadn’t thought to use a guassian blur on it. Adding this to my bag of tricks and can’t wait to try it out!
Wonderful photo & post! Beautiful photo!
I tend to like more subtle colors in photography, but I do love a good red now and again. Beautiful image!!
What a beautiful photo…I love color so much that I will take it in any context: subtle, bright, or riotous!
Such a beautiful soft image. The framing is lovely too. Great processing Sherry.
Thanks, Stacie. Enjoying the camera charm.
Thanks, Linda!
Thanks, Laurie. I only scratched the surface of my thoughts on this. Will have to develop the ideas further. You’re most welcome. Mark Nepo astonishes me.
Another Kat lover. Yay! Hope you enjoy his work.
Thanks. It’s a pretty good one to remember.
I like the seasons too, but I don’t mind a shorter rather than longer taste of winter. (We come here after New Year’s. I lived in Jamaica for two years many years ago and I really, really missed the fall especially!
Your home sounds just lovely, Carola. And you obviously have a wonderful awareness of light. Light and colour are so connected and fascinating aren’t they?
Thanks, Dotti. It’s a bit challenging keeping up two blogs, but my mind is always buzzing with ideas…
Yes, when you said you were planning to take one I felt you would love it. It’s great for introspective types and those who like to dig deep. And it really improves one’s photography!
Thanks, Marilyn. Appreciate your kind comment.
I am fascinated by the art of quilting because the best quilters are masters of colour selection. I’m sure yours were lovely. Your photos use colour so well.
Yes, I see that so much in your work and love, love, love it! As for that framing technique, it just involved a layer – yes, where I used a rectangular marquee too to draw a rectangle inside the frame of the pic and ten selected the border and used a Gaussian blur filer and used a levels adjustment to lighten it. That’s it, that’s all.
Thanks Kristeen, that is really sweet!
Helen, I think you are masterful with subtle tones — and they are far from drab in your hands. Au contraire, they are full of life.
We’re in the same club there, Viv!
Yes they certainly will. It’s just a matter of time…In the meantime, enjoy the images that make you feel warm and happy!
And I do think that people that share the same aesthetic gravitate to each other too. Thanks for commenting, Barb.
This is absolutely beautiful Sherry! So soft and gorgeous.
Well far be it from me to be an enabler, Laurie, but I do think that you would really get a lot from these classes!
Great so I come to your blog…hoping to be taken away on some exotic trip☺ and now I want to take another class after hearing your wisdom of words and lovely image.LOL! Goodness gracious…I have never taken any classess from Kat yet…sigh.
Love the quote and the pop of pink!
Lovely image and very interesting thoughts on colour, Sherry. And thanks for the book tip!
Gorgeous image, I love Kat’s courses too. Love the Mark Nepo quote – thank you for the link, I’ll check it out.
Beautiful! Love the quote too.
I really like the soft colours of your image above and that is the palette that I am also attracted to. I can’t quite identify the flower because of the texture you added, but the overall effect is very harmonious.
I like the quotation by Marc Nepo. I will look at the link you give above.
You will be getting sunny days in Florida! It snowed in the night here again, but I like the seasons – they are just part of being “easily pleased”! The spring will come when it’s good and ready and in the meantime, my snug winter boots are getting good use!
I love color. The first thing I did when we bought our home was to get rid of the beige-white walls and paint them in happy colors, colors that are welcoming and make you feel good. I like warm colors, rich earthy hues. I like the color that the sun spills out shortly before sunset – or right after sunrise, although completely different. Color inspires me.
Lovely image, very calm and soft.
This has such a soft beauty to it, really lovely. PS – I’ve been enjoying the saga of your sailing adventure at both sites.
I agree completely about Kat’s class, so thought provoking. I feel I am only scratching the surface so far. So many things churning in my head about my photography and my life.
Wonderful edit, Sherry. The pink is so inviting.
Hi Sherry, yours was the first link I clicked on. This reminds of when I used to quilt. All my quilts were some form of red and green, from the lightest pink to the darkest red. Hmmmm. Food for thought. Lovely photo.
love that you added that amazing photo to your banner (I desperately need to update my own banner!!). This is a lovely photo and what a unique ‘framing’ technique using layers or something. I don’t know how you do that but I love the result!
I used to love those riotous colours but in recent years, although I do still enjoy brilliant colours, I tend to prefer them more as a contrast pop or complementary much as you’ve expressed. More and more I’m also coming to enjoy the softer tones — this is what I’m experimenting with this year — those softer tones.
gorgeous — plain and simply beautiful — it has captured my heart..
Hugs
This is beautiful. I too like subtle colours – I’m attracted to washed out vintage tones and creams and creams and very often monotones. This is inspiring – it makes me want to create a delicate piece of work – I seem to be stuck with drab tones at the moment – I think it’s the time of year! lol
I have found that as I have grown older I prefer the more subtle hues gorgeous Sherry….
Thank you for this wonderful image on this very very very cold day in Ottawa – reminding us now that we are half way – Spring and Summer and flowers will come again …….
I think a lot of people are attracted to the softer colors especially in photographs. I think that is why the turn to neutral colors on walls in your home is best for home sellers.
Your image is lovely, I also really like the new header image.