bougainvillea

Colours of the Bahamas…Part 2

/ Sherry Galey / 15 Comments

Iconic tree in the golden hour

Sunrise
Morning rays
Junkanoo 1
Junkanoo 2
Junkanoo 3
Red hibiscus
Red door
Colourful bougainvillea

Granddaughter on the veranda

I posted Part 1 of Colours of the Bahamas here, images I made on a recent trip to the Bahamas for a family reunion, which featured blue and green tones.

Of course there are also other beautiful warm colours like gold, pink, orange and red also found throughout tropical  islands. I really appreciate those beautiful tones too. They are so vibrant and uplifting.

For this post, I thought it might be fun to share a few random facts about Harbour Island.

1. The island is known as “Briland” to its inhabitants, and it’s only 3.5 miles long by 1.5 mile wide. (Say Harbour Island fast and you’ll get it.) You can get from the bay side to the beach side in a few minutes.

2. Junkanoo is a colourful street parade that is held on New Year’s Day. The festival may date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. The slaves were given a special holiday to leave the plantations to be with their families and celebrate the holidays with African dance, music, and costumes. After emancipation, the tradition continued.

3.The staple food for islanders is a mollusc called a conch fish (pronounced ‘conk’). These rubbery, squid-like offerings are combined into a hot tomato and onion salad or battered and deep-fried as fritters or eaten in a wonderful chowder.

4. In local dialect, “sip sip” means to gossip and “purge” means to vent rage. If you are “showing sef”, you are showing off. And if you “spilligate” you’re going out on the town.

5. A local Bahamian delicacy is coconut bread, a moist bread with a delicate crumb and flavour, which is magnificent toasted and served for breakfast. Try it if you have the chance!

Sharing with Random Five Friday.

Weekly photo challenge: Colour

/ Sherry Galey / 24 Comments

bougainvilleapalette4

My grandmother had definite ideas about colour. She used to say that pink and orange “screamed” at each other. I think it stemmed from the fact that she was blessed with thick auburn tresses and had been told she could never wear pink because it would clash with her hair! And did you ever hear the one: “Blue and green should never be seen”? That happens to be one of my very favorite colour combinations.

Thank goodness ideas about colour change over time.

I have written about my colour preferences in photography before. It’s fascinating to go through your archives and pay attention to what colours and combinations you are repeatedly drawn to and how you handle colour in your photography. I highly recommend it.

I have noted that I generally steer away from riotous mixtures of primary colour. Well, not always! The image above is a multi-coloured bougainvillea hedge that we pass all the time.  Yellow, red, pink, orange and purple flowers all coexist perfectly side by side. No screaming, no clashing!  (I do think the harmonious effect is helped by the shallow depth of field though…)

I added the colour storyboard at the bottom as part of the challenge for Week #11 of an online course I’m taking with Kim Klassen. I doubt this palette would have appealed to my grandmother…How about you?

Don’t forget to check the Daily Post for more colourful entries.