Capturing 5 Colours

Photography has become one of my passions over the last few years and I’m constantly working to improve the quality of what I can produce with a camera. This blog has been a great way to showcase my photos and I’m always seeking feedback on my work. So I was really excited to be nominated by my friend, Cheryl Howard for TravelSupermarket’s Capture the Colour PhotoBlogging competition. Our regular readers may have seen some of these before (so apologies for trotting them out again!), but they are some of my favourites and I hope new readers (and the talented judges) will enjoy them too.

Blue

We first encountered blue ice on the glaciers of New Zealand last year but nothing prepared us for what we saw in Patagonia.  Blue is usually found in the sky or water when I’m taking photos, so the contrast of the bright blue hues against the grey, rainy day we faced is my favourite aspect of this photograph. These huge icebergs captured so many different shades of blue as well. For me, blue is a happy colour – I feel an instant calm when I look at most shades of it. But it can also be overused in designs and logos. I enjoy seeing it in nature in unexpected places. I wrote more about our time in the Torres del Paine National Park where this picture was taken in this post: W is for Wet.

Green

Stavanger, Norway is full of interesting cats and brightly painted fences. We’ve lived here for almost half a year now and while I haven’t quite figured out the people, I’ve figured out the cats. They seem to be always sleepy and hungry, while being remarkably friendly for outdoor pets.  I enjoy the bright colours of the paint chosen by the locals – it rains more often than not here so those cheerful hues are needed to cut through the gloom. Of course, the owners of the house we rent just painted our house dark brown (over what was a quite lovely orange) so we’re a bit sad about that. You can see more photos of Stavanger in my photo essay: Colourful Stavanger.

Yellow

Amsterdam and street food go quite well together, so it’s a good thing there are so many markets around. This is one of my favourite cities in which to capture market life and just wander around. We didn’t try this snack on our last visit but it’s looking pretty intriguing to me right now, so I think we’ll have to seek it out next time we’re there. I have two photo essays to share if you want to check out Amsterdam in the spring.

White

We’re not mountain climbers or athletic at all, really. So climbing to the top of this smoking volcano in Pucon, Chile last year was a tremendous accomplishment for us.  I have quite a few “white” photos from the climb that are perhaps technically better than this one, but looking back at them all I prefer the ones from the top. It’s hard to put into words how it feels to stand at the top of the volcano with the intense wind and smoke enveloping you. The strong chemical smell is hard to take  but I wanted to stay up there for as long as I could to take it all in. I think the guy having his picture taken at the edge with his arms thrown out probably exemplifies the feeling the best in this shot. For more information about climbing Volcán Villarrica, check out my post.

Red

While I’m on the subject of volcanoes…

I love this shot from my favourite hike, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand, which took us across a volcanic wasteland and all the natural beauty of the earth.  I was lucky to capture this serene moment on an otherwise crowded trail: two hikers taking a break at the Emerald Lakes. If you have the opportunity to visit New Zealand’s north island, I highly recommend this hike.