April’s Photography Theme Image Round-up

In April, we were all invited to head outdoors to find and photograph our favourite colours. Thank you to everyone in the community that took part and kindly shared their images on social media. The Photographic Connections community members were busy too, sharing their images in the members Facebook group. Please find a selection of the members challenge images below. I hope you’ll find much inspiration from them.

Favourite Colours

It was of real interest to discover that the vast majority of those who participated in the challenge had blue as their favourite colour. Blue is one of the most common colours on earth, found in both the sky and water. This makes it one of the most common colours seen in photography too.

During the monthly webinar, we explored each of the main colours and what they represent. It was fascinating to learn that people who are creative or artistic tend to be drawn to blue over any other colour, as it helps them to be more creative. Many artists and writers will retreat to water when pursuing a project or writing a book. Blue also represents spoken words and truth, which relates nicely with creative expression. For a group of creative photographers, it was therefore interesting to see that so many related to the colour blue.

Blue by Tricia Wood

A beautiful abstract depiction of the colour blue, created as a wave was crashing.

Blue by Brian Nicholson

Image created at Glencorse Reservoir, well into the blue hour. This photograph was made while listening to the Photographic Connections Podcast episode with Charlotte Bellamy. Brain says “It felt as if listening to the discussion took me to a zone deep into photography ...this is the final image”.

Blue by Rebecca Mccartney

Beautiful tones of blue captured on a cold and crisp morning as Belfast hides under the blanket of fog.

Blue by Paul Fields

"Blue Hour At Ravens Roost" A beautiful lone tree silhouetted against the sky.

Blue by Tricia Wood

“I was attracted to the variety of blues, the reflections in the water and the strong geometric shapes of the fishing boat hulls”.

Blue by Jonathan Hawkins

A tired hyacinth lying on the ground whilst still retaining its lovely blend of colours!

Emotionally blue can represent peace, calm and tranquility but equally loss, isolation and depression. As well as sharing their images, many wrote inspiring and thought provoking words alongside them. It was brilliant to see members connect the emotion of blue with their imagery.

Blue by Sue Rafferty

“My beautiful Forget-me-nots, not just the colour of these humble little flowers but of course the emotion that goes along with their appearance in spring. We may carry the sense of loss but the reminder comes with these that loved ones remain in our hearts forever”.

Purple was a colour that came up quite a bit as people’s favourite too, although much more difficult to find and photograph. We had a few discussions about this within the group, to help the purple loving members come up with some ideas. Below are some of the images that members were able to create.

Purple by Wanda-Lynn Searles

Beautiful purple spring flowers.

Blue and Lilac by Wendy McCallum

Eilean Donan Castle, Kyle of Lochalsh.

With many members being nature lovers, it was not surprising that the colour green was explored by some too. Green can help us to feel more balanced and connected. This is one of the reasons why spending time in nature can be so soothing.

Green by Carmel Morris

Some deteriorated corrugated metal.

Green by Aileen O’Keeffe

Macro image of a tulip bulb taken in her garden using a 100mm macro lens.

Green by Carmel Morris

Beautiful image of lush growth on the woodland floor.

Orange and yellow are great colours for creating a sense of adventure and excitement in images. The are often found at the beginning and end of the day, giving a sense of renewal and joy. Below you can see some of the images created including these colours.

Yellow/Orange by Conrad Taylor

This is from Easter morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had Rime ice that morning.

Orange by Ann Bollen

Graveyard silhouettes against a fiery sky.

Yellow by Christopher Battles

“Some of the colors in spring are almost neon! How can you say anything but "Yes to Yellow!" when the daffodils are blooming?”

Yellow by Wendy McCallum

A beautiful yellow collage of macro flower images.

Other colours seemed to be less preferred/represented but there was still some interest in these. Below you can see the red and pink images, with members finding these colours in vibrant flowers. Reds and pinks tend to be more extroverted colours, evoking feelings such as passion, excitement and courage.

Red/pink - Ian Taggart

The red/pink in this flower really caught my attention.

Pink by Garry Platt

“Tulip Mania”

While photographing one colour was fun to do, it was also clear that combining colours really helped to emphasis the emotional impact in some images. At the end of this Aprils webinar, the group were introduced to the colour wheel, with many putting its principles into practice.

Blue by Brian Nicholson

This image was taken from Praia das Canas later into the blue hour after sunset.

Brian says “I love the deep blue sea with the peach/ orange sky with the layers of waves from the foreground to the high incoming wave just below the Isles”.

Orange and Blue by Carol Spence

Sunrise on Warana Beach showcasing both of Carol’s favourite colours combined in one image.

Blue and Yellow by Terje Bjornseth

Image taken the morning after a snow storm with a Helios 44.

Terje says “I like the colors and the swirl it gives”.

Blue by Brian Nicholson

“I loved the blue word with the orange glow from the night light”.

Earthy Tones by Denise Savage

“Blue is a bit a favourite colour, yet when I'm out with the camera, it's often earthy contrasting type colours that grab my attention - greens and browns/oranges/reds.”

Orange and Green by Garry Platt

Exotic tropical bloom in one of the biomes at the Eden Project, Cornwall.

Blue and Yellow by May Hamilton

“The sparkles on the water were just magical with hail showers sweeping across the sea and sand making interesting light. I only had my phone camera to try and see the sparkles and the contrasting yellow of the gorse in bloom”.

Blue and Orange by Yvonne Jevons

“After watching the webinar and colour wheel effects with contrast and complimenting colours I shot this on a glorious evening visit to Gullane Beach. The colour blue with the orange and reflected light on the sand made my heart sing”.

Red, Blue and White by Peter Grant

The Red Arrows at a recent display showcasing patriotic British flag colours.

Rainbow by Sue Rafferty

All of the colours - created during some light painting with a local photography group, using LED fairy lights.

Delving into the world of colour was a fun first challenge for the Photography Connections community. It got us all thinking about how big an impact colour has on our lives and how we can use colour in our images to provoke different emotions. While we began photographing our favourite colours, many ended up connecting with a range of different colours as the challenge progressed.

If you’d like to see images taken by the wider community, you can do so on Instagram by searching the hashtag #photographicconnectionsapril.