Exercise: Colour Relationships

The aim of this exercise is to explore the colour relationships described in the project.

Two sets of photographs are to be taken - the first producing one photograph for each of the colour combinations, and their proportions as listed:

• Red: Green 1:1
• Orange: Blue 1:2
• Yellow: Violet 1:3

The second part is to take four images using any colour combinations, with any number of colours that are appealing - this part is to prove that there is no 'correctness' in the use just complementary colours.

The balance of the images should be studied and commented upon.

I have used the colours as stated for the exercise, but have not matched them so closely to the 'ideal' hue of the colour wheel in each image. For this exercise I have tried to keep the colours as close to those seen at point of capture as possible. Any manipulation is included in the image captions.

Part One

Red & Green (1:1)

D200 200mm ISO100 f5.6 1/160th flash

Both the greens and reds of the leaves in this image are slightly variegated, adding interest within each colour hue, as well as complimenting each other. Red and green have the same brightness, so the proportions of each in the image are roughly equal. 

Having said this, the reds are a little deeper than perhaps they should have been to balance against the light green, but both colours command the same amount of attention. 

I think this is a good example of showing red as an advancing colour - even those leaves that fall behind the green leaves, initially appear closer to the viewer, until the true depth of the image is recognised. I like the composition of this image, but feel a slightly wider depth of field would have worked better.

When reduced to abstract blocks of colour, the main diagonal line of the green intersecting the two areas of red can be seen. This gives the image some energy as it runs across and down and across the frame, working well with the stacking effect of the leaves.

D200, 120mm ISO320 f6.3 1/500th

On reviewing the above image, I don't think it is as good an example of red & green (1:1) as I first thought. 

So I have added an image of poppies and corn - the colours are much closer in relative brightness to each other and display the aim of the exercise to a greater extent. The image was cropped slightly to better match the 1:1 ratio. I reduced the exposure by 1/3 stop to deepen the colours.

Orange & Blue (1:2)

D300s 60mm ISO250 f13 1/125. Blue darkened slightly in Aperture 2

The ratio of 1:2 isn't quite right in this image, due to the lack of blue, but I think it still works as the grey background is darker than both the orange and the blue (which is a bit bright). The Orange occupies about a third of the frame, which is the correct proportion for that colour. 

I guess the graffiti artist got his colour proportions right, my framing should have included more of the lower half of the face (perhaps portrait framing would have been better).

Yellow & Violet (1:3)

D300s 90mm ISO200 f10 1/500 (-2/3 stop)

The yellow/gold and violet on the banner most closely resemble, out of all of the images in this exercise, the colours displayed on the colour wheel. They are also closest to the ideal proportions of 1:3. 

I suppose this shouldn't be too much of a surprise, as the artist commissioned with designing the banner would have probably been working to those proportions. 

Yellow and violet as a combination has a very rich feel - the sumptuous look of violet has long been associated with wealth, and its complimentary colour yellow has obvious similarities to gold - little surprise then that colours were used together with the crown emblem.

The exposure was adjusted in-camera by 12/3 stop to deepen the violet (and blue of the sky), this also had the effect of making the yellow stand out even more.

Part Two

The images in this part do not  follow the principles of complimentary pairs, or proportions.

The Three Primaries

D300s 105mm ISO250 f5.3 1/200th

The image of the detail of a Police motorcycle uses, as its main compositional element, large blocks of bright yellow contrasting against the black saddle, the accents of the blue police logo, and the red reflective patch on the pannier - all three primary colours are present.

Freeman (2007, p121) expands on the proportion ratios to include three colours. For Yellow, Red & Blue, the ideal proportions would be 3:4:9, as represented in the diagram.

The image actually uses the inverse proportions of these colours - as a result the yellow overpowers the blue and red and demands the viewer's attention. The blue, a receding colour, seems very dense alongside so much yellow, even the advancing quality of the red is overawed by the amount , and intensity, of the yellow.

Muted Colours

D200 200mm ISO320 f16 1/80th

This image, taken a Versailles Sunday market, has a limited pallet of quite earthy tones of browns and beiges with just a hint of yellow and orange to warm up and give movement to the composition. The oranges have the most intensity and appear the most dense of colours in the image; the yellows are rather 'dirty' but still have enough vitality to also draw the eye. Knowing that the heaps of powder are spices and curries adds to the simmering feeling of warmth in what, at first glance, seems a rather muted image.

Fruity

D200 145mm ISO200 f9 1/750th

Taken at the same market, on the same day as the previous image, the vibrancy of the colours of the fruit is in contrast to the dullness of the curry powders. The colours of the fruit obviously assisted, but so too did the light falling on them and the reflective qualities of the fruit skins, as opposed to the light absorbing properties of the powders. 

The band of red apples is the dominant colour, supported by the green - the relative brightness of the two colours is pretty close. 

The yellows in the scene are tinged with green (in the bananas) or muted (in the apples to the rear), so although they are out of 'ideal' proportion, they do not dominate the image.

Jumble

D300s 32mm ISO200 f5.6 1/1600

British markets just don't have the same flair as the French! 

This image from Brick Lane Market is included as it demonstrates that a bold colour will catch the eye before a profusion of individual details. 

The deep pink of the sheet appears to move closer than most of the objects that are sat on it, with the exception of the red and yellow objects, whereas the blues, especially the darker hues ,recede - they should be in a much higher proportion to balance with the pink and yellow. The exposure was reduced by a third of a stop in post editing to deepen the colours.

I could have used a wider aperture, but didn't change from the previous shot taken at a lower angle, where I was restricting the depth of field.

Conclusion

I enjoyed this exercise - using colour as a subject and compositional element had never really been a conscious thought before - now I can't help dissecting groups of colour where ever I see them! The Goethe colour proportion theory was not something I was aware of, but I will put this into practice whenever I can. Many of the images I took during this exercise were from markets - both in France and London. I was surprised how many people were actually taking pictures, and how receptive the vendors were - discussing camera bodies and lenses with a Brittany potato seller wasn't something I was expecting!