Color Vision Part 1

Seeing Color

There’s a reason people stand at water’s edge and look into the distance as the sun goes down.

Just after the sun sets, the light coming from just below the horizon reflects off the sky onto the water and back again, filling the world with a dazzling array of texture, color and tone. While those moments seem brief in relation to the rest of the day, they are a profound reminder of the passage of time, and provide a respite between the often hurried day and calm of night. That time of transition is, for some, a quiet contemplation, and a way to once again bathe in the refreshing beauty of pure color and light.

The effect of color on the eye, and the mind, is profound, and can influence both mood and attitude. We adopt color associations from our culture, or create our own through experience or subtle affinities. When we ask: what's your favorite color?, we are seeking clues that others might find by asking: what's your sign? In certain circles and parts of the world, color meditation is used to calm or excite the mind, even to heal the body.

We relate colors to virtually every aspect of our lives, and use them as an important indicator of time and place, of intimacy and space, even of fear and attraction. A calm deep blue sky, for example, is certainly more reassuring than a swirling green one. Deep within our subconscious, the oranges and reds of deep autumn, or the brilliant colors of spring, evoke more than just an understanding that the season is undergoing a change.

Painters study the influence of color on emotions and consciously apply it in their work. Compare the effect of the deep umber and ochre of Rembrandt’s portraits with the vibrant colors of Fauvist cityscapes; of Picasso's blue period with that of Renoir's golden light. Naturalist painters, like those of the Hudson River School, use color and tone as markers of distance and scale, juxtaposing complementary colors of different intensity to create shadow, line and form. Modern abstract painters such as Mark Rothko use "pure" color as vibrational fields that affect us on both a visceral and emotional level. Visit museums to view some of the artist's work mentioned here or, for a lesser though perhaps more accessible view, check out the work online.

While it could be argued that painters have more control over color than photographers, who often rely more on external than internal realities for their picture's content, a thoughtful consideration of the power of color by a photographer is well worth the time. Indeed, any photographer shooting color will do well to understand how color affects subject, scene, point of view, and personal expression and interpretation in their images.

The aim of this series is to explore and appreciate color as photographers, and to use that knowledge first, and perhaps most importantly, to open our eyes to the potential of color in the world around us and apply it to enhance our work. Since we operate through the machine of a camera and lens, that application is both emotional and technical, with each “side” reinforcing the other.

Part 2 of this series of posts will define some terms used and characteristics of color that will give us a common ground as we go forward.

Text and images copyright George Schaub 2018