Exercise - Colour Relationships

 Primary & Secondary Combinations

 

Red & Green

2012.12.02.ColourRelationships-Red&Green
f/14  1/100  ISO-500

The bright sunlight shining on the post box made the red colour appear weaker.  The top of it benefits from a higher saturation, and blends well with the richer green of the top half of the hedge.

 

Blue & Orange

 

2012.12.22.ColourRelationships-Blue&Orange
f/8  1/50  ISO-3200

This is a slightly abstract shot of an orange watering can and the blue wires of an extension socket.  With nothing else in the frame, the relationship of the two colours is intense and the main focus of the image.  The dark shadows highlight the blue, as well as accentuating the diagonals and curves of the watering can.

Yellow & Violet

 

2012.12.22.ColourRelationships-Yellow&Violet
f/8  1/50  ISO-3200

Although the ratio of yellow to violet is perhaps more than 1:3, this is compensated by variations in the intensity of violet, due to lighting, and the brightness of the yellow.

Other Selected Colour Combinations

 

Red, Yellow & Blue (with a touch of beige / brown)

2012.12.17.ColourRelationships-Red, Yellow & Blue
f/10  1/60  ISO-1250
 

The three primary colours of red, yellow and blue are at work here, while not in accordance to the ratios suggested by J W Von Goethe.  With the biggest area covered by the yellow wall, the red stands out the most, althouth the yellow writing is well balanced against the red. 
I think the blue of the girl's jacket works better with the yellow, than the red.  With yellow being a much brighter colour, there is an imbalance from the small amount of the much darker blue.  It's more or less a role reversal in this colour relationship, which I feel adds some interest.  The soft beige coloured elbow and shoulder pads complement the blue and are highlighted by a similar shade within the shop.

Pink & Silver / Grey

 

2012.12.23.ColourRelationships-Pink&Silver
f/8  1/30  ISO-1250

I like the contrast of bright colours with soft, neutral colours.  The pink only fills a small part of the frame, and so is well balanced with the silver can and soft, shaded background.

 

Yellow & Orange

 

2012.12.25.ColourRelationships-Yellow&Orange
f/6.3  1/30  ISO-3200

 The two brightest colours of the colour circle.  I feel that bright colours can work better together that dark colours, or certainly more appealing to me.  There is a slight imbalance with the yellow marginally dominant in terms of space covered, which ads to its intensity.  Alos, the positioning of the central lemon, gives the yellow extra potency, and dominance over the orange which becomes more of a background colour.

 



Exercise - Primary & Secondary Colours

Primary & Secondary Colours

Green

Green-1: Normal Exposure

Green-2: Lighter

                         

Green-3: Darker

Orange

Orange 1: Normal Exposure

Orange 2 - Darker

Orange 3 - Lighter

Red

Red 1 - Normal Exposure

Red 2 - Darker

Red 3 - Lighter

Violet

Violet 1 - Normal exposure

Violet 2 - Darker

Violet 3 - Lighter
 

Yellow

Yellow 1 - Normal Exposure

Yellow 2 - Darker

Yellow 3 - Lighter

 Blue



Blue 1 - Normal Exposure

Blue 2 - Lighter

Blue 3 - Darker

Tackling this exercise in winter, there was not the abundance of colour that could have been available a few months ago.  The photos taken for orange, perhaps appear more brown than orange.  I'm fairly sure brown does derive from orange though, and it's the closest I could find from natural subjects, without resorting to shooting something man made.
Looking across the range of colours, it appears that bolder contrast between colours can be achieved with normal to darker exposures.  Lighter exposures appear much softer and with certain colour combinations could work well.  Overall, I generally prefer the stronger colours created through normal or darker exposure.  However, a lighter exposure can create an appealing mood or atmosphere, which may be more appropriate for certain images.