I’m a huge fan of colour. Even though my outfits are black dominant, I’m instinctively drawn to bright hues. A splash of pink on a yellow wall, a dumpster decorated in pink and green graffiti against a white painted wall, a pastel yellow-gold sunset against a light blue sky overhead – these are just some of the colours I noticed today.
A Taste of Travel and WITH A HOPE nominated me to enter Capture the Colour PhotoBlogging Travel Competition:
“…publish a blog post with a photo that captures the following 5 colours – Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Red. Tell us where the photo was taken… what you could see, smell, hear, feel and perhaps a witty caption about that photo or trip in general.
When you’ve finished writing your post, be sure to nominate 5 other bloggers to take part in Capture the Colour by listing their website…”
Instead of going through my archives, I decided to challenge myself. My 35 mm and I, with husband in tow, braved the thunderstorms yesterday. I took 5 photos to showcase the colours of one of my favourite places in Brooklyn – DUMBO.
BLUE
The looming thunder clouds on a humid summer’s day provided such a contrast to both the demin blue in this street art installation, and the dirty blue of the Manhattan Bridge. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. This neighbourhood is one of the priciest zip codes in Manhattan.
RED
You’ll notice an abundance of red when you’re looking for it. At least I did. From red fire hydrants, and red backed STOP signs, to bright red traffic lights, and scribbled red graffiti.
DUMBO is a former hub of industry and many of its buildings are made of brick. By the Brooklyn Bridge stands the shell of a 25,000 square foot former tobacco warehouse. It was constructed in the 1870s as a tobacco customs inspection center, saved from demolition in 1998 and, repaired and stabilized by The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation in 2002. It’s red brick frames an enviable view.
YELLOW
Each colour should be an element of the photograph and not dominate the whole scene. I am looking for something beyond the clichés like a red sunset, blue sky or yellow flowers. For me originality will always take precedence over a pretty photograph.” Judge, PlanetD
Unlike red, yellow was a harder colour to come by. Apart from spotting a yellow flower, this advertising campaign, covering scaffolding around a construction site, caught my eye. The yellow in this part of the image series stood out.
Is taking a photo of a photo considered cliché?
GREEN
Noticing a Vespa in Brooklyn is becoming as frequent as spotting a yellow cab in Manhattan. Well, almost! This photo may as well have been taken in Rome; the Vespa looks vintage with a bit of comic appeal stuck to its face.
WHITE
“I love photos that tell a story. I want something that could have only been taken by you, in that moment, in that way. I love it when a photo captures a place so well that even if I’ve been there before, I think to myself, wow, I have to go there.” Judge, Christine Gilbert
Well Christine, if you haven’t been to DUMBO, I highly recommend it. There’s no better spot to view Manhattan from the East River.
The end date for this contest is August 29, and hoping there’s enough time for these bloggers to turn around their submissions, I nominate:
space1eleven.wordpress.com
Very creative ideas, Marina.
I love that Vespa picture!
I tried Karen, and thank you for saying that! The green Vespa is so cute – looks like a toy
Particularly love your red image, M
Thanks Syders! That’s a view you would never get tired of
Ahhh beautiful Brooklyn Bridge!
Great photos Marina. You and the 35mm have done a fabulous job…ooops…forgot hubby too! My favourites are the crazy blue sculpture with the bridge in the background and the red brick wall photo! A clever yellow shot too! Love them all actually… Hope you had fun taking them!
Thanks Jenny! I did have fun as it pulled me out of the comfort zone, and made me search for colour. Red and blue – easy peasy. White – hmmm, I had a few ideas but rain delayed me in taking the photos. And yellow – what a hard one to take! Thanks so much for nominating me. Hubby got a coffee and a pastry from Brooklyn Roasting Co for bearing the rain
Marina, many thanks for the nomination for this fun project! I’ll look forward to working this soon.
Love your shots – particularly the chic Vespa!
Tricia! Thank you – the Vespa looks fun to run around in (sans rain). I’m looking forward to your shots! The competition rules are on the website I linked to – I hope I gave you enough time
Absolutely, I’ll give it a whirl this week. Thanks again, Marina!
Great, and my pleasure! Oh, did you get the external flash???
My favorite shot, Marina, is the YELLOW, very creative and funny too. I can see why it was hard getting this shot Thank you for sharing
You’re so wonderful Cornelia, that you appreciate the shot. Thank you! I thought it was a little different and the only other option was a yellow flower
Oopsy double posted! Yellow is not easy to photograph anyways, especially certain yellow flowers are just very hard to capture in their essence. It is akways good to be different, even it seems to be very challanging, but often it pays off.
It’s ok – I double commented! You’re so right Cornelia. And, it’s all fun! Thank you
Marina I particularly liked the Yellow image, very creative and fun. I can see why it was hard to get this shot. Thank you for sharing your creativity!
Dear Cornelia – thank you! I am glad you appreciate that shot. The other option was a yellow flower. This stood out a little more fun, original, and different
Wonderful color choices!
Thanks so much Karen!
The image of the Vespa = WOW
Oh, cool 2 Rivers! Thanks – I am glad you like that one
I love all of them, but RED and GREEN are my favourites. You really have an eye for picking the right photo subjects.
Thanks so much Gabriele. It was a little tough – under the rain and with some time limits – and I am glad you enjoyed them!
I love these photographs Marina and thank you for nominating me to take part. I like a challenge.
Thanks so much Adrian, and I really look forward to your photos!! Embrace the challenge
Thanks so much for the nomination–I’m very flattered. Your shots are wonderful.
Thanks so much! And, if you have time, I’m so looking forward to what you’ve captured. I’ve been enjoying your bright shots
Challenge accepted
Thanks Marina for thinking of me!
I love the RED – a totally different perspective.
Great! Look forward to your photos. Red bricks – I thought it was a little different and something very Brooklyn-esque
Thanks!!
ooh very inspiring, I may have to do something similar for my own pleasure
Hi 28daystogo! You should enter the competition! Why not? It’s a challenge worthy to enter
Enjoy!
Love that Vespa shot and the waves on the foreshore… Andy
You captured the colors really well! Very nice, Marina!
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A great take on the Capture the Colour idea, love that Vespa shot especially!
It speaks to your credit that you took on the task of making new photographs for the contest instead of looking through your achieve – which would undoubtedly have been much easier. Much kudos for that. I like your idea and I think some of the picture really make a good contribution to the contest. As so many others, I really like the Vespa. That little sticker on the front is really what makes the difference. For me the yellow doesn’t work. There isn’t enough of you in the picture (and I hope you forgive me for being a little harsh on you here). Have a wonderful day.
Thanks for your comment Otto, and no offence taken. Yellow – not so easy to spot if it isn’t a flower
The Vestpa shot works because of the sticker – I definitely agree! It was a fun challenge and I tried to stay true to ‘urban’ street photography. Thanks again!
You captured colors well, Marina!
Thank you! It was fun
AND if you’d like to do the contest, you should! An honorary nomination – you could capture so much natural colour!
It has taken me way too long to get on the internet for more than a few snatched minutes (I am on the road in South Africa). Great post and totally glad I nominated you – my favourite is ‘Blue’, something quite sci-fi about it! Well done, lovely and quirky as I have come to expect from your great blog
Thanks so much Laura! Yay – blue! I am glad you nominated me too, and I love your lovely comment. Makes me happy! I have yet to catch up on posts too and noticed you’re in S.Africa. Looking forward to reading. Enjoy your trip. Thanks again!
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Great photos! I LOVE the green colour, it’s so vivid
And also the composition of the red colour is very cool, I love that you allowed us to have a little peek into the city 
Thanks K! It was raining too so my hubby was balancing the umbrella while I took pics. I tried to be innovative in a set space and set time