Colour

Colour - Definitions and Theory:


Colour: The property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light.

Saturated Colour: Saturation describes the intensity (purity) of hue. When colour is fully saturated, the colour is considered in purest (truest) version. Primary colours red, blue and yellow are considered truest version colour as they are fully saturated. (Describes the intensity of the colours in the image).

Muted saturation: Bleaker images with less intense colours in the image.

Complimentary colour: Colours that contrast with each other, and if mixed together cancel each other out creating black.

Analogous colours: are groups of three colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel, sharing a common colour, with one being the dominant colour, which tends to be a primary or secondary colour.

Research: 

A photographer I looked at was Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, an American born in 1951. He is known for creating images that are poised between documentary and theatrically staged photography.

In the first image, Philip's subject was actually a male prostitute. He photographed prostitutes in a series called 'Hustler' a lot because he was living in Los Angeles and was aware of what was happening at that time. He also had a friend who was involved with it, before the 'Aids crisis'. DiCorcia also said that this coincided with the death of his brother due to aids and stated that photographing gay prostitutes was also a theoretical thing. "Photography is an exchange: they give you something and you give them something. I decided to monetise that. I didn't pay anyone before that.

DiCorcia takes a lot of his image during night time and therefore includes a lot of bright signs in his photography to add the element of colour in the darker settings. I will be using his images as inspiration for my own photography and will be focusing purely on signs in shop windows etc. I will not be including the use of people in my images as I live in a quieter area and would struggle to find individuals to photograph by signs late at night,

In this image a young man is seen sitting in front of a drive thru sign for Del Taco, an American fast food restaurant. It is clearly night time due to the darker sky, and the context behind the images DiCorcia took for his 'hustler' series would explain why the young man is sitting by the road late at night for prostitution. The colours on the sign in this image are mainly primary colours but the blue has a green tint making it slightly teal. Additionally the colours are quite saturated and intense. However the rest of the image contrasts with the sign using bleaker, more muted colours, aside from the red lines in the road from car lights.

This image uses more movement as it includes a moving bus which takes up more than half of the image. The bus is dark and bleak but there is a blue tint in the windows because of the lights in the bus. Above the bus is a big sign for a bar or a club. Although it includes both primary and secondary colours, it is bright and stands out in contrast with the rest of the image. This is one of DiCorias few images that do not include people as a main subject.

This image was taken at Blarney Stone, an Irish Pub in Los Angeles. It could even be clear without the context behind this image that one these men is a prostitute whilst the other is a paying client because of the difference in attire. One man is suited, suggesting he has just finished at work whilst the other man is casual. They are most likely having some drinks at a bar before leaving together. There are two separate neon signs in each window in this image. The red sign is more saturated and intense than the green but both stand out in the dark setting.

Image Bank:

All of these images include different kinds of colours, some more saturated than others. I plan to focus on all areas of colours within shop and restaurant signs. some of the signs consisted of just one colour while others mix complimentary colours like pinks and yellows.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

Contact Sheet: 

Best images:

                                                                           

Images that require improvement:

I selected the first image because even though i like the image, the reflection of lights on the glass creates too much distraction from the colourful sign. Also this image was taken inside a bright shopping centre, however. f the subject had a darker background the sign would appear brighter. If I were to take this image again I would try and find an angle where I could avoid reflections or shadows, but should mainly focus on signs outside in a darker setting.

Furthermore, I don't feel like there is enough of the coloured light in my second image for it to actually be the main focus point. I really like the neon lights in the 'V' shape but there isn't enough, also there is too much distraction and noise in the background of the image, but this was something I couldn't control because i was photographing a shop. Additionally, the ceiling light in the image also distracts from the coloured lights. If i were to take this image again i'd focus mainly on the bottom half of the lights but I would rather find a subject with less clutter and distraction.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My idea for recording colour was to photograph pub and restaurant signs exploring different colours present either neon or plain, bright, soft, complimentary colours, saturation and analogous colours. I was inspired from my research of Philip-Lorca DiCorcia's street sign images with regards to the colours and saturation. His use of bright colour and signs gave me an idea to photograph street signs and restaurants within Harlow.    

      The images came out as I expected, however I had to pay particular attention to getting the right exposure settings. However because I was photographing neon and bright signs, mainly with darker backgrounds I had no issues with adjusting aperture or shutter speed on my camera.

      Referencing to my best images:

       The image of the "cappuccino bar" sign was shot straight ahead of me. but it was above me so i pointed the camera slightly upwards. I used zoom so that i just captured the subject that i wanted to which was the sign. The colours in this image are complimentary colours and work very well together. Although because the blue light is so old it has gotten lighter over time and lost some saturation. It probably looked additionally impressive a few years ago in a darker and stronger shade of blue. 

The image of the HMV sign was plainer than the others as it only consists of one colour being pink, but I liked how saturated the pink was because of contrasting with such a dark background. I also like how some parts of the sign have a lighter shade of pink, while others are slightly darker. This image was also taken at a slanted angle and with zoom to capture the main subject and cut out anything irrelevant.

The open sign was inspired by one of Philip-Lorca DiCorcia's images with the two men sitting outside of the bar. I think this sign has a similar style with the sign in that particular image including the neon green colour and the saturation. The colours in my image are complimentary as they contrast with each other but still look attractive. I also used zoom for this but not as much as I did for the other images.

In my final image the sign consisted of saturated yellow and a plainer white. I don't think the colours work well together it's mainly the bright yellow that captures the most attention.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used a Canon EOS 350d for all shots taken. I used a shutter speed of 1/50-1/60 and an aperture of f4.0. When I took the images I didn't feel like I needed to adjust anything as I felt that all of the images were coming out clear and with the correct saturation.

To improve my images I imported some of them onto photoshop to enhance the colours and create a darker background which created more contrast:

I used the magic eraser tool to select all of the background in the image

I then used the paint bucket tool to fill in the background with black paint to create a black background.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

The artist research that I did was very helpful as it strengthened my understanding of light photography and the elements a photographer looks for when taking photos. Researching things about his personal life such as when he was born and the country he grew and lived in (America) supported me to gather a strong understanding of the context surrounding his photography. Looking at his images inspired me to search for colourful subjects and take my photos as a high standard. It also helped me to look for realistic images and signs and capture them. Finally, because of the research I developed a better understanding of the visual element 'colour' and how different colours can convey different feelings and emotions.
Philips pictures were of neon signs which were highly saturated which inspired me to tie the same approach and actively search for this. The purpose of the signs are to stand out so the saturation of these colours give the signs some punch.

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.  

I believe that I have produced a strong series of images inspired by my research of colour and saturation and Philip-Lorca DiCorcia's images. The final images produced were refined by developing the contrast and saturation. Similar to Philip-Lorca DiCorcia's images I have photographed shop signs that caught my attention and aimed to emphasise the saturation of the colours to make them bolder and more exciting than they originally looked.