Blue
Here is a shell for you
Inside you’ll hear a sigh
A foggy lullaby
There is your song from me
Joni Mitchell, Blue
It is hard not to look at blue and feel calmer. Blue is cool and relaxing. Pale blue is tranquil, peaceful; while dark blue suggests strength and power.
Blue also indicates intelligence and responsibility, which is perhaps why it is the most popular colour for business logos. It’s also the preferred colour of social networks; it’s no coincidence that Facebook and Twitter both use it, they want us to trust them.
Here for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge is a gallery of favourite blue images captured all over the world, and avoiding for the most part the obvious choice of blue skies.
A skyscraper in Osaka, Japan, reflecting the sky (so OK, yes, indirectly a little bit of blue sky!)
A beach hut in Whitstable, Kent – some more blue sky!
Still in Whitstable, here’s a shed belonging to the famous oyster company based there
These boats are moored at the mouth of the Ouseburn, a tributary of the River Tyne in Newcastle
This is a detail of the door of a boat house in Woodbridge, Suffolk
Two more blue doors, from Paris on the left and Albufeira in Portugal on the right
Another one from Paris – a bird house hanging on the fence of a front garden, on a lane in the pretty La Mouzaïa district
And another from Albufeira, a sign on a church in the old town
This is a detail of the corner of a half-timbered old house in Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria
Another house detail, this time in Bundi in Rajasthan
Looking down on the blue houses of Jodhpur from the Mehrangarh Fort
The minaret of the summer mosque at the Kukhara Ark in Khiva, Uzbekistan
Like several others in this gallery, I’ve shared this before, but it’s too perfect for this theme not to repeat – a house on Train Street in Hanoi, Vietnam
This gourd is used to scoop indigo dye in Phoe Taen Akha, a minority tribe village in Laos
More dye, this time on sale in the Place des Epices, Marrakesh
This beautiful little staircase is in the Musée Tiskiwin, Marrakesh
I had to have one piece of street art – this is in a car park in Sofia, Bulgaria
I spotted these ice formations on a winter visit to the waterfall of Seljandsfoss in Iceland
Let’s finish, appropriately, at dusk in Bai Tu Long Bay, Vietnam – much quieter than neighbouring Halong Bay but still with several cruise boats at anchor
49 Comments
Teresa
So much blues you have. But the blue of the dye really was popping.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Teresa 🙂 It does rather leap out at you!
Anne Sandler
I just love your blues, especially the doors! Well done.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne – I do like photographing colourful doors! And I had fun putting this post together 🙂
Cee Neuner
Congratulations! I featured your post on CMMC this week.
I sure hope you are having a fantastic week.
https://ceenphotography.com/2021/11/17/cmmc-november-pick-a-topic-from-my-photo-2/
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Cee 😀
rkrontheroad
A lovely collection. My favorites, the clouds painting on the site of the building in Kent and the blue door and window.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ruth – I always like hearing which ones are people’s favourites 😀
Marie
All beautiful – I love blue. You should go to Chefchaouen in Morocco Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie 🙂 I’ve seen photos of Chefchaouen and yes, I think I would like it. I’d love to see more of Morocco one day 🙂
Heyjude
Beautiful blues Sarah and as someone else pointed out, you have a good eye for the details.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Jude 😊
Tracey
I love all the blue, especially that building in Osaka!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tracey, glad you liked them 😀
Anna
These blues are just so beautiful! You know I’m still dreaming of Uzbek blue!! Your photos are a real joy! X
Sarah Wilkie
Ah yes – I nearly did a whole post on Uzbek blues (and I still might some time) 😍
wetanddustyroads
Blue is indeed one of my favourite colours … and especially blue doors (I’ve spotted so many blue doors on our Camino in Portugal). And the blue-blue sky – love that also … especially now that summer is on our doorstep!
Lovely photo’s Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 Glad to have provided a feast of your favourite colour! Yes, I think blue is maybe the colour of Portugal, don’t you?
wetanddustyroads
Absolutely!
pam@ichoosethis
Love ALL of these! Well done 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Pam 😊
ThingsHelenLoves
A beautiful set of shots, especially loved the ones from Marrakesh.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Helen 😀 Marrakesh is such a photogenic city!
Rose
What a lovely set of blue images. The ice formations of Seljandsfoss in Iceland, the skyscraper in Osaka, Japan, and the minaret of the summer mosque at the Kukhara Ark in Khiva, Uzbekistan, would perhaps be my top three favorites. The ice formations and the skyscraper are unique because they are ‘unexpected’ blues. And the minaret is eye-catching because of the large amount of elaborate, varied blue designs.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rose 😊 I’m happy you found some favourites and it’s interesting to learn why you pic!ked out those ones. The minaret is typical of so much of the architecture we saw in Uzbekistan – I even toyed with the idea of devoting the whole post to that one country
maristravels
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’d give a lot to have your eye for detail and composition. These are fantastic, especially the ice formations one.
Sarah Wilkie
Wow, thanks Mari – I’m blushing! So happy you liked them 😀
Suzanne@PictureRetirement
A world of Blue! It is my favorite color and I too am drawn to it in nature. Living near the ocean makes it impossible to ignore. The boats in Newcastle have to be my favorite of these photos. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Suzanne 🙂 Those boats always seem to be moored there when we pass, so I have quite a few photos of them!
justbluedutch
Sarah, your eye for details is outstanding! I love those details, engravings and the blue tints really looks amazing.Your collection is international and you never failed to capture the essence of blue in every subject.By the way, those blue dyes looks yummy…appetizing to the eye, contrary to it´s use!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much for this lovely feedback 😊 As I’ve said to some others below, I had lots of fun sorting through my archives to find shots for this post!
giacomoasinello
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊😊
Manja Maksimovič
Ohh, Sarah, what a brilliant gallery! Such a great selection. I love the doors and all the details especially, but it’s the totality that makes it work.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Manja 😊 I’m really happy you enjoyed these so much!
Julie
What a wonderful color story. I love that the basket of blue dye and the blue glass building.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Julie, glad you found some favourites among these 🙂
Teresa
Awesome blues from a well travelled lady. Beautiful and interesting shots as usual, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Teresa 😀 I discovered I had more blue photos than I would have imagined!
Alison
Amazing blues from all around the world Sarah, a great gallery
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison, I’m glad you liked these 🙂
thehungrytravellers.blog
All I can think of is…..hooloovoo.
Sarah Wilkie
Haha, thank you 🤣🤣
margaret21
Lovely varied blues. A real world tour!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret, glad you enjoyed the tour!
the eternal traveller
So many beautiful blues in this post. My favourite colour.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite colour but I seem to be drawn to it for photography, judging by the number of shots I was able to find for this challenge! Lots were left on the cutting room floor lol.
Cee Neuner
I’m so glad that I don’t have to pick a favorite photo. You make that impossible. Beautiful post Sarah 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Cee – I had great fun sorting through the photo archives to find these for you 😀