Just as humans (sadly) use knives and swords for attack and defence, so too do animals and plants. Whether it’s a thorn or spike to ward off predators, or a sharp tooth to attack their prey, there is always a point to sharpness in nature.
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You may be tired by now of me saying that Colombia is colourful, but hopefully not of seeing the evidence. Many of its small towns are as imbued with colour as the cities; indeed maybe more so as they don’t spill out into more drab commercial and industrial areas. Passing through even the smallest village I would spot murals on local bars, bright doors and windows on the houses.
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Many of the houses in Guatapé are decorated with friezes along the lower portion, known as zócalos.
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'With colour one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft' (Henri Matisse). Bright colours have the power to lift the spirits just as sunshine does.
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Grey probably gets a bad name as a colour. We think of it as rather dull. We associate it with gloomy weather, with an absence of light and brightness. But it has its admirers. Hopefully I can demonstrate that if you look closely you will find beauty in grey.
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Some time ago I shared some favourite ‘blue’ images, accompanied by a quote from a favourite Blue song. But the world has an inexhaustible supply of shades of blue. So I’ve trawled through the photos from recent trips, and some older ones, to see what blues I could find that haven’t been shared before.
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Arguably it’s the fragility of glass that makes it so beautiful. Not only does it look lovely, we know how easily we could lose it. Glass has two main properties; we can look through it, or we can see the world reflected in it.
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Photography is of course all about colour. Even black and white photos are rarely just that but are all tones of grey. And good colour photography relies on the judicious combination of different shades, whether complementary or clashing or somewhere in between.
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Jade is associated with calmness, balance, healing and protection. The stone is especially prized by the Chinese. For them it symbolises prosperity, success, and good luck. It is also a symbol of renewal, longevity, and even immortality. It is said to be a living stone, from the earth but with a luminous quality shared with sunlight and the stars. It is thus a connection between the realms of heaven and earth.
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Peer at a white flower and you’ll observe nuances of different shades. The same in a white sky, even a field of snow. Light and shade play tricks with the eyes and white turns to grey, to blue, to cream. Perhaps that’s why, when I started to search my archives for ‘white’ images to share for this week’s Sunday Stills challenge, I found the purest whites in manmade objects.
