Weekly Photo Challenge: Green


Green is considered to be the most relaxing colour closely followed by blue. I once worked in a test facility that had no windows, Lights came on automatically when you entered a room and the air-conditioning balanced the temperature according to the number of people in the room. All of the internal walls were painted a sort of darkish green and the false floor carpet tiles were blue. For some reason. it was never explained to us at the time, these two colours are supposed to make us feel calm, balanced, and less emotional. I never understood why, maybe it’s because the wavelengths of these colours affect our brain chemistry, perhaps it’s cultural. Who knows? One thing I can tell you, at the end of each working day I was never more glad to get into the open and see real colours and smell fresh air…..

…and so to this weeks challenge. The photographs I have chosen to place in the gallery, all have elements of green in them. I am showing them to you, not because I think they will make you calm, relaxed and less emotional. No! I want you to become emotional. I want you to say “I don’t like that” or better still “That’s a great photograph”. Maybe not those exact words but I do want to elicit some response. Robert Frank once said;

When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.

So here they are….

The gallery is randomised, it’s nice to shake things up now and again but here’s why I chose these particular photographs. If you hover your mouse over any photograph in the gallery a tool tip will pop up with its name. You can also see the photographs larger, in a slide show, by clicking on any of them.

  1. Checkpoint. The truck from a science fiction movie was taken at Universal Studios, Florida. They were preparing for a Halloween extravaganza and it just struck me at the time how out of place it looked, set against the background of the flags and the diner.
  2. Torbay Express. The train is a favourite of mine. In this modern-day and age it’s nice to see these great work horses getting a run out. What particularly drew me to this was the steam, billowing out from all sorts of places.
  3. Llanberis Quarry. If you look across the valley you can see the old slate mine and quarry at Llanberis. Personally I don’t think this photograph does it justice because when it’s wet and misty, and it often is at Llanberis, the quarry and the whole mountainside seems to shimmer. Of course the day I decided to visit and photograph it remained dry.
  4. Kashmir Goat. Since Victorian times Kashmir Goats have roamed over the Great Orme above Llandudno, North Wales. This bronze statue commemorates these goats, introduced from India, who have thrived in conditions not too similar to their country of origin
  5. Lakeside Reflection. As soon as I saw this scene i knew it would look good. The lake itself is crystal clear and those purplish plants underneath the water really stood out. I like he way the trees form a natural amptheatre and reflect in the lake, which was absolutely still.
  6. Carnival Mask. Each year in Weston-super-Mare the hold a carnival for charity. Massive floats wind through the streets and they are decorated in all sorts of ways. This was the first time I had ever really tried night-time photography and the garish model seen here, looked like a great subject at the time.
  7. Five Ladye’s. There is a small pebbly beach in Clevedon, Somerset, called Ladye Bay. The only way on to the beach is down some steep steps. Some of the first photographs I took with a DSLR camera were in Ladye Bay. I’ve never managed to find out why this spot has been given the name it has but I decided to nickname the five big rocks you see here the Five Ladyes.

Well that wraps it up for this weeks challenge. I really would like to get your opinion on this set of photographs. Do they stir your emotions? Maybe you really liked one, There again, maybe you didn’t like any.

Related articles

 

15 replies to “Weekly Photo Challenge: Green”

    1. I’ve always liked Checkpoint. just seems so unusual and not the sort of photograph you can go out and find anyday. Sometimes with photography it about being in the right place at the right time and, as always, having a camera with you to take that all important photograph. For that very reason I always carry a little P&S camera with me…

      Like

  5. These are all so good. My favorite photos are: five ladyes and the quarry. I don’t know how you find all of the splendid scenes that you capture. The photos are over the top good.

    Like

    1. Basically I plan a trip. I usually go out of the day to a particular location that I’ve chosen earlier. I make use of Google maps and street view as well as local tourism information. Sometimes when I get to a chosen location, if there’s anyone about I’ll ask if there’s anything I should photograph. local knowledge is always far better.

      Like

  6. Mike … this is so well done. Not only incredible images, but their stories too! Yet again, I take a lesson from you and will try to be better at identifying what, when, where for the shots I post on the weekly challenges. Che

    Like

    1. Hi Cheryl…one of the things I do is take a notebook with me. I record date, time, location and general shooting information, such as “Gloucester cathedral cloisters, very dark, raining outside”.

      Also when I get back I upload the photographs to my computer into specific folders for that days shoot. The folder has the year, month, date and location. i.e. 2012 11 19 Gloucester Cathedral. It keeps everything organised and at a glance I can see where I have been.

      Like

  7. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Green « Cheryl Andrews

Comments are closed.

close-alt close collapse comment ellipsis expand gallery heart lock menu next pinned previous reply search share star