Vibrant Mode

I don't work with color as much as I used to. Some time last September I stopped shooting for punchy colors and started hunting down textures and muted scenes (at which point I'd process them to the point of depressingly colorless). This image here was a happy accident. Who knew magenta was good for anything but color fringing.

It's silly to say, but I'm horribly scared of blues and the cool end of the color spectrum overall. Not simply because of the fringing color artifacts but because I'm so sensitive to cold. Literally. Unless there's an 82A warming filter on the lens the images make me shiver. Even at night, when the visage tends to naturally be cooler (not to mention the weather) I simply can't stand a cold scene.

That never used to be an issue for me, but it's quite frustrating. Some images look better with cool tones so this phobia of blue shift is as detrimental as it is unreasonable. I think it began when I started photographing people more than places/scenes. People look better warmed up a tad, obviously (nobody likes to appear pale). A scene should be treated differently, though.

Color is hard to shoot and, frankly, if color itself is not in some part the strong point of the image then there's no reason for it to be shown in color to begin with. Everything in our world carries texture, tone, shape and contrast, but color introduces an entirely new level of complexity because human beings react differently to different colors (ie. my aversion to blues). I have enough trouble perfecting perspective and line in my images, introducing another complicating factor in a horribly unaccommodating environment (abandoned buildings aren't necessarily known for their bright colors and cozy perches) would result in images as confused as the photographer.

 Anyway, I had all intentions of sweeping onto the scene with a broad span of new images with a model I've worked with before, but the weekend instead spiraled into a mess of alcohol, debauchery and climbing over fences, breaking into closed pool offices, stealing a roll of toilet paper and throwing it into the pool in drunken fury. Alas, no new images. I've heard of other photogs loosening up a model shoot with a bit of the juice but apparently it doesn't work so hot when both parties are closet alcoholics. Oops!