15-DEC-2003
Yellow at Dusk, Willemstad, Curacao, 2003
It was near dusk, and as I was walking the streets of Willemstad I noticed a pigeon land on the molding of a brilliantly painted yellow building. The warmth of the late afternoon light dramatically enriched the color of the scene, and created a strong contrast to the darker colors in the cloud overhead. Once again, Willemstad provided me with an opportunity to build a picture around the sheer impact of primary color on the senses. The yellow paint and the warm evening light give this building a sense of prominence it would not have had if it had been painted in a neutral color. It also helped emphasize the scale incongruity of the tiny bird, which stands out against the yellow in site of its small size.
04-JAN-2004
The Pink Roofs of Patagonia, Punta Arenas, Chile, 2004
Punta Arenas is a city of colorful tin roofs, and to capture their essence, I originally planned to find colors with the most startling contrast. This green and pink building, now a museum, seemed to offer a prefect subject, but not in the way I had first thought. The contrast here is not between the colors. Rather, it is caused by the interplay of light and shadow on those colors. This image powerfully underscores the effect of light on color. There is ample use of pink on this building, not only on the roofs but on the trim as well. Yet when seen in deep shadow, this vibrant color loses it’s energy and merges quietly into the green siding. The two pink roofs, however, are splashed with sunlight, creating striking highlights that dominate the image and tell the story.
14-DEC-2003
The Red House, Willemstad, Curacao, 2003
Red is the most noticeable color of them all. It is no accident that stop signs and fire engines are usually red. This Curacao house is painted red as well, but I photographed it so that the red does not scream at us. I made a point to shoot it as the dappled shadows of the old tree standing before it broke up the color to create a sense of color, rather than describing the literal color itself. The low-key effect gives the house a less strident appearance – still unusual, but not shockingly so. I use color here to express mood here rather than to describe it as a red house. It leaves more to the imagination of the viewer, and that’s when images work best as expression.
15-DEC-2003
Cloud over Willemstad, Curacao, 2003
The facades of the restored 17th and 18th century Dutch colonial buildings in this West Indies harbor town have been deliberately painted in contrasting vivid colors to catch the eye and provide character. I did not wish to photograph them only for their appearance. If I had wanted such a picture, I could have brought any number of post cards showing such scenes. I had noticed the powerful cloud shapes that often occur over oceans during the day, and hoped that one might be in the sky over Willemstad at dusk. I envisioned a picture where the cloud, too, would carry color, as well as the buildings. At day’s end, I got my cloud, and a very powerfully shaped cloud at that. The warmth of the late afternoon sun is reflected on both the cloud and on the facades, and the rich blue sky sets them off perfectly. The scale incongruity between the big cloud and the small buildings makes their coloration even more effective.
28-DEC-2003
Le Recova Market, La Serena, Chile, 2003
Crafts and costumes can reflect the culture of a society, and both are usually on abundant display in marketplaces. I rarely buy anything in them when I travel but I often am drawn to them because of the photographic opportunities. In South America, colors are vivid and bold, and usually found in strong primary shades. While visiting the large market in La Serena, a beach resort not far from Coquimbo in Southern Chile, I saw a bluish green hat stacked on top of a red hat, with racks of rich brown Chilean fabrics displayed behind them. I moved in on the hats to make this picture, putting the fabrics in the background into soft focus. Largely through color, this image expresses the vibrant and colorful nature of Chilean culture.
23-DEC-2003
A Study in Yellow, Lima, Peru, 2003
I was in a bus, which was stopped at a light on a busy street in Lima. As I looked out of the window, I saw a yellow building facade, yellow ads, and even a yellow ice cream dispenser out there on the street. A man stood on the sidewalk reading a paper, oblivious to all of this color behind him. Amazingly, he was wearing a yellow shirt. It was too good to pass up. Even though it meant shooting through a smudged bus window, I pressed my lens to the glass to avoid reflections and hoped for the best. I was quite happy with the resulting picture. As a primary color, yellow is very popular in Latin America. Peru is no exception. What we see here is a society expressing itself in color, and much of it happens to be yellow.