Color My World

It has been a grey and gloomy day here. The snow that we received during the middle of the week has turned to mud and slush. There is very little color during these mid-January days, so I thought that I would look back into my digital photo album for an image brimming with color.

One of the first things that I discovered when I purchased my Canon Powershot A80 digital point-and-shoot camera in June 2004 is that I could use the controls to capture nature's vibrant colors: lively peacock feathers, purple-pink mums, autumn's splendid leaves, or baby blue eyes. Nature's paint box became available to me through the use of the camera. I began to really see the nuances in color that only nature could create. "I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music. " (Joan Miro).

"Laughter In The Rain" (above photo) was one of the first photographs I made with the Canon A80. I shot this photo just after the rain had stopped one July afternoon. These lovely day lilies were growing outside of a charming specialty food shop in York, Maine. (I love to visit Stonewell Kitchen store because of the gourmet food items they sell. There are also beautiful gardens there.) Although these ordinary flowers can be found anywhere, they remind me of finding beauty in the mist of a rainy Maine vacation.

This favorite photo also reminds me of another lesson that I learned about photography. I only needed diffused light from the overcast sky to bring out the gorgeous shades of yellow as well as the fine rain drops; too much summer sunlight would have cause the photo to be overexposed.

And now, when the color palette seems to be hidden, I can look back appreciate the fact that photograph has enabled me to use nature's paint brush to surround myself with deep, rich, vibrant colors.