Is light blue a good colour in photography

Colour lightens our life and adds such a beautiful dimension to all we see.

How clever is our God to come up with a concept like colour. Through our eyes we absorb the beauty of creation in an array of colours. Each sunset, each green grassy slope, each red harsh desert, the ocean, greens to deep blues… one certainly could write pages of descriptions, endless and timeless.

We need light to see these colours, darkness cannot comprehend or display any colour at all.

One of the most tranquil and calming colours apparently is light blue.

Soft and gentle, cool and clear. From snowy mountains captured in the South Island of New Zealand to brilliant coastal sights captured in South Australia.

Light blue is good for your health and your soul. As we view this soft colour endorphines are released and we are calmed and soothed. Being a cool colour it also has a cleansing and refreshing effect on us.

Conclusion….Yes, light blue is a fabulous colour to use in your photography!

Tips to get that soft light blue colour.

*Editing your photos becomes a must, as the blue of the sky or the ocean is quite a vivid blue and very often is not that soft gentle shade we want. I generally desaturate my images and try and tone down the brightness of the blue. I often raise the exposure a little as well.

* You may try adding a haze of white over your blue sky to soften it. I use photoshop for this.

* Snowy scenes are often perfect for that light blue shade. The sky in the early morning around the mountains can look quite spectacular. Once again try the desaturation slider if the blue is too intense.

* Try photgraphing on a cloudy day and try different settings. Experimentation is a great way to perfect your art.

* In South Australia there are some magnificent salt lakes that are that exact soft light blue shade. So if you are fortunate enough to live near some salt lakes, try your hand at photographing those.

* Dial the shutter speed down a bit so your images are a fraction lighter. Take a look and make the necessary changes.

Good luck and have fun.

Gallery

Black and white images of our coastline

Black and white ocean with one white cloud

Black and white images stand out as being simple and yet bold.

Photographing the coastline and then converting the image to black and white often makes for calming, simplistic and interesting scenes.

To make my home beautiful is to make my life beautiful.

The spaces I create around myself must be calming and nice to look at. They should be enjoyable for guests and practical to live, sleep, cook, entertain and move around in.

I have a soft coastal theme in my home. White walls and neutral coloured furniture. My prints and paintings are mainly of the ocean.

Let me try to explain what the ocean vibe does to my soul….. and how I enjoy black and white prints. (Let me say, not all my prints are black and white, I love a pop of colour here and there in my home for a bit of vibrance and that uplifting feel.)

1. Waves have patterns, lines and give you a sense of motion. The creation of a wave is beyond my understanding but they are inspiring and the many different facets of a wave make them wonderful to photograph. From enormous, daunting, misty waves to completely calm and tranquil scenes, sometimes I just sit and absorb.

2. A boat or yacht can convey a sense of freedom. Yachts are one of my favorite things to photograph. The white sail contrasts beautifully with the darker background colour of the ocean.

3. Seabirds also give a sense of freedom. Soaring, flying, gazing. Seabirds make great images which can be converted into black and white.

4. A splash of colour in a dark ocean image, mystifying and elegant. This can draw the eye to a particular object.

5. People…Busy beach scenes seem to be all the go at the moment. If you are in the mood to take a few photographs of this genre, choose a hot afternoon and head to a crowded beach. It’s so much fun planning and instigating a simple photoshoot like this. Take lots of images and then view the details up close. You’ll see people chatting, people eating, swimmers, dogs, children, sandcastles, and all manner of things. These images can be a “Wheres Wally?” to a viewer. Lots of fun and very interesting.

6. Black and white. When I get my images home I usually transfer them to a programme called Silver Efex so that I can convert them to black and white. I then usually use the structure slider and minimise the hard lines. It’s personal and about what YOU like. Take your time to experiment with your settings and then choose your preferred option.

Black and white is timeless. It will not date as quickly as colour. I encourage you to get your black and white ocean images framed and put them on your walls.

Two basic colours at the end of the spectrum provide room for our imaginations. Two extremes of light and dark with many shades of grey in between. It’s perhaps the shades of grey that provide the connections between the black and white. This makes it easier for our eye to roam around the image, appreciating the variations.

surfer runs up the beach black and white

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Photography a heart and soul process.

If you could photograph with your heart and soul, what would your photos look like?

Art is what you see in your soul. Art is a dream you have inside your heart.

How do you transfer what you feel in your heart and soul into a photograph???

1. I photograph what I consider to be some of the most beautiful elements of our earth. Then I add my own interpretation of how I see this picture in my heart. Therefore photograph what you consider to be beautiful. Photograph the things, the people, objects or landscapes that give you pleasure.

2. A painter can paint the thoughts of his heart. A photographer must photograph a scene that is, as it is. If you know what I mean?
Therefore I will remove a piece of rubbish, or add an extra star, or colour the sea a shade greener….and so on. I love to add the painters element to the things I see with my eye. So let your heart dominate when you are editing.

3. Photograph when you get that awesome feeling of…..YES this is what I have been waiting for. Get up early or stay up late. That feeling is often not there, but that is what we wait for. It can be pure chance that the light is right, the land is right, the weather is right….etc. The first image of the lighthouse was one of those days for me, truly magnificent.

4. Some images are when things were not quite in alignment with no awesome feeling, but I practised my art regardless. The sun does not always shine and the moon is not always full. There are days when things just don’t go right. Persist and persist again.

5. Be passionate about your art. Don’t leave it alone for too long. Your passion will come out in your images. They say… “Out of the adundance of the heart the mouth speaks!” We could change that phrase and say. “Out of the abundance of the heart, art is created.”

My images are of the distant lighthouse. Most times the lighthouse stands alone on these sparse and dangerous outcrops of land. Beacons of hope for sailors in the night. The wild ocean is to be revered and auspiciously navigated.

A lighthouse illuminates that which is to be avoided.

A lighthouse gives us direction, a lighthouse can be a metaphorical word for a sailors safety…Psalm 119.105. Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.

A side note…The Althorpe Island lighthouse in many of my photographs is accompanied by three cottages. Three families lived there for many years manning the lighthouse. Their only access to the island was by boat. A life devoted to preventing shipwrecks.

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Tips on keeping safe at our South Australian beaches.

In the Australian summer:

….on the south coast we can be bothered by many things, flies, mosquitoes, snakes, march flies, a hot sun, ants, jelly fish, sting rays, pounding waves and vicious under tows……you would think that a sunny day at the beach would be the worst place to be in Australia.

And yet we flock to the beaches, and enjoy the wonders of a spectacular and yet unpredictable coastline.
I have learnt a few lessons over the years that seem to keep me safe, try these tips on keeping safe and see if you are happier at the seashore.

1. Having been washed out to sea in seconds when I was a lot younger I am very cautious to check the area for rips. Firstly read the signs and take heed. Look for an area with no waves and white water going out to sea. Stay close to the shore and put your feet on the ground regularly.

2. I never venture out too deep if the area is known for sharks, which is most of our coastline.

3. I apply sunscreen, and reapply later especially my face, and lately I’ve taken to carrying a very light sarong which I immediately drape around my shoulders as soon as I get out of the water. Always wear a sun hat.

4. I never, ever swim alone.

5. I carry an insect net which goes over my sun hat and use it when I need to. Flies are notoriously attracted to facial features, especially mine, and South Aussie has many flies. You can use an insect repellent if you like.

6. I check the ocean waves before setting up camp, especially at surfing beaches where the waves can come in a lot further unannounced. Let me explain. Many years ago with my brand new camera we were equipped and ready to photograph the surfers for the day. Umbrella up and gear placed neatly in piles, within about 10 minutes a huge “after surge” from a powerful wave raced up the beach and absolutely saturated all our gear including my new lens. Fortunately I had my camera in my hand only the lens was ruined. Towels all soaking, food all gone…etc. I learnt my lesson the hard way, when the surf is up you keep a big distance from the shoreline.

7. Never go to an Aussie beach without an umbrella. It gets very hot here. We have a new umbrella which has a tie down for windy days. A marvellous invention.

8. Travel lightly. Buy lightweight cameras, …lightweight umbrella and chairs etc.

9. Don’t take those silly blow up toys out on our beaches when the day is windy, which is most days along our coastline. Two summers ago we had a drowning as a mother tried to save her child who was blown out to sea on a blow up floatation animal.

10..Don’t touch jelly fish, don’t touch stingrays, and look out for concealed rocks beneath the sand. Many a stubbed toe has resulted from kicking an unmovable rock just under the sand.

11. If you are going to venture along the cliffs for a few photographs, either watch out for snakes or wear snake protectors.

12. Don’t take young children swimming at a big wave beach.

I guess that has put you off our beaches…is this my secret weapon for keeping you off the incredibly pristine beaches in South Australia? Well I hope not!
Many flock to the overcrowded beaches in Queensland, where you sit within two inches of another tanned, greased body. But the South Australian coastline although isolated is extremely beautiful and truly lovely for swimming.

Wherever you are, stay safe.

Gallery

Photographing surfing, (what not to do.)

Surfing life in South Australia…

…..is mainly centred around family holidays and extra weekend breaks. Over the years I have learnt what to photograph when my children are surfing and what NOT to photograph!

We have a beach house at the bottom end of Yorke Peninsula and as I have mentioned in my other blogs, we have been frequenting these beaches in this area for many years.

It’s always been all about the surfing. Right from the beginning when my children were little we had to choose a holiday destination that had waves. At the tip of Yorke Peninsula, the various beaches around the peninsula are known for their great surfing waves. Consequently over the years we grew to love all these spots.

My love for photography also grew over the years and one of the most challenging aspects, was the capturing of fast moving bodies on a wave. However as was my custom, time and time again while waiting for one of them to catch a wave, my thoughts and the direction of my camera would drift off to survey the sights. A bird, a yacht, a beautiful cloud, some sun bathers, what ever it was, inevitably I would miss the golden shot.

That evening while viewing the photographs of the day, I would be reprimanded… “Oh my goodness, she’s done it again, photographed a bird instead of my tube!!”

I have learnt to focus my entire attention on endlessly watching the waves and the surfers. It can give you a bit of eye strain keeping focused on distant objects on a bright sunny day, However, good sunnies and a sunhat go a long way in saving the day. And when you catch that magic shot it is well worth the wait.

A moment of boredom and a yacht sails by in the distance. How could I resist??

A bird or two but what a view.

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The beautiful Chinamans Hat Island

Chinamans Hat Island is located in the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.

As the seasons and the weather change so does the look of this tiny but beautiful island. I often stop and photograph these changes, some days rough, some days very calm and still, some evenings like a fire has been lit. It amazes me the way the ocean colour changes to suit the sky. Like a well dressed and fully colour coordinated woman.

This tiny (well dressed) island is only some 350 meteres from the shoreline and some have been known to walk over to it at low tide. Well I think it would have to be a very low tide for this to happen.

When visiting this area of Yorke Peninsula be sure to stop and walk down to the small but very clear waters on this beach.

This has always been one of our favorite spots for swimming.

Just around the corner of Chinamans Hat Island, is the surfing beach called Chinamans. Very tricky, don’t get confused!! At the surfing beach you can walk up to the ramp and if there is a swell there are bound to be a few surfers out.

Certainly a lovely spot to visit, surf and swim.

Chinamans Hat Island with a radiant sunset

As a photographer….

Your favorite location has the unique ability to change with the seasons, the time of day and the weather. How could a photographer ever get bored?? The variety is endless.

Another thing I will do is edit the same photo in a different way. Maybe add a different sky, maybe darken a cloud, maybe lighten the entire image. It is time to start experimenting and seeing where your creativity leads you. You will learn so much as you experiment with styles, techniques and your camera. Have fun!!

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