Back to Basics

This image is one of the early creations of my photography career, made when I was trying to apply the concept of colour.

How do we use colour to communicate mood? For example, a large area of cool tone, with just a touch of warm tone, can strengthen the visual contrast.

A picture made entirely with cool hues can give a melancholy, unhappy feeling, like a gloomy winter morning. On the other hand, a warm-coloured scene, such as the orange light at sunset, can create a warm and cosy experience.

This knowledge made me very interested in the application of colour.

However, I had to start with the basics. For instance, I needed to photograph several contrasting colours and then observe what effect they had when placed together.

When I went to the store and saw these three lovely plastic cups, I thought this would be a good experiment.

I decided to shoot using backlighting. My humble studio had a large window, which provided a good source of light.

“How do we use colour to communicate mood?”

I mixed dye and water to get the colours I wanted. The cups were placed on the table, and the liquid was illuminated. I experimented with the order of placement, moving the different colours left and right, front and back. I found that blue had a smoother feel when placed at the back. Slightly lighter shades were more suitable in front.

I also experimented with different apertures to see how they affected the sharpness of the subject.

Later, when I ventured into conceptual photography and portraiture, this knowledge helped a great deal in achieving better results.

When I look back now at the techniques I learned then, I realize that the basics are still one of the most important parts of any composition.