ORANGE – LAST BUT NOT LEAST; WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

“If love were a color, it’d be orange.”

Jarod Kintz

(9 Photos)

THREE MONKS WALKING

Some time back, in response to the Weekly Challenge “Yellow”, I offered some interesting factoids about the color from the book The Secret Language of Color by Joann and Arielle Eckstut. It seems only fair I should do the same for Michelle’s Orange challenge this week.  I’ve opened the post with one of my favorite captures from a trip to Southeast Asia, featuring three monks in their beautifully-colored orange robes. According to the sisters Eckstut, Buddhists chose saffron for their robes’ color, but because it runs about $5,000/pound, they used turmeric and jack fruit to create the color instead.

MONKEY MECHANIC

“If family were a fruit, it would be an orange. A circle of sections, together but separate. ”

Letty C Pogrebin

From the sublime to the ridiculous, from monk to monkey.  The happy fellow above, I suppose, assumed he could control the water flow to our hotel in Africa many years ago. I must admit I am pleased he chose something orange so that he could play in my post 😊.  Did you know that orange was the last (but not least) color named in the rainbow, and that many native cultures to this day have no word for it? Perhaps, the sisters tell us, this is because when dark it is usually identified as brown, and when light, as yellow – so it has a very narrow band but “when it’s really orange, it really shines”.

PUMPKINS APLENTY

“The pumpkin is always oranger on the other side of the patch.”

Unknown

We find orange in so many places – flowers, fruits, vegetables – and of course the plumpest pumpkins. For centuries the color orange was called “red-yellow”;  it only got its own name when the fruit was taken from China, through Persia to Spain and finally to France, where it became an “orenge”. It is the only color that actually takes its name from an object. Interestingly, the word occurred back in the 13th century as an adjective describing the bitter taste of orange peel. It wasn’t until the 16th century that the word was used to refer to color.

ORANGE SUNRISE, ACE BASIN

 “The porch light hums the sound of another orange dawn.”

Kristin Reynolds

Sunrises and sunsets – lots of oranges found in both. The sisters tell us that although yellow is the color most visible during the day, orange best captures our attention once the sun begins to rise or set. That was surely true as I captured this glorious sunrise in South Carolina’s Ace Basin. Add a touch or blue sky or sea, and orange is the most visible color. This explains why it is the color of life preservers, rafts, construction cones and crossing guards.

WALL ART

“Orange is the sky tonite, as sun sets in the hills.”

Moon Lion

While wandering the beautiful streets of Buenos Aires, my husband and I came upon an artist’s capture of a warm sunset painted on one of the city’s many wall murals.  In a place where art is everywhere, so too is orange. We particularly enjoyed the brilliant buildings of La Boca – an amazing environment full of many bright colors including, of course, orange.

ROUSSILLON RIDGES

“Orange is the unspoken promise of another brilliant day.”

Lisa J. Parker

Beyond fruits and vegetables, the earth offers us many examples of orange. We see it in the deep red, yellow and orange shades of the earth in Roussillon, France, home of one of the world’s largest ochre deposits. The colorful earth contrasts beautifully with the lush green trees and the vivid blue of the Provençal sky. You can gauge the size of these ridges by the tiny man at the very top.

We see orange too in the incredible geology of Yellowstone’s amazing geysers and hot springs, including the geometric formation below.

YELLOWSTONE GEOLOGY

 “Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”

Wassily Kandinsky

Speaking of earth’s natural oranges, one cannot imagine a better example than the curious hoodoos of beautiful Bryce Canyon in Utah. A photographer’s paradise, I found it difficult to choose from my many favorite captures of this natural wonder. I finally decided on this one, but for more examples please visit my previous posts about the canyon by entering Bryce in the search field.

BRYCE CANYON HOODOOS

“Yellow, orange, and red suggest ideas of joy and plenty.”

Eugene Delacroix

Finally, one of nature’s finest creations, the beautiful Bird of Paradise. Found only in tropical locations (this capture is from Cape Town, South Africa), it was named because of its resemblance to the beak and plumage of a bird. Do you agree?

BIRD OF PARADISE

 “Orange is a happy day.”

Mary O’Neil

For someone who does not particularly warm to the color orange, it appears quite often in my archives. Perhaps I need to revisit my feelings about this obviously happy color! To see some others’ interpretations, look here.

Tags: COLOR, orange, weekly photo challenge

• March 7, 2015
• Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
• 131 Comments