Lens-Artists Challenge #81 – Seeing Red

“Beauty without color seems to belong to another world.”

Murasaki Shikibu

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

As I put together my response to Patti’s “Find Something Red” challenge, I was amazed at the number of images I found among my archives.  Of course the trick then is narrowing down the choices and selecting which to feature. The image above is a favorite because of the sweet pup enjoying his cozy spot on the red rug.

RED UMBRELLA

“Never invest in any idea you can’t illustrate with a crayon.”

Peter Lynch

The image above is from the beautiful rice terraces of Longsheng, China. The terraces are glorious (see more of my images here) and I was like the proverbial kid in a candy shop capturing every vista imaginable. The shot is among my favorites because of the striking contrast between the red umbrella and the fields of green. Clearly, red can have impact even when it is not the predominant color.

HOT CHICKS

“Color affects us. Everyone should have a paintbox and a box of crayons.”

Dr. Sunwolf

Likewise in the image above the chickens’ red combs are not the primary color but somehow they bring extra life to the capture. One wonders why they’re in the basket and how long it will be before they figure out it’s one easy hop and they’re free 😉

NATURE’S FIRE

“Coloring outside the lines is a fine art.”

Kim Nance

Here on Kiawah, autumn colors are typically quite subtle. I captured the image above in my own front yard one afternoon as the sunlight hit the bright red of our very young maple tree. Planted by our home’s previous owners, I doubt it will last very long in our climate but we can hope!

REACHING UP, KIAWAH

“Color is a creative element, not a trimming.”

Piet Zwart

Much more typical of Kiawah, the image above. I found this tree fairly deep in an oak forest and was amazed by how prolific the beautiful red vine had become as the tree reached high into the sky. I found myself wondering if it was a symbiotic relationship or if the vine was actually choking the tree.  Hopefully it’s the former rather than the latter.

LITTLE RED TRUCK

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”

Claude Monet

The “little red truck” above caught my eye during a visit to Maine – where lobster pounds are everywhere. You can see the empty lobster cages behind the truck in the image. I have no idea if it is actually used for deliveries or merely a nod to days gone by. Whichever the case, I thought it was really fun.

LINE OF LANTERNS

“Our attitudes are the crayons that color our world.”

Allen Klein

I’ll close with yet another image from China, a row of red lanterns offering a leading line to the pagoda beyond. Speaking of which, many thanks to those of you who participated in my Leading Lines challenge last week. Patti, Ann-Christine, Amy and I very much enjoyed your responses and look forward to seeing your thoughts on RED this week. For more views, remember to use the Lens-Artists TAG, and to link to Patti’s original post here.

All of us at Lens-Artists are delighted to announce that next week’s challenge (#82) will be hosted by our special guest host, Viveka of My Guilty Pleasures.   Please be sure to visit Viveka’s site on Saturday, February 1st to view her challenge.  For the rest of February, we’ll return to our usual weekly schedule.  Wishing everyone a lovely week ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: COLOR, LENS-ARTISTS, red

• January 25, 2020
• Photography
• 129 Comments