Colour Archives - Page 2 of 10

Published October 16, 2020 by avardw

Toronto Gone – Random scenes, random moments

random scenes, random moments, colour, photography, — High Park, Toronto, 1984 – © Avard Woolaver

I enjoy capturing random scenes and random moments–a stream of consciousness approach that is a bit like meditation with a camera. When I used to walk around Toronto with my camera in the 1980s, I usually had nothing special in mind that I wanted to photograph. The same is true today, some forty years later. It could be the right light or interesting patterns, or a sudden silhouette, any number of things that propel me to press the shutter. The capturing of random scenes is both a strength and a weakness. One one hand there is an absolute freedom to it–capturing anything that gets my attention. On the other side, if there is often no project in mind it seems aimless.

I have learned over time to see themes in my photos that may become apparent after years or may be pointed out by viewers online. That’s part of the beauty of the random approach. It’s like letting your mind wander with a camera in hand, then putting a shape to it later on. For me, editing is a more difficult task than taking the photos, but both are rewarding.

The photos I have chosen for this post have been scanned quite recently, so I find a freshness to them even though they were taken decades ago. Probably only 10 percent of my output in the 1980s was in colour, and for this reason I have a special fondness for them.

The series “Toronto Gone” puts a focus on things that have disappeared–buildings, businesses, parking lots, cars, people that used to be a part of the city in the 1980s and 1990s prior to the condo boom, and before the widespread use of computers and cell phones.

Downtown Toronto, 1982 – © Avard Woolaver

Colour Photography Toronto

colour photography random scenes Toronto Gone

Published June 21, 2019 by avardw

A visual trek across the colour spectrum

colour, Colourville, photobook, — Bedford, Nova Scotia, 2017 – © Avard Woolaver

Colourville, photobook, colour, — Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, 2018 – © Avard Woolaver

I’ve always been amazed at how images, like words, can convey so much emotion. I have always thought of black and white photography as an abstract medium and colour photography as a psychological medium. American photographer Elliot Erwitt said, “With colour you describe; with black and white you interpret.” If it’s true that colour appeals to our emotion and leaves less to our imagination, then it makes sense for us to be judicious in using it.

This can have a lot to do with how the photo is framed—how much of a particular colour, or colours to leave in or crop out. When I view a scene, then, I look for ways to combine colours–for me, it’s about balance. Sometimes a tiny splash of red is enough to counteract a sea of green, or a little orange goes well with a lot of blue. There are no hard and fast rules here, but the conscious combining of colour is something I keep in mind when I’m out with my camera.

The photos in this post are from my new book Colourville. In this book I take a visual trek across the colour spectrum following the colours on the rainbow flag seen above. Violet to indigo, to blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, and finally grey. It is my hope that the photos are interesting on their own, without the colour connections. They are a glimpse into Colourville—a marvellous place.

Violet:

Indigo:

Blue:

Green:

Yellow:

Orange:

Red:

colour, Colourville, photobook, red, — Scotch Village, Nova Scotia, 2018 – © Avard Woolaver

Pink:

Grey:

Colourville is available through Blurb Books.

Colour Photography

colour colour spectrum Colourville

Published February 11, 2019 by avardw

Seeing the winter blues

St. Croix, Nova Scotia, 2018, winter blues, — St. Croix, Nova Scotia, 2018 – © Avard Woolaver

It’s winter in the northern hemisphere, a time of decreased daylight. Some people get the winter blues and use a SAD lamp to alleviate Seasonal Affective Disorder. I am one of them. Others pick up their cameras to capture the beautiful blue light of winter. I am also one of them. You see, there is an upside to the winter blues.

In the winter months, the sun’s angle is lower and this affects the spectrum of light. The light has to travel through more of the atmosphere, directing more blue light to our eyes.

So, if the impulse strikes you, pick up your camera and turn those blues around.

colour, winter blues, landscape, snow, Avard Woolaver — Newport, Nova Scotia, 2013 – © Avard Woolaver

Avard Woolaver, flash, snow, winter blues, — Newport, Nova Scotia, 2016 – © Avard Woolaver

complementary colours, cool, winter blues, warm colours, rear view, winter, Avard Woolaver — Gypsum Mines, Nova Scotia, 2012 – © Avard Woolaver

Blogging Colour Photography

blue photography winter winter blues

Published December 4, 2018 by avardw

Wellesley Station, Toronto, 1982

Avard Woolaver, Toronto in the 1980s, Toronto, 1982, colour, cityscape, Wellesley Station,

This photo was taken as I exited Wellesley Station, a subway station in downtown Toronto, just east of Yonge Street. Like many photos I took in Toronto in the 1980s, I had trouble identifying the exact location. In those days, for me, it was the shot that mattered; I cared little where it was taken. But with all of the changes in Toronto over the past thirty years, I’m much more interested in the location of the photos taken in those days.

With this photo I went on Google maps. I originally thought it must be St. Clair, but there was a very different view from that station. At Wellesley Station I could see by the parking lot, and buildings that I had found it.

I didn’t shoot a lot of colour in those days–maybe only 10 percent of my output. So I’m interested in what I chose to photograph in colour, and also the color palette I was drawn to. This one has some warm afternoon light contrasted with the cool blue of the newspaper stands. A moment in time.

Colour Photography Toronto

1982 Toronto Wellesley Station

Published November 28, 2018 by avardw

Thinking of Alex Colville (1920-2013)

Amherst, Nova Scotia, Alex Colville, painting, photo,

Like many Canadians my age, my first exposure to the artist Alex Colville was on the cover of Bruce Cockburn’s 1973 album Night Vision. The painting, titled Horse and Train, shows a horse galloping down a railroad track on collision course with an oncoming train. It had a big impact on me; it spoke of reality versus the dream world, order vs. disorder, and machine vs. nature. It was perhaps my first time seeing magic realism.

Colville spent some of his childhood in Amherst, Nova Scotia where this photo was taken. He later attended nearby Mount Allison University where he met South African poet Roy Campbell. Some lines from one of his poems inspired him to create Horse and Train.

I scorn the goose-step of their massed attack
And fight with my guitar slung on my back,
Against a regiment I oppose a brain
And a dark horse against an armoured train. — Roy Campbell

When I stumbled upon this location, I thought it might be the same one as used in the painting–the curve of the track seemed similar, and it’s in the town where he spent his youth. Though the setting was likely in the open expanses of the nearby Tantramar Marsh. My photo features a wind turbine–nature is working together with the machine, rather than against it. And it isn’t “fight the power,” rather “produce the power.”

This photo was taken just nine days before his death in 2013. He will always be remembered as one of Canada’s finest artists. You can see more of his wonderful work here: http://alexcolville.ca/gallery/