capture the colour.

August 29, 2012 § 6 Comments

I’ve never entered a photo contest before so you can imagine how surprised I was to be nominated for TravelSupermarket.com’s Capture the Colour by the lovely Rachael of Let’s Be Adventurers! The contest asks for bloggers to publish a post that best captures the colours blue, green, yellow, white and red. The photos are judged by a panel of travel experts and the winner will receive £2,000! Sounds good to me, so here are my submissions!

Blue:

This photo is very near and dear to me because it was one of the very first ones I took on my trip to Southeast Asia last summer with one of my best friends. This one specifically was taken on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand while we were waiting to catch a ferry to Koh Phangan. It was so hot that day and there were at least 50 other backpackers sprawled in the shade behind me but this frame made me feel like I was the only one there in that moment. I looked so ridiculous taking this photo and my friend still makes fun of me to this day. I had my huge bright red backpack on with what I realize now was a ridiculous looking straw hat and my camera wrapped around my neck, I could not have looked more like a quintessential tourist but I secretly loved it.

Green:

I was travelling from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and the only way to get there was by car. Because our concept of money had changed completely from being in Southeast Asia for a month, my best friend and I opted to buy a ticket on two seats in a minivan and considered our upgrade to an air-conditioned one a splurge. The drive was supposed to take four hours but it took over eight. Our minivan was supposed to be air-conditioned but it wasn’t. Since the driver refused to open the windows and the route was very hilly and windy, we had to pull over every few minutes so someone in the car could get some air. This photo was taken during a stop more than halfway along the trip. It was the first time all day any of us could muster up a sense of appreciation of where we were. Suddenly everyone went from yelling at the driver to being lost for words at how beautiful the terrain was. I still have no idea where exactly in Laos this is. Over to the left was a group of small houses and I couldn’t help but think ‘wow this is their backyard!’ In that moment, I couldn’t have cared less about that awful drive because it brought me to this place and I’m really happy I have this photo to remember that moment by.

Yellow:

This photo was taken in Singapore’s Little India district. My friend and I had just taken an overnight train from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We had just dropped our bags off at our hostel and decided to walk around and explore. This mosque was about three blocks away from where we were staying. I was immediately drawn to it because it was one of the brightest buildings I’d ever seen! I chose this photograph because even though the yellow is very present it by no means dominates the scene. I’m equally drawn to the green detailing, the ornate architecture of each entrance, the crescent moons that are perched on each pole and especially the imperfect way the shoes are scattered outside.

White:

This has to be one of the photos I am most proud of. It was taken in Piazza Navona in Rome while on a backpacking trip through Europe with a close friend last year. I had been to Rome five years earlier and remembered stumbling upon this amazing square that I knew I had to take her to, but I for the life of me couldn’t remember what it was called or where it was. A friend of hers who lives in Rome recommended that we go to Piazza Navona. As soon as we got there I knew immediately that this was the same place I had been five years earlier. I fell in love with it all over again. It was packed with locals and tourists but there was still ample room for us to walk around and enjoy it. The perimeter was lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants with quaint outdoor patios. The streets were cobblestone with elaborate statues and water fountains. It was quintessential Italy and I loved it. We treated ourselves to some gelato and after walking around the entire square sat down on the edge of the sidewalk to lick every last bit of gelato out of our cups. A few minutes later this small band sat down and started playing this beautiful music a few feet away from us. I looked up and smiled just as the gentleman playing the trumpet looked over at us. I was holding my camera and he gave me the thumbs up to take a picture. It’s still one of my favorite photos because I was the only person who could have taken that photo in that moment and in that way.

Red:

This photo was taken at a silk market in a small town called Ubud on the island of Bali. My best friend and I had been staying near the southern tip in a town called Kuta. We had spent the first few days relaxing and surfing and wanted to spent the last half of our stay there exploring the rest of the island to experience and understand the Balinese culture. Ubud is located in the centre of the island and is a cultural haven full of all things art, dance and music. We saw so many markets that day and this silk market where this photo was taken was my favorite. One part of it was full of artisans hand weaving, stitching and painting some of the most beautiful, elaborate and colourful patterns I’d ever seen. I took this photo of a few of the designs one lady had just worked on that she was hanging to dry. I love the colour complexity, patterns and shape. It immediately caught my eye.

So there you have it! Unfortunately today is the last day to enter this contest but I think the following five people would have made some excellent submissions:

Wish me luck!

Photos © Lauren Alboini

Tagged:

§ 6 Responses to capture the colour.

Leave a Reply

«

»

What’s this?

You are currently reading capture the colour. at eyes/ears/ mouth+lens.

meta