Canon1DsMKIII, 16-35mmL @ f/16, (6) frames blended in Photoshop, ISO 100, Lexar Digital Media.

When I first started down the path of serious landscape photography, I photographed and learned to see the world in black-and-white. I was heavily influenced by the great masters: Ansel Adams, Ed Weston and John Sexton (all local Monterey Bay neighbors). I then began exploring with Kodachrome 25 and 64 and I was hooked. Their soft pastel color palettes won me over. Later, Fuji introduced its much ballyhooed Velvia and the world took on an even more vibrant look where images exploded off the light table! The tradeoff was that it was tough to control color. I could no longer burn, dodge, bleach, etc., as I could with a B&W print. Well we know that all changed with digital. But what hasn’t changed is my appreciation of color and color harmony in scenes I try to capture.

Psychological studies have proven that color can alter mood and emotions. Moreover, each color has its own psychological implications and visual weight. Placement of different colored elements in your scene is crucial with the correct information. For example, warm colors tend to move forward, while cool colors recede. Bright colors also advance while dark colors recede. You can also choose where to place different colors within your scene to create either tension, or in the case of this article, visual harmony.

Color is a phenomenon of light as was demonstrated back in 1676 by Sir Isaac Newton when he passed sunlight through a prism. White light is comprised of seven basic colors from violet to red. We also know that when we look at an object, we are actually seeing light reflected from its surface.  Most of us are also aware of the color wheel to some degree. The primaries as we all know are: red, blue and yellow. They have the most visual impact because they are considered to be pure. All other colors can be created by various mixing of these colors; mixing all three will produce a dark gray. As you begin to mix primary colors, they tend to lose their visual punch but the resulting color is pleasing nonetheless.

The secondaries are made up of two equal parts of two primaries: red-green, blue-orange, and yellow-purple. These color combinations are call complimentary. When these colors are used next to each other, each hue tends to vibrate more intensely. Here is how they are mixed: red complements (blue + yellow) = green; blue complements (red + yellow) = orange; yellow complements (red + blue) = violet.

An interesting aside worth mentioning is when one stares at a single color (blue for example) for a sustained period of time (roughly thirty seconds to a minute), then looks at a white surface, an afterimage of the complementary color (in this case orange) will appear. This is one of several aftereffects studied in the psychology of visual perception which are generally ascribed to fatigue in specific parts of the visual system.

As visual artists, we need to be aware of complementary colors in nature and use them to our advantage. An orange-tinged bristlecone pine looks more vibrant when placed against a cobalt blue sky. Moreover, red maple leaves appear more saturated when juxtaposed against some green aspen leaves.

Harmonious colors in nature are even less intense than complementary color combinations but are very appealing for your viewer. They are closely related hues (or pure color) used in a color scheme. Some of one color is found in another color (i.e. orange and green are in harmony with yellow because they both have yellow in them). A harmonious color scheme produces a feeling of tranquility and peace. In the image accompanying this article, I started the scene with a backlit green bush that glowed yellow in the setting sun light. The eye then moves through the turquoise water (this is actually how the water looks) to a more neutral gray water of the ocean, then ends with a warm orange/yellow horizon. A warm-cool-warm relationship. I love finding this relationship in nature as it involves two complimentary color groups: red-green and blue-orange. There is also a bit of tension introduced from the combination of warm and cool colors.

Nature is amazing, especially around the fringes of the day, when light and color saturates and mixes in harmonious relationships that bring an image to life. This scene is still beautiful even if I were to have photographed it at mid-day, but it evokes more emotions and mood by waiting for the low warm light to arrive and do its thing.

If you are new to color in terms of using it to your advantage, then I would encourage you to do some homework on color theory. At least learn the basics with a rudimentary understanding of the color wheel and color relationships. Knowledge is a powerful tool in helping us create images that can emotionally connect with our viewer. Similar to the study of light itself, become a student of color and a scene’s tonality and I guarantee you will see a marked improvement in your images.