2015 Kelly Corporate Management, Inc.

Published by New Riders (an imprint o Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education)

The book contains some wonderful images  which show how unexpected places can provide the most amazing light and colour and that many amazing images are stumbled upon and not sought out. I found this book a joy to read. The images were the focus and the explanatory text gives a bit more background but not so much that you get bogged down in the detail.

Its a very personal piece of work and Mansels personality is evident in the writing and the images themselves.

Whilst I was undertaking the exercises in Part Three: colour, there were times when I got quite overwhelmed with the normal everyday colours around me and found myself looking for the different colour combinations that I required for a particular exercise. Mansel writes.

“Don’t make plans to photograph colour. Dont look for one kind of colour. You’ll walk past great colour while your trying to complete your plans”

This really helped me to become open to colour rather then being ruled by it!

Johannes Itten: The Art of Colour (1973)  first printed 1961. Wiley

The book is mainly based on the development of a colour theory. It deals with “the experience and intuition of a painter” so is less about the scientific elements of colour but includes the supporting physics of the time. It also includes elements of human psychology and the profound effects colours can have on us.

Being a very visual person I found the images; of paintings, colour examples and palettes very helpful in understanding some of the results and conclusions. It was an excellent book to have to hand whilst working on the exercises and assignments and I’m sure it will continue to be a book that I use on regular occasions.

The chapter titled ” Contrast Of Extension” (p104) was the reason behind the post, “More on Colour Relationships” and there are several other examples that would make interesting projects for the future.

Colour is often described in ways which put it into a particular moment in time. For example we use phrases such as “old fashioned colours” or “modern colours” We even sometimes pin down colours to particular decades. I remember once seeing a combination of colours that brought to mind a 1950s American diner. So not just a decade, but in this case a location and a style!

This books visits the decades through colour from the 1900s up to the 1990s. It was quite strange to look through and instantly recognise a combinations of colours even without knowing the decade. It was obvious that some of the colour combinations were very familiar and I imagine there could be many reasons for this including age and particular interests. Having been a teenager in the 70s, for example I recognised the BIBA colours instantly.

There are many interesting and historical reasons why particular colours became part of an era.

The colours of early twentieth century sporting life are grounded in pragmatic, unfussy neutrals from dark to light with  Anthracite and Brunette at the deep end of the scale and Rugby Tan, Warm Sand and Pristine at the lighter end.

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The vivid pallet of the 1930s Bakelite often emanated precious materials, with Pirate Black as an alternative to jet and Buff Yellow and Radiant Yellow to amber. Grenadine and Red Orange looked like costly Japanese lacquer.

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A quick search on the internet found the Pantone fashion summer colours for 2015 as below. This could be a very useful tool next time I go shopping!

Chromaphoboa, David Batchelor. Reaktion Books Limited 2014

“A book with many words and few images”  these were my first thoughts when I started looking at this book. It seems strange to have a book dealing with colour that only has a handful of images but this is an example where words are the focus of the book beyond the need for images.

Bachelors writing is quite something and I found myself breathless, trying to keep up with the number and meaning of the words and ideas contained within a single paragraph!

His ability to use very unique expressions and items to describe is something I really enjoyed.

At first, inside looked endless. Endless like an egg must look endless from the inside; endless because seamless, continuous, empty, uninterrupted. Or rather: interrupted.Or rather interruptible. There is a difference.

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I found trying to work out what Batchelor meant quite challenging but decided not to try and break it down too much and just allow myself to enjoy it. Which I did!

I think this is a book that grows on you and not a book that you would pick up and read from cover to cover or use every day as a reference. I am really glad that my tutor recommended it as I doubt it would have been a book that I would have picked up myself.

Ian Paterson A Dictionary of Colour (2003)

Many words and phrases that relate to colour can be confusing and difficult to understand. This was a great book for helping to get a better understanding when this was the case.

It gives examples and historical information relation to colours both from a scientific and general perspective.

One of my first uses of the book was to try and understand ” Grey” or “Gray” (American spelling) after I had taken a shot of a grey boat. This led me to wonder how much we think of grey as a colour when in fact it is achromatic (devoid of colour).

It also includes interesting pieces of information that I found fascinating, such as the fact that we use a different  part of the brain to perceive grey scale images than colour.

The way colours are perceived, very much depends on how they are being used. For six men who want to appear strong, rough, manly and intimidating, being called Mr Pink is the last thing they want! Yellow is also unacceptable as it tends to be connected to cowardice. It seems that Black or White are seen as strong colours and therefore work well under the circumstances.

David Batchelor’s book is great for picking up, flicking through and finding a host of interesting snippets from a wide variety of sources. It offers the reader many different perspectives and ideas on colour, all in one place.

I have been subscribing to LensWork for many years and look forward to its bi monthly arrival. It is an American publication that focuses on photography, and the creative process, with articles, interviews and portfolios.

I have been influenced by many of the photographers that I have discovered through LensWork and my interest in abstract, architectural and fine art photography is motivated with almost every edition.

The images are stunningly replicated. I am often disappointed with other books and publications when the images they are showing have been badly printed. The images in LensWork are of superb quality. The articles and interviews that go with the images help to get an insight into why they were taken and understand a bit more about the images themselves and the photographer behind them.

Some of the articles have inspired me to take a different look at photography and allowed me to recognise that there is a world if images out there just waiting to be captured. They have also frustrated me at times wondering how a particular image was created and if I am capable of being that creative! I have spent many hours resarching particular photographers and their techniques.

Although I subscribe to several other main stream publications and do indeed get inspiration and information from them, there is no doubt in my mind that LensWork is in a class of its own.

For more information or to subscribe to their publication or to see their online publication go to: www.lenswork.com