Week 7: Vibrance

water on feathers

I'm in love with the colors in this photo- the fiery orange, the deep creamy teals in the slight ripples, the pink and purples of the duck's foot, and the sepia browns, yellows and grays in it's feathers. 

The colors are so vibrant it seems almost unbelievable that they are naturally occurring. No synthetic stains or digital color enhancement necessary, nature creates these colors all on it's own.  

I just had a client by Woodbridge lake and we got to relish in the last few minute of sunlight, as dusk fell over the water. It was perfect light for shooting portraiture but only for about 15 minutes or so. As she was changing outfits I was immediately drawn to photographing the houses along the lake with the sunset behind them, silhouettes of frames with their little lights turning on, comparing the artificial lamp light with the natural setting sun. 

And yet, these pictures seemed really predictable and expected to me once I looked back at them, and my favorite photos of the day came from a surprise subject, a little duck that came up to me at the edge of the lake (you can see my reflection leaning over the water at the edge of the frame.)

I realize while looking back at this photo that the colors we are witnessing are a simply product of the incredible light. The gentle warm dusk is not only lighting up the water on his back, his feathers, but actually penetrating the water so we can see the colors in his foot. At certain times of day the water surely looks brown, but from this low angle with this dreamy warm quality the water becomes transparent but filled with rich hue. Also, when the sun in higher, we would not have seen the foot, we would have seen glare and probably reflection from above the water. Angle, intensity, warmth and stroke coming together to sculpt this little creature and reveal naturally occurring vibrance.