The Elements of Color – Color Equilibrium
Josef Albers’s Theory and Interaction of Colors is considered the definitive classic on color theory from a painter’s perspective. I actually prefer his colleague Johannes Itten’s The Elements of Color. Itten’s language is exceptionally clear. How important is language? Very! Itten does something brilliant. He avoids the whole mess of discussing color ‘harmony’, which is subjective (influenced by culture, region, individual, and time), and describes color relationships in terms of ‘equilibrium’. Complementary colors produce equilibrium; red and cyan mix to produce gray. ‘Color balance’ is produced by an equal mix of the two colors. An ideal color structure is produced by an equal mix of all colors. Equilibrium produced a perfect balance. There’s lots more where that came from. I highly recommend the book.
Find this and other books on color here.
Learn more about color in my DVDs.
Learn more about color in my workshop The Power of Color.
Kathy Beal – Alumni – Antarctica
Kathy Beal has a thoroughly unique approach to making images, capturing out of focus fields of color on location and using them as a jumping off point for creating unique compositions in Photoshop. Though still inspired by specific places and their palettes, her images take you to entirely new places with a palette all her own.
Kathy’s one of my long standing alumni who has come so far so fast it’s thrilling to watch! It took a combination of many things to make breathroughts – commitment, research, persistence, risk, courage, feedback, sensitivity, passion, and the most important of all hard work. But she enjoys what she’s doing so much, it doesn’t seem like hard work. She’s become incredibly productive, producing thoroughly unique work. Her growth can only be described as an explosion of creativity.
Check out more of Kathy’s work from Antarctica here.
Check out my workshops here.
Resonance in Red and Gold
July 18, 2003
“Many meditation practices suggest gazing at the flow of water, in some cases watching or visualizing a drop of water hit the still surface of a greater body of water. Like many mandalas, Resonance in Red and Gold has a rhythmic centering quality.
The methods of both photographer and painter are married here. The color is an invention. The composition, both representational and abstract, offers a fluid structure to explore the power of color, physically and psychologically.
Red, the warmest color. Is its presence here the reflected glory of the heavens, a display of bodily fluid, or an omen of toxic waste? The power of this image can be found, in part, in tantalizing ambiguity. When looking at this image, I’ve asked myself why red, time and time again. I can’t answer the question. But by asking the questions that surround it I learn to more fully appreciate the presence and power of red.”
Pete Turner – Empowered By Color
“Legendary photographer Pete Turner still knows how to punch up the color and get people’s attention. The master colorist, who broke all the rules in the pre-computer era, is taking his creativity to an entirely new ground with the unprecedented control of digital technology. His photographs are best known for their blazing hues, atmospheric effects, daring perspectives and surreal landscapes.
Turner personally printed 50 of his most loved images, with colorful names like “Lifesaver, USA” and “Hot Lips,” for the recent retrospective, Pete Turner: Empowered by Color. The photographs were on view in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. at the renowned George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.”
See the short 6:33 video on Turner from Epson Focal Points here.
The Luscher Color Test – Online
The Luscher Color Test was devised by psychologict Max Luscher in 1969. It’s effectiveness has been known in advertising and industry (automotive and fashion) for years. Now you can gain some pracitalc insight into color psychology with this well-known color test – online.
It’s uncanny what this test can reveal (consistently), but remember it’s just a starting point. What’s far more revealing is your unique living relationship with color, which is revealed over time and in a variety of contexts under many influences. Awareness is the key. Use this as food for thought for developing insight into your relationship with color.
Take the test here.
What did the test reveal for you?
Comment here!
Read more on Color Psychology here.
Learn more in my digital printing and digital photography workshops.
Farnsworth-Munsell ColorIQ Challenge at X-Rite
1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency.
How well do you see color?
Find out!
X-Rite has taken the Farnsworth-Munsell color test online.
It’s quick and free!
Find more color theory resources here.
Find more color adjustment resources here.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.
Metamerism
3500 K
5000 K
6500 K
Metameric failure is the tendency of an object to change its appearance under different light sources. Different light sources, even of the same color temperature, are often comprised of differing amounts of spectral frequencies (i.e. red or blue frequencies). Some objects change appearance more quickly than others; they are more metameric. This is true when comparing dye-based inks with pigmented inks. As pigments are made of irregular particles, they tend to refract (reflect and bend) light more strongly than uniform dye globules. The most current ink technology coats pigment particles in resin to reduce this effect. Additionally, some color pigments, typically the most saturated ones, are more prone to metamerism. By separating the file differently and using more of the less metameric ink to reproduce an image, the print’s appearance stability is increased. This is particularly important when reproducing neutrals, as small shifts in hue are quickly detected in these colors.
How can you evaluate metameric failure? Make two prints of the same image (preferably containing significant neutrals) and compare them side by side in different light sources.
What can you do to reduce metameric failure? Use the latest inksets and drivers (with the latest separation routines). And, when practical, standardize the light your prints are viewed under. Can metamerism be completely eliminated? No. Everything is metameric. But metameric failure in prints can be reduced to the point where it is no longer significant or noticeable.
With new technologies come new possibilities and new challenges. Recent advances in inkjet technology (ink formulation, separation routines, and screening algorithms) are making noticeable gloss differential, bronzing, and metameric failure things of the past. It pays to stay informed of the latest developments in printing technology. Your prints will simply get better.
Read more with my online Printing Resources.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.
Test Your Palette – Fine Digital Print Expert Workshop
One of the exercises we do in my Fine Digital Print Expert workshop is to test our palettes. Take your signature image, or the strongest image in a body of work, and make many variations of it. Neutral, semi-neutral, low saturation, average saturation, high saturation, super saturation. Ideal color, ambient color, synthetic color. Etc. Compare the results side-by-side. By process of elimination choose the best solution. Then take your second strongest related image and see if the same palette is equally strong for it. If it is, you’ve found your zone for a body of work.
Many students are astonished at how much potential their images have. Consider John Myer’s image here. He’s torn between the fully saturated and semi-neutral versions. So he’s testing those two palettes on several other related images. With a just little more exploration, he’ll soon have his answers. Too often we commit to a solution before we explore our options. Sometimes we’re too timid with the kinds of explorations we allow ourselves. Take these steps at the beginning of every new body of work. The time you take to explore your options is well spent. It’s extremely rewarding.
Find out about my Fine Digital Print Workshop series here.
Find out about The Fine Digital Print Expert workshop here.
