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Here are my photos that best exemplify the colors blue, red, yellow, green, and white:
Blue
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh is a magical city on any given day — but on a sunny day after a rainstorm, the cobblestones on the Royal Mile actually glow blue! I was thrilled to witness this phenomenon on an early morning in January, before Edinburgh’s most street got overly crowded.
Edinburgh is one of those rare cities, like Paris and Venice, to look just as stunning on a cloudy day — but when the sun shines, that beauty is multiplied. The next time you visit Edinburgh, be sure to try to see the blue cobblestones on a sunny winter morning.
Red
Petra, Jordan
Petra may be most famous for its rose-colored Treasury, but no red stood out to me better than the blankets on the camels led by this Bedouin.
I love so much about this photo — the Bedouin’s casual camel-riding stance, the ancient city in the background — but what I love most is that he’s wearing an outfit that you would see on half the freshmen at BU, down to the Che Guevara t-shirt. It might be a quirky reminder of the similarities we share across the world, but it’s a reminder that needs repeating.
Yellow
Torgiano, Umbria, Italy
A farm in the countryside, a cloudy day, and quite a bit of wine! This was taken at Terre Margaritelli, after we indulged in a delicious Umbrian feast.
I love this photo because it’s a nontraditional view of the color yellow. Yellow always makes me think of sunshine and warmth and yellow daisies, but the weather here couldn’t be more different. The yellow labels on the wine bottles are the only bit of yellow in this scene, and they add so much warmth to the photo. You wouldn’t say the same thing if the labels were lilac or bright white.
Green
Gásadalur, Vagar, Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands, surrounded by cliffs topped with soft green grass, have preserved their distinctive culture in part because they’re so isolated. And few places exemplify that better than the tiny village of Gásadalur, which was set between mountains and isolated from the rest of the Faroe Islands until a tunnel was built in 2006. In this shot, I capture the entire, newly connected town — which consists of 17 residents.
That day, I drove straight from Gásadalur to Gjov on the island of Eysturoy. The journey took me about 90 minutes. I was told that just a few years ago, that same journey took days. It’s unbelievable how fast life is changing here.
Additionally, seeing photos taken from this viewpoint is what made me want to visit the Faroe Islands in the first place. I was thrilled to get a shot of my own!
White
Forlimpopoli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
You see so much white in travel photography — sand dunes, snow, wildflowers. I chose to show an example of something else intrinsic to our travels, yet one that isn’t photographed as often: chefs in their whites.
After giving us a lightning-fast pasta-making demonstration at Casa Artusi cooking school in Emilia-Romagna, our chef poured us some local wine to celebrate the end of our trip. I grabbed a quick shot — not realizing that this moment would go on to become immortalized in one of my best ever travel photos.
Now, here’s my confession — this post took HOURS longer than I anticipated. I had my post ready to go, and then I changed almost all of the photos. Why? They were pretty photos, sometimes gorgeous, but a pretty yellow sunset doesn’t speak to you. I tried to pick photos that tell a story.
And now, for more bloggers:
Nominations
The Road Forks. Nobody does better food photography than Akila, and I’d love to see some nice food shots in this series.
Expat Edna. When you live somewhere long-term, you tend to be more picky about the pictures you take around town. Having been an expat in Shanghai, Singapore, and now Paris, I’m sure Edna has a lot of unusual photos to share!
Good luck to all!
Great Collection! I am going to be participating as well!
Awesome! Good luck, Jonathan!
Kate, I am floored! Thank you so much for nominating me! I’m waiting today for my blog views to go through the roof from your bump….We SO need to make time for a Denver date. I am so excited for this!
Anytime, Colleen! You deserve it! And I can’t wait for us to finally meet up (whenever that may be)! A bunch of travel bloggers went out to Keystone for the TBEX travel blogger conference, and their pictures were GORGEOUS — I need to see Colorado!
Your green photo is breath taking! You took so many beautiful pictures on your last trip, I’m sure it was hard to choose!
Thank you! I was thrilled to finally get that shot.
Kate, thanks so much for nominating me – although I regularly lament my own lack of photography skills hahaha! 😉 However, I shall be in possession of a new camera by that point – time to get clicking, right?!
I LOVE the photo of the Faroe Islands, and the one of Petra – very subtle, I didn’t notice the red until I read the caption, then it was like “woah!” The blue on the Edinburgh cobblestones is gorgeous, too.
Hey, just look at it as a challenge to become a better photographer! I am, too — I edited the hell out of these for the second time!
Glad you love the photos. 🙂
Lovely photos. I’ve entered myself, but best of luck to you too 🙂
Thank you! I loved your photos — good luck!
I love how creative your Edinburgh shot is!
Thank you! That was one of the surprising ones — had no idea how good it would turn out to be!
STUNNING PHOTOS, KATE! What a FUN competition – cuz who doesn’t LOVE colour? I think I’ll join! Will let you know if I win and those that discovered it through your site and end up winning should definitely give you some credit for letting them know about it! Good luck!!!
Thank you, Zoetic! I’m glad you’re joining in as well. Good luck to you!
Kate, I love your Edinburgh and Faroe Islands pics. What editing software (if any) do you use? I seem to recall you mentioning some iPhone apps. Thanks!
I really need to invest in something better, Jessica, but I use Picasa!
Ah, I use that too. Thanks!
It’s so nice to see a company doing a competition that has actual judges rather than the usual social media popularity contest. And the prizes are truly awesome in this case. I’ve been loving the entries to date, and your is no exception – great work!
I totally agree, Laurence. They really chose the judges well. I also checked your submission out and your photos are BREATHTAKING!
Your Faroe Island photo is AH-MAAZING! So much creativity with this post!
Thank you! So glad I finally got to take it!
I agree that this contest is a great one because of the judges. Really nice photos–I enjoyed them all.
I just got nominated for this too, and agree that the prizes are ridiculous! Your yellow picture is my favorite – love that you opted to go for a non-traditional yellow. And that sky…there’s such a great textural contrast between the clouds and smoothness of the bottles.
Black and White photo at the end was a nice touch! Know what you mean about taking so long to pull together. I chose 5 of my own, and now have quite a few sets I’m trying to decide on. It’s a great approach – love the concept.
Thanks, Jay! I love the concept, too.
Loving the photos! Thanks so much for posting about the contest and informing people about it. It’s a creative idea, and I like that judges pick the winner. I always like seeing great photography.
I’ve been so impressed by the entries so far. Damn, we as a collective body are GOOD!
Great photos Kate and love the way you thought about it creatively 🙂
Thanks, Beverley! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Love the green and white pics. Congrats on the nomination and good luck!
Thanks, Hayley! Glad you like them.
Great photos, Kate! I really like how you picked the ones that had meaning to you as well. I was stunned at the Edinburgh shot — I had no idea how blue the cobblestones can be! I guess it means I’ll just have to go back again! Your Faroe Islands shot is gorgeous as well.
I agree that it’s a great competition. Not only does it get you to think a little bit out of the box, but I’ll echo you and a lot of commenters in saying it’s nice to have a contest judged by such respected people rather than by votes.
Thanks, Kristin! There’s always a good excuse to head back to Edinburgh!
Great photos and I especially love the Edinburgh Blue.
I’m going to join in and delve into my photo collection to find some to compete with you 🙂
Thanks, Paul! Can’t wait to check out your collection. 🙂
Awesome shots!
Thanks, Andi!
Thanks for thinking of us, Kate!
Just like everyone else… I need to say that the Faroe island shot is ridiculous in so many ways.
Great point about the contest not bugging your audience. We never do them because we hate begging for votes. This is a great format and our submission is going out today. I’m going to concede green to you, that is unbeatable, but i’ll try to give you a run for your money with the others!
Haha, thank you, Tony! The battle’s on. 🙂 May the best non-audience-bugger win!
Great submissions!! Red is my favorite.
Thanks for the nom, Kate! I can’t wait to go through my photos and see what I can come up with. I LOVE your shot for red, by the way, so unexpected.
Thanks! I was surprised when I found it, too. I can’t wait to see yours!
Great photos! I would love to see the cobblestones turn blue. Good luck 🙂
That green picture is in it to win it.
I hope so!
Good work yar. Appreciated. Best of luck
I think you made some excellent selections, Kate! Your pictures really do connect and each of them tells a story. Best of luck!
http://ourdearladyexpatriate.blogspot.com/
Thanks, ODLE — I appreciate it! And just to let you know, don’t put your blog address in your comments — there’s already a link where your name is, and your link may get caught in lots of spam filters on other sites.
Kate this is awesome, thanks for the heads up!! Your photos are great!
Thank you, Ed! Good luck!
The green…be still my heart. Stunning all, but the green….
Thanks! 🙂 I love that my best picture taken from that trip was an iphone picture!
Beautiful photos — especially the green. That’s just an amazing shot! And, thanks so much for nominating us. 🙂
Anytime and thanks! I love your food pics.
The Edinburgh photo is amazing, reminds me of last year when I stayed at Old Town for the Edinburgh Film Festival. This street was right at the doorstep of my serviced apartment, Fraser Suites Edinburgh! Brings back good memories, thanks for sharing.
This is so awesome. Love the way the colours are reflected in the photos