I had read about the “Capture the Colour” competition a little while ago from a couple of blogs that had dabbled. But I decided not to enter myself, mainly because it is run by Travel Supermarket, and it appears to be looking for travel-based photographs. Sadly, I do very little travelling these days. My previous life of wanderlust has taken a back seat to single motherhood, and finances rarely offer the opportunity to get much further than a Sun holiday to Skegness.
Ironically, I have loads of photos from way back when I lived by my wits and walked the world on very itchy feet … but they were taken on film cameras and I haven’t a clue how to convert them to the computer. Since the advent of the digital age, my portfolio consists of wedding, nature, and macro photos … so I was quite happy to sit on the fence for this one.
And then, Vladimir from “Wind against current” went and nominated me to take part!
Oh good grief! I hate it when someone gives me a challenge. Something inside me just keeps niggling away, and I have to give it a go.
I thought I may be resigned to presenting five pictures of colourful bugs … HOWEVER! After a bit of trawling, I came up with a few shots that may actually fit the bill. The purpose of the competition is to present five pictures, each of which represents one of the following colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, White, and Red. So here goes … (click on the images for more clarity):
BLUE.
I have only ever crossed the border from England into Scotland once, when I travelled with my son to a tiny village called Creetown in Dumfries and Galloway. It was one of those places that had zero crime, and nobody seemed to worry about anything. There are few residents and fewer tourists – despite its cult claim to fame that Britt Ekland filmed her infamous dance scene from the original “Wicker Man” film there. We stayed at a local pub, and we were welcomed by extremely friendly locals. One couple invited us to go out sea fishing on their small boat with them one day. While we were out there, my son, aged seven at the time, caught thirteen Mackerel(s?) using one of those multi-hook lines. It didn’t take this seagull long to figure out that there is such a thing as a free lunch, and it hung around the boat for much of the afternoon:
GREEN:
As many of you already know, my idea of perfect, peaceful break away from the rat race involves some level of immersion in nature. I love to walk through the woods, take a picnic to a country meadow, and generally just lose track of time among the wee beasties and the wildlife. This picture was taken during one such excursion through the woods around Cusworth Hall in Yorkshire. I was lucky enough to spot a large dragonfly resting on a twig. Like the rest of us, he was happy to just take things easy and gave me time to take a couple of remarkably close-up shots before disappearing into the sunset.
YELLOW:
I went on a weekend holiday to Rhyl in North Wales a few weeks ago, accompanied by two very energetic boys. We stayed in a caravan park, but, as you could expect, there was little opportunity to relax. The beach was quite rocky during the day, because the tide was very far out, and the kids scratched themselves quite badly when they ventured into the sea. However, the tide returned to shore in the evening, and while the boys were being entertained by the site’s party staff, I had a chance to sit on the rocks and watch the sun go down over the waves. Despite being very cloudy during the day, I was rewarded with two evenings of beautiful sunsets. But before the sun really began to “set” beyond the horizon, and the colours deepened to remarkable shades of orange and, eventually, purple, there were a few minutes when the whole scene was bathed in a shower of golden yellow.
WHITE
This picture was taken on a very eerie, foggy morning, as I was passing Conisbrough Castle in Yorkshire while walking my dog. It looked as if a cosy, soft blanket of cotton wool had been draped over the castle, yet within another ten or fifteen minutes, the sun had warmed up and the whole mystical scenario had evaporated away.
RED
Flying home from America, we took the “red-eye” flight which began in the early evening and landed the next morning. As we were heading east, the time zones were jumping forward, and the sunset and night seemed to happen in fast-forward speed. At the time I had a “cheap” point and shoot camera, and took a chance by pointing it directly at the sun as it set. The result was some remarkable colours and visual effects that can be seen if you change the angle that you look at the picture (easiest to illustrate the illusion by tipping the laptop screen back and forth).
So, there you have it!
The other part of the contest is to nominate five other bloggers to take part. I appreciate time is short, as the contest finishes tomorrow … but then, I was only nominated yesterday, and I’ve managed to dig out some pics – so give it a go!
Mondrak
suburbanferndaleark
kap10bob
Veronika Hjorth
Hamburg und Mee(h)r
© Alice through the Macro Lens [2012]
Alice through the Macro Lens 
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