Saturation/Desaturation

Let me start with a disclaimer that I do not, generally speaking, endorse this kind of photography. In certain instances, I find it veers recklessly towards sentimentalism. But, if done right, it has definite merits and can be pleasantly startling. (The little girl holding the red balloon at the end of the movie Schindler's List uses it without being gratuitous, I think.)

So, for the current contest at Midwest Photo Exchange, I tried my hand at it. Go see the entries here and tell me what you think! What are the most successful examples you can see?

Pink Orange Red - Cocteau Twins

A special video to celebrate Orange August month. Enjoy, and have a delightful weekend!

Gentle Orange

My friend Leann (whom I never tire of talking about because she is so inspired and inspiring) brought me this guy last night. In spite of the fact that I seem to buy cashmere for the sole purpose of feeding moths, I should like to have seen him alive. (Really, I should just hang a cashmere sweater in the back yard the way some people hang bird feeders. I digress.)

I'm no pro at moth identification, but he appears to belong to the Polyphemus family (Antheraea polyphemus). Would you agree?

If you want to see more of him, go here. Flickr has just upgraded photostreams with bigger images, and improved geotags to make sharing images a richer experience.

More Orange for August

You know those Sprint commercials (or is it Verizon?) in which people walk through their days surrounded by metaphors in the landscape of the number of bars they have with their cellular service? I love those images, any images with things lined up nicely. Throw orange in, and it's even better.

What do you have that is orange?

August is Orange

It isn't news to anyone that different colors have different meanings from culture to culture. But orange seems to have a consensus of sorts. It's bold without the aggression of red. It's defiantly happy. It seems to stimulate appetites, creativity and sociability across nationalities. Native Americans credit orange with kinship, while China and Japan see in it love. I just like it.