THE challenge of color blocks
The art of color blocking has always belonged to those with a unique talent. From the work of Mondrian in the 1920s to the creative still lives of contemporary photographers like Clare Nicolson, there is an incredible skill necessary to capture color in an engaging way. This holds especially true in a society where minimalism is a steady and holding trend, and in fashion, where clothing outside of black, grey, white and navy blue are foreign to the everyday commuter’s wardrobe. We seem to live in a world that has forgotten about color and the beauty that it can bring to our daily lives.
With that in mind, one of my favorite recommendation for people residing in or visiting San Francisco is to search the city for beautiful color blocks. There are hidden gems all over San Francisco, from the bright green mildew around a pipe on the Embarcadero to the pattern of bright sun hitting the yellow walls of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - the goal is to find it. Investigating the city for colorful architecture, retro signs and amazing patterns can enrich the eye of any photographer and hone compositional skills that may otherwise lay dormant.
If you find that this exploration needs an added level of complexity, a bit of targeted curation can always help. In other words, pick a topic or theme prior to embarking on your trip. This can make the creative process more challenging, but also drives the mind look harder, to see things in more detail, to think differently about the city environment. For example, in 2016, Pantone celebrated Rose Quartz and Serenity as their color(s) of the year. When walking in the SOMA district, there sat a billboard that incorporated this color palette. Although it would have been relatively simple to just capture the entire scene, it took time to find the right section to photograph. Positioning the vertical line slightly off-kilter from each corner ensured that the composition was interesting versus perfectly geometric.
An additional challenge to this adventure is to incorporate little pieces of yourself or others into the composition. #handsinframe and #feetinframe are always popular on social sharing sites like Instagram, but they also add a human element to this type of stark color block photography. Think outside the box and bring striped gloves, patterned socks, or a brightly colored hat. Avoid the traditional portrait and focus on the back of the head, one hand or even a leg jutting into the scene from below. The human component can require more time to pose the scene correctly but the end results can be well worth the trouble.
Also, as a last bit of fun, never hesitate to add some post-processing techniques. Mobile apps like Snapseed, Photoshop Express or VSCO can enrich this type of work greatly and add that extra pop to that color to create a more engaging final photo. Now, go forth, explore and show the world some color!