What if Our Most Colorful Landscapes Were Gray, Instead?
Can you imagine a world void of color? I can’t!
I am a landscape/nature photographer, and the color of naturally occurring scenes at home and on my travels plays a huge role in what I photograph.
I crave color! I need color!
Are you familiar with the children’s story, Frederick, by Leo Lioni (1967)? In the story, a field mouse named Fredrick is accused by his fellow mice of not working to prepare for winter. He’s not gathering food nor readying the nest.
When his friends ask him about all the sitting around he does, his reply is brilliant!
Fredrick replies that he is busy — he is gathering colors so he can fill their long, gray winter days with visions of color! Sometimes, I feel like Fredrick.
I gather my photographs filled with colors — the turquoise green blues of the Carribean, the vibrant yellows and oranges of the forest in fall, the verdant mosses that respond in color after a rain, the cobalt blue of the mid-western sky, and even the browns of fungi hidden in the leaves.
Part of my photographic interest lies in preserving these colors for future gazing — especially on a gray skied winter day in the Northern reaches of the Midwestern United States.
