Shutter Sisters

I am thinking it’s a sign

By

The colours diametrically opposed to each other… are those which reciprocally evoke each other in the eye. ~ Goethe, Theory of Colours, 1810

Goethe’s talking about the colour wheel, and about how blues and orangey-yellows go together because they face one another on a psychological spectrum of how our eyes process light. I’m imagining how he might have said that, in the German-born way of 1810: reciprocally evoke. It strikes me as extraordinarily un-1810-ish. It makes me wonder what Goethe might have thought of synth-pop.

I am thinking it’s a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they’re perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay

~ Such Great Heights, The Postal Service

Could be the wet bokeh. Could be the light play of crystal. Could be that I’m thirsty, and that Justin’s mom makes the best iced tea anywhere, and that’s coming from someone who pretty much, more or less, thinks ‘iced’ plus ‘tea’ spells ‘sacrilege’.

But it’s none of that. It’s the hunches of Goethe.

Blue, to me, is the shocking depth of everything we don’t know. It is that feeling you get when you’re treading water and can’t see the bottom, both enveloped and exposed. It has an overwhelming way about it, blue. It says so much. It is a constant reminder of depth.

If blue is all that, orangey-yellow is the sproing of a trampoline. It is stimulation, energy, ideas. It feels much less complex, with less layers, though it’s not as simple as happiness or optimism. It’s an unspoilt leaning-forward into wind.

Put together, these colours feel like what my insides are. Not that I’m saying I’m all those things. I’d never presume to personify anything other than Kate, and when asked, I can’t name my favourite colour. But these two never fail to make me opt out of conversation and immerse through the lens, chasing the why of why this particular combination plucks the basest of my strings.

+++

Today, I’d love to see your state of seeing — that prime condition of light or colour or scenery that, every time it springs up, inexplicably compels you to geek out with your camera. How does this prime condition reflect who you are? Why do you think you seek it out — why does it resonate?

 

Comments

  3. I love the way you expressed how these colors make you feel …. its like you read my heart – amazing

  13. Kate – beautiful writing as always and I knew it was yours before I even wandered to the bottom to read the author. My ideal condition of light is early in the morning. The glow cast by the waking sun gives everything a little nudge in brilliance – even the commonplace things catch my attention. I seek out the early morning light because it feels so peaceful to be up with the sun. It helps to remind me that there’s beauty everywhere, I just need to shine the right light on it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/40070449@N08/4673615556/

  18. i feel the exact same way about blue. looking straight down into the depths of a body of water makes my heart flip over, almost…like a good kind of vertigo.

    for me, the color that resonates most is red. i’m an aries – a fire sign – and red to me is passion, fire, love…the essence of being alive. i think it finds a place in many many of my photos. here are a few from recently:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/whollyafool/4768525194/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/whollyafool/4791345553/

    and i love the red against the blue-green in this one (if i may brag about my own photo!):

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/whollyafool/4791345553/