I absolutely love taking pictures.  I take pictures of lots of  “stuff” around my house, and of course, I take lots of pictures of my kids.  I read everything I can get my hands on about photography and taking better photos.  I’ve taken a few classes and I’m finally feeling comfortable with my camera.  I have SO much more left to learn, but I think feeling comfortable is a pretty good start.

My most recent photography endeavor is an online course from Big Picture.  This week my focus is on color.  I’m not just talking about color, but we’re talking vibrant color.  The instructor asked us to jump out of our color comfort zone and add even more.  I’d love to show you pictures of my kids wearing bright clothes, holding swirly lollipops or bright flowers.  Friends, it’s just not happening right now.  I tried to find some bright color in my yard and the only color I found was green.  I tried using my shed as a background and was disgusted by the fact that I could see the mess inside the shed through the window.  I attempted to wrap a bright pink quilt around my little girl and do a mini photo shoot, but I just got the “I’m totally bored with this” look from her.  No, I’m not quitting.  I still love photography, but I’m just not feeling this assignment.  It just feels like a struggle.

I decided to go through a few old photos and find examples of pictures where I did actually use bright colors.  I love the look of colorful photos and these pictures make me happy.

Here’s a quilt I made and a few of my favorite summer fabrics.

Not quite as bright, but still colorful, here are a few more fabrics.

There is just nothing more colorful than a rainbow cake!  I also loved the blue wall in the background.  Talk about color!!

I love a few great garden pictures.  My garden is just in the beginning stages right now, so there’s not much to take pictures of.

There’s just something about a ripe tomato that I love!

The red shed provides a great backdrop, but my flowers aren’t even close to blooming right now.  

Berries are probably my absolute favorite thing to take pictures of (aside from my kids).  There is nothing more beautiful than fresh local berries.  Their color is so much more vibrant than anything that can be bought in a store.  

It would be great to take pictures of fresh berries, but they aren’t in season yet.  So, you see, I really do love color.  I use it in my photography, but right now, I’m just struggling. Everything just feels dark and gray right now.  (Welcome to Seattle.)

Maybe I’ll do better with my next assignment.

Happy picture taking!