Capture the Colour: Blue on Blue

As travel bloggers, photography is a fun hobby for us, and we do our best to include interesting shots that enhance our posts. Like all photographers, we have favorite photos, and it’s always nice to have an opportunity to show them off.

Thanks to our across-the-pond blogging buddy Restless Jo, who has nominated us for the Capture The Colour 2013 photo blogging competition, we’ve been given the chance. We really appreciate Jo’s nomination, and after browsing through her beautiful, entertaining, and informative blog, you’ll see why we’re so flattered that she recommended us for the competition.

According to Travelsupermarket.com, the competition sponsor:

“The idea was simple, publish a blog post showcasing five of your favourite travel photographs which best capture the colour of our five categories: blue, green, red, white and yellow.”

This sounded straightforward to us, but we thought that it would be fun to get our readers involved in the choice. So over the next 5 days, we will be publishing a post with three of our favorite photos to represent each of the colors for the competition. And we hope that you’ll make a comment to let us know which photo in each post is your favorite. After the five finalists are determined, we’ll enter the competition.

So here goes. Today’s color is BLUE.

Thanks in advance for your involvement and feedback.

James & Terri

Blue Bottle

1.The Apothecary’s Bottle

The backdrop for this photo is the central town square in Tallinn, Estonia … a scenic location steeped in history. The spire in the photo sits atop the 13th Century Town Hall, and the bottle sits on a windowsill in a pharmacy that’s been open for business since the early 15th Century. When I took the shot, I was trying to be so artsy-fartsy, that I failed to notice that the aquamarine bottle was acting as a convex lens.

The Post: Art Meets Science in Tallinn

Blue Woman, New Orleans USA 1

2. Am I Blue?

We were strolling New Orleans’ French Quarter on a rainy February afternoon – just days before the infamous “Super Gras” – the unprecedented nexus of Mardi Gras 2013 and Super Bowl XLVII. The weekend was a guaranteed mega-party, but that day everything was quiet.

We stumbled across the gallery of George Rodrique, the famous Cajun artist know for his creation of the signature Blue Dog series of paintings. It seems he had also created a Blue Woman. She looked so forlorn, sitting in the window amid the blue dogs, staring out at the rain and passing cars, waiting out the calm before the storm.

The Post: The French Quarter: The Calm Before the Storm

IMG_0632

3. A Cigar By The Sea

Terri’s Granddad was a cigar smoker. In fact, it defined him.

So when we went to Gould’s Inlet on St. Simons Island, Georgia to see if we could spot some of the elusive mink scrambling on the rocks, a denim-clad man appeared who was a dead ringer for her long-departed Grandfather – complete with cigar! A seriously big cigar.

And her Grandpa was a dead ringer for Alfred Hitchcock … or Winston Churchill. Freaky!

The Post: A Cigar By The Sea

PLEASE TELL US YOUR FAVORITE. MANY THANKS!

*** Check out our entries for Green, Red, White, and Yellow. And here is the Final Entry submission that you helped us choose. Thanks again!

Author: gallivance.net

We're Terri and James Vance - high school sweethearts who went on to international careers and became world nomads. Today, 65 countries later, we're still traveling ... and still in love. Check out Our Story for more of the backstory at gallivance.net.

73 thoughts

  3. They’re all interesting, but #1 is the most unique and doesn’t require any outside information to fully appreciate. I love all the leading lines in that shot, too.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Brittany. For me, blogging is about learning. And it takes an artist like you to appreciate “leading lines”, which I hadn’t even thought about. So much for my artsy-fartsy. Thanks for the vote and feedback. ~James

      Reply

      1. No problem! I’m looking forward to seeing the other entries. Another thing I like about the lines is the contrast between the curved lines of the bottle and the straight lines in the background. I’m sure it took a naturally artistic eye to frame that shot!

    1. Thanks Steven. The cigar-smoker was one of those instances where seeing the action real-time made it even better. I mean, this guy was making love to the incredibly long cigar. Thanks for the vote and feedback. ~James

      Reply

  5. Great idea, folks! I know I had a few “this one, no that one” moments before I made my submission, but in the end went with a kind of romantic theme. Thank you so much for the link and kind comments.
    The standout for me is James’ intriguing bottle shot, and it’s in an Eastern European country so I’d have to put my weight behind that one wouldn’t I? But I love your blue lady too 🙂

    Looking forward to some more colours.

    Reply

  7. Has to be #1 – The Apothecary’s Bottle – It’s such a unique and unusual photo and one of my all time favourites (I’ve seen on your blog).

    Reply

  8. Yep…I’m for the blue bottle as well. I’d already made my choice before I looked at what everyone else thought. The blue bottle definitely appeals! I wonder what’s in it?? Intriguing.

    Reply

  13. I have to go with the Apothecary’s bottle as it is more than the color blur but a mystery all at the same time.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Joyce. The bottle is cool, but you would’ve loved the cigar smoker. He was sitting alone, staring out to sea, and smoking his cigar like he was the only person on the planet. Something has to be said for blissful, private moments. Love, JH

      Reply

    1. Thanks Erin. From the get-go, our policy has been to have fun with our blog. We want it to be entertaining and informative, and for that, we take it seriously … but not too seriously. Also, given the cool contacts that we’ve made, we thought it would be a fun idea to let our readers decide, particularly since many of them are excellent photographers. Thanks again, I haven’t had an A+ in a while. ~James

      Reply

  23. Gottle to be the bottle! No disrespect to the other contenders, but that photo is so evocative. I feel I could pour that scene right out onto the counter. Lovely. See you tomorrow.
    E

    Reply

  28. Think I’m too late to vote for this one but I’m always a sucker for blue glass. Now I know the glass is probably clear and the water is blue but the image in the image sealed the deal for me.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Carol. We always appreciate feedback from our readers, and it’s never too late for us. I must admit, that I’m partial to this shot as well for the science involved … geek that I am. Check out the post link if you want to know more. ~James

      Reply

    1. Thanks Margo. I think about composition when I shoot, but I’m also a big believer in the axiom that “Luck counts too.” And there was a fair amount of luck with this photo. Thanks for the vote. ~James

      Reply

    1. Thank you Pania. So glad you stopped by. James first started snapping it because the color was so vivid. Then he said, “Hey look at what it’s doing with the reflection from the Town Square. Cool!” I guess the best part of photography is when it can make you smile. All the best, Terri

      Reply

  34. I really like the cigar smoker best. It just brings up a mood, peaceful, serene, silence. I can almost smell the ocean.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and liking my post on the hurricanes (or lack of) 😉

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jill. When I took that photo the tide was rushing in to fill a deep channel at Gould’s Inlet. The birds were scattering and I could smell the ocean … and his cigar. 🙂 I really enjoyed my visit to your blog and your independent spirit. All the best, Terri

      Reply

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