As travelers we all know that photos can launch a thousand dreams, catapult us to faraway places, and awaken our human compassion. Travel photos are the eyes that let us connect across this wide, wonderful world.
If you’ve been following along for the past few days, then you know that Jo over at Restlessjo and Kelly at Compass & Camera invited us to join in the Capture the Colour 2013 Photo Contest sponsored by the folks at TravelSupermarket.com. They asked us to publish a blog post showcasing 5 of our best travel photos which best capture the colors blue, green, red, white and yellow.
So we pulled together 3 of our favorites for each color and asked you, our Readers (and fellow wanderers) to help us choose the photos to submit. Wow! You were awesome – the response was a huge success! We want to send an enormous Thanks to all of you who voted, made great comments, and helped us determine the photos to be submitted.
So without further ado, here are the faves.
BLUE
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.
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
The Post: Cool Science Demonstration, or Waaaay Too Much Time on my Hands?
GREEN
A Green Bug Zapper
Green anoles are a common sight in the Southeast US, but their wary nature, and rocket-like escape maneuvers make them difficult to photograph close-up. What’s not obvious from the photo, is that he’s perched on an 18th Century tombstone in one of Charleston, South Carolina’s many wonderful old graveyards.
Location: Charleston, South Carolina USA
The Post: A Green Bug Zapper
RED
I’ve Been to Heliconia … and Back
For my money, the Heliconia is one of the most colorful and appealing flowers in the world. A unique lobster-claw shape, and vivid red, yellow and green colors make it impossible to ignore. This beautiful specimen grew just off the front porch of our hotel room in Ubud, Bali, and was a constant reminder of the paradise surrounding us.
Location: Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
The Post: The Constant Gardener
WHITE
The Whitewashed Windmills of Oia, Santorini
In the dictionary, next to the word “photogenic” should be a photo of one of Santorini’s whitewashed buildings. Cathedrals, houses, and windmills are all painted with stark, white paint to help reflect the harsh summer sun. Add a few splashes of color accents and a crystal blue sky above, and you have the formula for gorgeous, foolproof photos.
The Location: Oia, Santorini, Greece
The Post: Uniquely Santorini
YELLOW
The Hell Hunt
If you’re like us you may not speak Estonian. Consequently you may think that this handsome Tallinn pub with its mustard yellow exterior only attracts bikers and the leather crowd. Not true!
Translated into English, “Hell Hunt” means “Gentle Wolf.”
The Hell Hunt is a fun, unpretentious pub that caters to locals and expats, with the odd tourist sprinkled in. Patrons rave about the cheap beer and delicious food. But our favorite part is the “shoe tossing” – the pair of shoes hanging on the line. Just proof that teenagers all over the world think alike!
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
The Post: Tallinn’s Unique Medieval Ambience
* * * * *
Now it’s our turn to nominate 5 other bloggers we love to join in the fun. Please participate at whatever level you like. No pressure. 🙂
Alison and Don at Adventures in Wonderland
Rusha at Oh, the Places We See
Pam and Richard at Naturetime
Vicki at Victoria A. Photography
The duo of Leslie and Steven at Chic Adventurer and Twenty First Century Nomad
Thanks again to all who participated. We know with all the superb photographers out there that we’re a total long shot, but we’ve had a lot of fun pulling it together. So you’ll hear a big yippie ki-yay in the blogosphere if we, or someone we know, wins.
Happy Trails,
James & Terri
GALLIVANCE 
Good luck! You’ve got my vote anyway. It’s been fun coming along with you as you were selected all your entries. Hope all deliberating and hard work…..make that fun work….pays off!
Thanks so much for the encouragement! What we really enjoyed was all the interaction with so many people. Thanks for hanging in there with us all week and giving us all your wonderful feedback. ~Terri
They are all very beautiful and special. My favorite? Santorini white. The angle you took the picture was so different from most of the Santorini pictures which usually include the white walls and blue roof houses and churches. My choice of the Buddha in red failed to win, but I love the red flower too in Bali too.
Interesting project! Look forward to seeing more!
Hi Denise … and thanks for your great perspective and encouragement. So glad you helped us out all week. The feedback we got was a real education on the types of photos that captivate people. All the best, Terri
Hard to choose but I liked the apothecary’s bottle because it sets a scene and is like the opening line of a story
Thanks for your kind words Dallas. And you are the queen of great story opening lines. 🙂 ~Terri
Excellent choices! Am still debating whether to enter or not – would love to but it’s a time/priorities thing.
Alison, I totally understand. I just wanted to let you know how much we love your gorgeous photography and artist eye. Are you in Canada now? We’re getting ready to head out to Eastern Europe so I definitely understand the time/priorities challenges. ~Terri
Oooooo Eastern Europe! Soooo want to go there – probably next summer for 6 months. In Montreal visiting family. Fly to Buenos Aires Sept 25 for 6 months in South America.
Been looking through old blog posts – have already found 2 possibilities for each colour. Must read rules – if it’s ok they’ve been published before I’ll enter.
Alison
And thanks 🙂
South America sounds glorious. We haven’t spent nearly enough time there … yet!
The contest is way easy. You just need a photo for each color, publish a blog post with them, nominate 5 other bloggers, then send TravelSupermarket an email to let them know you’re entering. It’s OK if the photos have been previously published. We did it because it was fun. 🙂 ~T
Fantastic entries! Bravo!
Thanks Pam. It was an interesting and fun exercise, and we had a good laugh as well. Before we published any of the candidates, we made our own guesses at which ones would win. As it turned out, our guesses were wrong in 4 out of 5 photos. It was a lesson to us on what kind of photos our readers enjoy. ~James
Love. This.
Thanks Keith. We had lots of fun putting it together. ~James
It certainly makes a beautifully colourful post, and a nice trip through your adventures. Many thanks again for giving me a nudge in there. 🙂 The standouts for me are that blue bottle and Hell’s Hound. The very best of luck to you both. 🙂
Thanks Jo. We both had fun pulling it together, and interacting with our many voters. It appears that people like to be asked for their opinion, and it worked well for our submission. ~James
I love the pictures! I love what you guys are doing.. so inspiring!
Thanks Gabriela. We were only in Ithaca for a short time, but it seemed to be a seething cauldron of ideas and inspiration. It must be fun. ~James
Pam and Richard, What gorgeous entries! I am particularly captivated by the Alligator in the Duckweed – what a shot! Thanks also for the shoutout and link – much appreciated. Wishing you all the best in the contest, Terri and James
Great choices and a brilliant selection process. Thought that apothecary’s bottle would be hard to beat, but I like the Oia windmill even better. Good luck with the contest 🙂
Thanks Madhu. We had lots of fun putting it together, and interacting with all our voter/readers. Everyone seemed to like the process. We’re a long shot, but it was great fun. ~James
Excellent photos all around, but the blue bottle is exceptional. I could see that being a category winner if nothing else.
Thanks Jeff. The blue bottle seems to be a favorite with our readers. And as I said in another comment, it’s proof to me that in my photography, luck counts too. It’s a long shot, but we’ll see what happens. Thanks again. ~James
Terrific entry-all wonderful. Think I’m partial to your white entry but it’s a VERY tough choice! Good luck!
Thanks so much for your encouragement Tina. It’s hard to take a bad photo in Santorini! 🙂 ~Terri