Saturday, April 18, 2009

Purple (This week's Photo Hunt theme)



Is it a general optical quirk or just one confined to my digital camera? I'm referring here to the fact that many naturally purple items I've seen in real life turn out to more grayish, brownish and reddish (e.g., rocks I saw while hiking in Northeast Hong Kong) and whiteish (i.e., more than one flower) than purple in photos I've take of them.

On the other hand, until I hunted through my photo archives to find suitable candidates for this week's Photo Hunt entry, I hadn't realized that the night sky over Hong Kong Island in one photo I took looked as purple as it did!

As it so happens, that was the evening I had ventured over to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre over in Tsim Sha Tsui for a show and happened to find portions of that normally pink-tiled edifice looking distinctly purple tinted. Consequently, here's offering up a pair of night shots even though, normally, I don't feel that my night photos are as good or successful as the products of my daytime camera-clicking efforts.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the color bar effect in the reflections of the Hong Kong Island skyscrapers in the water!

Annie said...

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who finds purple an elusive color. There are so many purple flowers in my yard that ended looking Blue after I photographed them - it was weird!

Anyway, I definitely see purple in yours and I think they are awesome night shots - very magical, really.

ancient one said...

Your purple shots are so perfect for the theme. Some of my purple comes out different when I take the photos.. thanks for coming by to see my purple pirate...

Leslie said...

I like your purple photos and post for this week. :)

I seem to take a trip to Italy every couple of years - last went in 07 and am going again this year. :)

bonggamom said...

You did a great job capturing all that purple in the urban landscape!

Carver said...

Beautiful shots for the purple theme. I love the city at night with that purple cast. Happy weekend.

eastcoastlife said...

The purple night sky looks romantic. :)

We don't normally see a purple building as the colour's usually used indoors.

Napaboaniya.Elaine Ling said...

I noticed that neon lights from buildings in HK has become pretty distintive :) Pretty for the night scenery!

Smalltown RN said...

What a great choice for displaying purple....great for the theme and very creative....

Gattina said...

Never mind ! the result counts and this is very beautiful !

jams o donnell said...

Great shots. Night photography is not easy but you have done very well with these shots. Happy weekend

Tara R. said...

I love that first nighttime skyline, like a rainbow. The second one definitely has a purple tint to it. Great picks for this week's theme.

YTSL said...

Hi duriandave --

Me too -- though, actually, have better photos of that effect! ;)

Hi Annie --

Thanks for the company -- and if you don't mind me saying, yeah, noticed that the beautiful flower shot that topped your "purple" entry looked more blue than purple -- at least in the photo. Still, there's no hiding the beauty though!

Hi "ancient one" --

I wonder why purple seems such an elusive color to photograph... :S

Hi Leslie --

Am sure you'll enjoy visiting Italy once again when you do later this year! :)

Hi Bonggamom --

Thanks for thinking so! :)

Hi Carver --

Thanks, and happy weekend to you too. :)

Hi EastCoastLife --

Romantic? Non-romantic that I am, I'd settle for plain lovely... ;b

Hi Napaboaniya --

FWIW, Hong Kong may well be the most well lit city I know for better or worse.

Hi Smalltown RN --

Thanks for the complimentary comments! :)

Hi Gattina --

Thanks for the positive opinion of the photos! :)

Hi jams o donnell --

Definitely agree that night photography's not easy and thanks for thinking my night photos came out okay.

Hi Tara R. --

Thanks for approving of my selections! :)

LifeRamblings said...

the purple skyline looks fabulous. great take on the theme.

Hootin Anni said...

That night sky is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Mine is posted now...if you can, come on over to say howdy!!! Happy Saturday to you.

Anonymous said...

great photos!

Aileni said...

It is serendipitous - my sky turned out similarly.

gengen said...

I like the color of the bar effect. Happy weekend. Mine is up too.

sarah bailey knight said...

ytsl,

Wonderful photos of purple.

June said...

Good purple shots!

Unknown said...

The cityscape is fabulous! Great purples!

http://blondesherry.blogspot.com/2009/04/photo-hunt-purple.html

Rebecca Mecomber said...

I usually get the purple effect because my camera picks up the blue color of the air. Something like that, lol.

I like your second photo! I did purple, too. I hope you have time to see! http://newyorktraveler.net/photo-hunters-purple/

Bengbeng said...

purple is definitely hard to find in real life and especially in Chinese dominant societies. it just isnt their color

Patricia said...

Very nice. I especially like the colors reflected in the water in the first photo. Blessings!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Perfectly purple!

healingmagichands said...

I particularly like the reflection picture. I noticed the same thing about purple, quite often it also looks pink.

Randi said...

It is really difficult to take good night shots, but I love your shots - specially the night sky over HK Island.

FickleMinded said...

i love the second purple!

pelfy said...

I kind of like your first picture. But if you can, get a tripod, set your shutter speed to 30s and *pupp* it will look like 100% like a postcard quality pic. Go try!!

MaR said...

I find your night shots simply wonderful, particularly the first one, perfect for the theme!

jmb said...

I think these are excellent shots and certainly quite purple. I thought I would never find anything purple in my archives but when you look for just one thing, you seem to find it.

Happy weekend YTSL.

Pat said...

The first photo with all of the colors is gorgeous!

Happy Weekend.

Dragonstar said...

Your sky is beautiful, and the great reflections, but I lovethe second shot! The simple lines and colours are perfect.

Marites said...

the night scene shot of the first pic is really beautiful!!

My Ph is up too.

amanda said...

Definitely purple, the lighting is great soft and brilliant.

YTSL said...

Hi "Life Ramblings" --

Thanks! :)

Thanks and no worries, did go over and say "hi"... ;)

Hi KISSEDALOTATOADS --

Ta! :)

Hi Aileni --

Never realized that skies could turn purple -- your naturally and mine through artificial lights! ;b

Hi gengen --

Quite a few people do. Actually, what I like is that I managed to capture the moon in that photo! ;b

Hi sbk --

Thanks -- Hong Kong and purple: two of your favorite things, right? :)

Hi June --

Thanks!

Hi Sherry --

Thanks -- and figure they give unfamiliar looks to regularly photographed sights... ;)

Hi Mrs Mecomber --

So you're saying you get more purples in photos than you actually see in real life? If so, it's actually the opposite for me!

Hi Bengbeng --

My personal experience is that purple's harder to photograph than find, actually! ;b

Hi Patricia --

Lots of people seem to like that color "bar" and I can see why... ;b

Hi Sandi --

Thanks for thinking so. :)

Hi healingmagichands --

I get purples turning gray, red, brown and even whitish! ;(

Hi Randi --

Thanks -- especially coming from a great photographer like you! :)

Hi Fickleminded --

Glad you do! ;)

Hi Pelfy --

Have thought about getting a tripod but the thing is that I take the vast majority of my photos while on the move, so am still hunting for a good, budget priced but not too bulky tripod... :S

Hi Mar --

Thanks! :)

Hi jmb --

Sounds like we both regularly hunt through our photo archives for Photo Hunt. Have to say that I love Photo Hunt for allowing me to put up "odd bits" of photos... :)

Hi Pat --

Thanks! :)

Hi Dragonstar --

Thanks to you too! :)

Hi Marites --

Does the moon being there help? Hope so! ;b

Hi Amanda --

Thanks for your agreement and approval! :)

milet said...

love the shot. thanks for the visit.

Anonymous said...

The first photo is breathtaking and so pretty. I think you take wonderful night photos.

You can find my photo hunt here -

JyLnC's Purple

june said...

Not to worry...I too see the purples! :-)

isaiah said...

yr life is very interesting. how long have you been in HK if I may ask?

YTSL said...

Hi Milet --

Er...which shot do you love (since there's more than one of them)? ;S

Hi JyLnC --

Thanks -- I think the night shots are fine in this size... but you'd notice the shakiness when blown up bigger... ;S

Hi June --

Cool -- and glad you do! :)

Hi Isaiah --

I've been in Hong Kong for some two years now -- and yes, my life here is very interesting. :)

Tokenhippygirl said...

I love the color of purple in your shots this week. Perfect for the theme... and your shots are terrific. No worries about your night shots... they're great!

Liz Hinds said...

I especially like the night-time one.

YTSL said...

Hi Tokenhippygirl --

Thanks for the positive 'votes'! :)

Hi Liz --

Actually, both photos were taken at night -- and on the same night, in fact... ;b