Color Tone

A key element to trigger my shutter

Five panels barrier in an alley of Tai O, Hong Kong_(Photo by Oiseau)

The day when I visited the old fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island with my friend, a leisurely journey was what we preferred, so I left my camera at home. To be honest, these photos were taken by my phone but there is still a so-called shutter to trigger, right?

It was a cloudy day, without the contrast of lighting, everywhere looked dull and grey, it couldn’t create the dramatic effect between shadow and light that all photographers welcome, but there were always subtle notes to be discovered within.

Color, returns to its raw hue, another mood and tone that I would like to capture. The color of the reused materials, deteriorated? What would they be in their first hands? Door of a room? Divider of a bedroom? Or floor panels of a sampan? A lot to imagine for fun.

Sometimes I would think of whether the builder was arranging them on purpose, or just by chance to place the copper red one in the middle, which echoed with those brick red & oxidized wrought iron behind; and the two panels in black gave mass to the whole picture with the unintentional splash of paint on top…what an artistic touch.

I was standing close to them in a narrow alley, that’s why their color impact was huge in front of me. When I returned home reviewing what I’d shot that day, this was one of my favorite photos that I’d like to share with you.

Abandoned residential brick house in Tai O, Hong Kong_(Photo by Oiseau)

Broken windows, bare concrete with exposed metal structure, accumulated letters, torn opened doorway, an empty sparrow nest…the chaotic lines & forms told us the destiny of this residence…that used to be.

Where are they? Who once lived here? The color of this house seemed telling me it was once decorated as an oceanic color private resort, like the tropical colors of Miami, missing the Flamingo Pink that may not suit, but still, I could imagine the tranquility while touched by the breeze when windows and doors were widely opened, timeless.

The tropical colors of old Miami Beach are always my favorite. Wherever they exist, I feel pleasure and leisure. It may be quite different when they are reflected in this photo, but couldn’t it be another way for us to imagine without boundaries?

Mangrove forest in Tai O, Hong Kong_(Photo by Oiseau)

Tai O is a place where both the sea and rivers intertwined. This was the fifth time I visited, and I wasn’t aware that part of the mangrove was located so close to the pier below where we were standing on a footbridge connected to Shek Tsai Po opposite to the main island.

While we were exploring the habitat within, by following the growing paths of the plants, there was a scene that caught my eye.

When most of the color remained green, there was no reflection from the blue sky, egrets were somewhere outside my frame, the only different color of the brownish-red roof on the lowrise built a subtle contrast in this photo. But in fact, there were many greens inside, varying naturally transited & merged into each other.

This was not a postcard photo, without sparks in general, but the isolation of the tiny mangrove of its green on green attracted my move. The tone and mood at that moment, once again captured as what it was.

Before triggering the shutter, what will you consider first?

My teacher taught me that lighting, composition, color, and angles were crucial, I couldn’t agree more but when there was a chance, I read an article about a photographer (sorry I forgot the name) of how she shot in haze, in rain, in snow…then I discovered the hidden tone, the subdued mood that can also be fascinating.

I’m an amateur photographer but I enjoy the world of color. Hope you enjoy my article, thank you for reading.