Reading Cathryn’s blog, I was reminded of this photograph that I took last summer: Edmonton in greyscale. The Highlevel Bridge, a chain-link fence, and buildings in the distance.
Cathryn said “When I think of Edmonton, I envision nothing but shades of grey”, and I have to say, oftentimes, I think similarly. In the wintertime especially, when I take my camera for a walk around the city, the images that I capture, although I’m shooting colour, seem to turn out black and white.
This photo, taken a few weeks ago, is not greyscale. If you look closely (click to enlarge), you can see a hint of blue around the grey corners of sky, and a suggestion of brown in the skeletal twigs. That’s what Edmonton is like for me – an image in almost-greyscale, but where, if you look closely enough, you can start to see (or maybe just imagine) subtle hints of colour.
And I like that. I like having to look through the grey to see.
"You have to get over the color green; you have to stop associating beauty with gardens and lawns; you have to get used to an inhuman scale." -- Wallace Stegner
ReplyDeleteThis quote came to mind...
Yes! That's it exactly. In some places, like Edmonton, we just can't do green most of the time. If we try to fake it, it seems garish. But this place can still be beautiful, even without any colour at all.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photographs! Thank you so much for sharing them. Melancholy and beautiful. I can definitely see the aesthetics of Edmonton even without colour in these photos, but it still lacks the vibrancy and warmth (literally) that I really wish for.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathryn! And yes, I know what you mean about the warmth.
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