The Intimate Landscape - Rock Colours
Rock Colours:
We normally imagine rocks as being dull, grey and devoid of colour. It is only when we take a closer look, particularly at exposed sections of rock, perhaps in in a cliff face or in the hinterland between high and low tide that the true colours become apparent. Here we are more likely to see their natural colours. However, the colours seem to constantly change, the freshest and brightest colours follow a fresh fall of rock. When the beach has been sand blasted during a period of stormy weather, growth of mosses and lichens are stripped away to reveal the pure colour. Often, just a degree of dampness in the air will enhance the colour - a similar effect to wetting stones except in this case we can suffer from distracting highlights. Minerals based on iron, manganese,copper and other metals give the rocks their colour and it can range throughout the spectrum, from purple to red, orange to green and blue to violet.
I have photographed rocks in several places around the coast of Britain, from Dunbar in Scotland, along the Northumberland coastline and also the cliffs of Devon and Cornwall. I have tried to capture the delicate and varied colours of the rock, searching for abstract studies rather than strong lines of design and composition.
We normally imagine rocks as being dull, grey and devoid of colour. It is only when we take a closer look, particularly at exposed sections of rock, perhaps in in a cliff face or in the hinterland between high and low tide that the true colours become apparent. Here we are more likely to see their natural colours. However, the colours seem to constantly change, the freshest and brightest colours follow a fresh fall of rock. When the beach has been sand blasted during a period of stormy weather, growth of mosses and lichens are stripped away to reveal the pure colour. Often, just a degree of dampness in the air will enhance the colour - a similar effect to wetting stones except in this case we can suffer from distracting highlights. Minerals based on iron, manganese,copper and other metals give the rocks their colour and it can range throughout the spectrum, from purple to red, orange to green and blue to violet.
I have photographed rocks in several places around the coast of Britain, from Dunbar in Scotland, along the Northumberland coastline and also the cliffs of Devon and Cornwall. I have tried to capture the delicate and varied colours of the rock, searching for abstract studies rather than strong lines of design and composition.