Capture The Color.

I don’t normally enter a lot of contests but every once in a while a great photo contest comes along that I just can’t resist!

The fine folks over at TravelSupermarket put together a fantastic contest called “Capture The Color“.

You’ve probably guessed by now that the contest is based on color. This is actually pretty exciting to me because I don’t often shoot looking to capture certain colors so I had to really sift through some photos to find ones that would really do the contest justice.

You may have seen some posts in the blogsphere about this contest and with good reason – the judges are great and so are the prizes!

Each blogger is judging a different color:

• Ken Kaminesky – Blue
• Abigail King – Green
• The Planet D – Yellow
• Almost Fearless – White
• Daniel from Canvas of Light – Red

The Prizes:

Initially I was asked to be a judge for this contest but my lack of wifi in Maui caused me to miss the email. However, I think this may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise because now I can enter and the prizes are some of the best I have seen for a photo contest!

I (and you) have the chance to win an iPad3 or up to 2,000 GBP for travel!!! Yes, I’m serious!

I know for a fact I could use both of those prizes. I’ve been told that the iPad3 takes really fantastic photos and it would make a great travel tool. I’ve also found throughout the past few days my mind has been drifting into the ‘What Would I Do If I Won The Lottery?” mindset- because yes, winning 2,000GBP to travel with is like winning the lottery to me!

With over $3,100 USD (discovered after a quick visit to XE.com) I started thinking about everything I could do:

1. Go to Paris and stuff myself full of crepes for a month! (Ok, might not last a full month, crepes are really good…)
2. Throw a dart at a map and buy an airplane ticket! (A personal dream)
3. Rent a gianormous apartment in Lacedonia, Italy and invite my entire family in the US to visit our family in Italy!
4. Go on a Gorilla Trek in Africa (Hello, bucket list…)
5. Swim in every possible pool in Mongolia (Huh? Sorry, I have no idea where this thought came from…)
6. Spend as many months as possible volunteering at an elephant refuge
7. Buy an entire house in the rural Serbian countryside (yes I’m serious!)

Ok, I guess I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here but hey a girl can dream right?

So I’ve been checking out the competition and I’ve gotta say I’ve seen some bloggers pulling out all the stops – a lot of the entries are really good. The competition is stiff so I’m going to try and bring my A-game here!

I want to thank Ken Kaminesky and the Traveling Canucks for nominating me in this contest and as part of the contest rules I get to nominate 5 other bloggers. I choose:

• Over Yonderlust
• Brooke Vs. The World
• The Travel Chica
• Bacon Is Magic
• Go, See, Write

The rules are simple but to get the low down on how you need to enter please visit Capture the Color Contest at TravelSupermarket.com. As an added bonus you’ll also find out what exactly the judges are looking for!

Without further ado here are my entries:

Blue:

Monkey In The Middle – Marrakech, Morocco

I love watching relationships around me when I travel and this one was so unique that it quickly became one of my favorite shots. The Medina in Marrakech is bustling center of mayhem where anything goes – medicine men, cobras, you name it. The onslaught of cars, bikes, people, donkeys, old truck, motorbikes and people on foot is overwhelming. I remember standing in the middle of it all just in awe at everything going on around me. That’s when I spotted this little monkey and his owner trying to make a buck in the middle of it all. I’m not a fan of monkeys (or any animal) on chains but as I watched them it became obvious these two had a connection that was more than dollar deep. I watched them for a few minutes as they were ‘talking’ with each other and the friendship between them was clear. I literally bumped into them the next night and the monkey ended up on my shoulder in about two seconds flat. It made me smile because the monkey looked very happy and I saw first hand how gentle this man was with his little friend. When I walked away the monkey was resting in his arms like a little baby and they were both as pleased as could be.

(As a side note: I did not add the blue to this scene. The blue sky and reflection on the ground are original to the image.)

Red:

Modern Magdelene #1 – Red Light District in Amsterdam, Netherlands

The red light district in Amsterdam is a strange place. I guess in a weird way it’s like a travelers rite of passage. Sure it’s touristy and fun but at the same time very lonely and sad. What I like about this image is that this girl looks anonymous – there is no real detail in her face, her eyes are dark sockets. She could literally be anyone from anywhere. She could be your best friend or the girl next door, she could be in your University art class, she could be your wife. She’s a completely anonymous representation of a woman on the edge. Compositionally, I love the way she is standing with one hand on the doorknob and the other gracefully on the window.

Going back to the idea of watching relationships on the road – the RLD is a hotspot for this. A simple piece of glass changes everything – the relationships between the women behind the glass and how they communicate with each other, the sudden & oddly new relationship when a woman opens the door to let in a strange man, the relationship of the tourist gawkers ( a ‘That is You – This is Me” invisible sort of standoff). Then there’s my relationship with it all – the women in red, the gawkers and my own curious thoughts about beauty – the obvious kind, the kind that comes from the inside and then the part you keep only for yourself.

Yellow:

Eiffel Tower – Paris, France

Did you know that during WWII Hitler ordered Paris to be burned to the ground? He wanted it bombed and in ruins before it had the chance to fall into Allied hands. However, a Nazi general in charge of the task was so enamored by the city he disobeyed the orders and did not burn the city. Thankfully today we still have original Parisian streets in their warmly lit hues. It’s the most beautiful place on earth and if you get the chance to go – you should! It’s my all time favorite city and the Eiffel Tower is yellow/gold so it’s a perfect fit for this contest.

White:

Chen Waking – Pontessieve, Italy

This photo is from our very first WWOOFing farm in Tuscany. There were 9 volunteers from all around the world staying at the farm to harvest the grapes for the year. Seven of us shared a large room and each morning the room would flood with fog and sunlight as we woke. To complete the scene, we slept over a portion of the villa that was initially a church and right outside this window there was a red tiled roof with a small metal cross attached. Depending on your monitor you may be able to very faintly see a portion of this cross in the reflections. The entire farm was like Italy out of a tour book – picture perfect.

Chen was from Israel and had a wicked sense of humor. We hit it off right away. In the vineyard and in the villa and everywhere in between we talked about everything and anything including politics, war, religion, photos, music, you name it.  One day in the group I realized that a bunch of people on the farm looked like celebrities – there was Minnie Driver, Anna Paquin and Chen has a striking resemblance to Jesus. I joked with him and said that every morning I woke up, looked across the room and saw Jesus. He didn’t say anything, he just got up and walked away. I thought I offended him or maybe touched a nerve and I felt like a total idiot in that I had already managed to make one of my new friends mad at me. Turns out I was wrong – an hour or so later he told me that he left because he was thinking about what I said and he asked if I would take a picture of what it was I saw. The next morning three of us woke up late (Me, Jesus & Minnie Driver) while everyone else had already gone off to work. I shot a few quick photos before we ran out to the vineyard and I was really blown away when I saw the photos later that day. In my eyes, they were perfect & Chen loved them as well. It actually turned into a really fun project and we did a whole series dubbed “Jesus In Boots” throughout the farm. That led me taking portraits of the other WWOOF volunteers on the farm as well. From all of the portraits, this is one of my favorites. It has a lot of personal meaning and I thought it was perfect for the contest because it’s all different hues of white. More importantly it’s a good reminder that travel isn’t just about seeing new places, it’s really about the people you meet.

Green:

Honolu’a Bay – Maui, Hawaii

The image for the green category comes from our recent trip to Maui. Snorkeling is one of the most popular activities in Maui and we were able to rent a set of snorkels and flippers for only $5/day. One day we went up to Honolu’a Bay and ended up spending hours in the water. One of the best things about Honolu’a Bay (besides the water) is the walk to the bay itself. To access the beach, you need to walk down through a very lush rainforest – it’s simply gorgeous. This area was one of my absolute favorites on our trip. It was in this maze of green that I really felt I was experiencing Maui as I had always imagined it – Ivy leaves as big as my head, coconuts hanging from palm trees, wild chickens running around and vines so thick you could swing on them. We did!

*Please remember all photos on this website, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted and property of Beers and Beans Travel Website, Nariko’ s Nest Weddings & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you do want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!