"Friday I tasted life," wrote Emily Dickinson in 1866. "A circus passed the house––still I feel the red in my mind."

An accidental shot of a glowing camellia (top) and the book, A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield, inspired this post. When I read that only persons of great wealth could afford to wear red in medieval and Renaissance times, because a colorfast red was almost impossible to come by, inspiration and gratitude flooded in for the times we live in. I had to try my hand at celebrating this color.

The Pictures

Black velvet and an overcast day are like two lovers snuggling, for photographers. Color pops and exposure problems subside with very dark backgrounds. However, I learned the hard (not that hard) way not to overuse black. It can be addicting.

It was nice to revisit my love for black in this series. In the beginning, I didn't realize how important it would be to the whole look of the post. Also, the color temperature needed adjusting to give all the images a cohesive look. Some were too blue– adding yellow through "levels" in Photoshop did the trick.

Speaking of yellow, it was a special perk {delight} to see how flower stamens became part of the piece.

My costume designer daughter, Oneita, gave me those red shoes as a gift, and I love and actually wear them. A red silk rose, on a jacket, is the only other way I wear this color. I guess being a fire sign makes me want to cool down when I wear colors.

 

This is my last assignment presentation in this series. I've so enjoyed seeing the beautiful work you all have done. Now I'm off to see your colors.

Thank you !