Photos and colors play a huge part in many of our travels. In my case, the more colorful, the better. I’m usually not a big fan of online photo contests but a “Capture the Colour” contest caught my eye only because it was making its rounds on the travel blogosphere.
The idea is to choose five photos that capture the colors: Blue, Green, Red, White and Yellow. It’s not an easy task selecting five from thousands of pictures. So, here are my entries for the contest and this week’s photo post.
Blue
We certainly have a lot of pictures of blue skies and the ocean. In the end, I had to go with the obvious and one from a recent trip – Iceland’s Blue Lagoon. Surrounded by lava fields, the water is excess from a nearby geothermal plant and is believed to heal some skin ailments. The milky blue color comes from the blue-green algae. This unique geothermal spa was the perfect way for us to spend a relaxing afternoon after a long flight.
Green
This color was the hardest for me to choose. I didn’t realize how prevalent green was in a lot of our pictures. This serene looking place is Ninomaru located in Tokyo’s Imperial East Gardens. Located in the midst of the city’s skyscrapers, this was the perfect oasis with a koi pond, perfectly-trimmed hedges and wide open spaces.
Red
While walking the streets of Copenhagen on our way to Rosenborg Castle, we saw a long line of the Danish Royal Guards emerge from a side door. My kids were so excited to see this group of young men looking regal in their red, full-dress uniforms and their bearskin hats. They had fun marching behind them. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” suddenly came to mind when I was watching them line up to board their bus.
White
All the white areas here may look like sand or even snow from a distance but it’s actually salt flats. Badwater Basin is America’s lowest point at 282 feet (855 m) below sea level and located in Death Valley National Park. The miles of salt water formations was a stunning sight with the polygon-shaped formations looking like giant honeycombs. Walking around here was almost blinding with the sun shining brightly.
Yellow
These colors are technically yellow and gold but it was undeniable how beautiful the display of Fall colors were at the Grand Teton National Park. I wish we spent more time here instead of doing a drive-through tour after Yellowstone. The Teton mountain range in the background was a bit hidden but this was the spectacular view from Oxbow Bend turnout.
*Which one is your favorite color photo?
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Nice photos. I did the same exercise this week and it was interesting to see which colors dominate my photos without me being aware of it. Yellow — aside from flowers — seemed very scarce while blue and green was everywhere.
Thanks Jackie! Yes, blue and green were everywhere in my pictures too. I had a hard time with Red. Good luck with the contest!
All of these shots are outstanding. It’s almost impossible for me to pick one.
However, I do love your shot of the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo.
Thank you so much for nominating me! Good luck!
Thanks Nancie! I’ve always loved that garden shot. It just looks so serene and beautiful. Good luck with the contest too and can’t wait to see what beautiful photos you’ll post.
Great photos. Even though I would love to go to Iceland and like your blue photo, my favourite photo is the yellow one from the Grand Teton National Park. The fall colours are beautiful. I also like how you’ve caught the reflection of the clouds in the lake.Good luck with the competition!
Thanks Jenny! I love Fall colors and we got lucky that these were all almost yellow for this contest. I think some of the National Parks are best visited when displaying all these colors. Good luck to you too.
Good selection – I like the red jackets!
Thanks Jan! My kids love those jackets too.
Love the red shot! Those huge hats always make me giggle!
My kids couldn’t get enough of those royal guards and kept following them. The hats are just so big but seem to complete the uniform. I’m not sure how they can handle all that in the heat though.
Nice selection – To think I should see the Royal Guards in bear skin hats here:)
Thanks Mette! You’r elucky you get to enjoy the guards in your home country.
A lovely set of photos and I’m going with red as my favourite one – only because the red is in your face in a good way. I had the hardest time with yellow!
Thanks Leigh! I had a hard time with red and I’m glad this one stood out withs its bright colors. Mine was green only because I seem to have either green or blue in a lot of shots.
Thanks for the nomination! You chose some beautiful pics. The blue in that first pic is so different from the usual water-blue. Very intruiging.
Thanks Sabrina! I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with for your selection. There’s nothing quite like the “blue” of the Blue Lagoon.
I like the red one. I think it is intriguing that the soldier in the middle is
looking right at you just as you snap the photo. It makes for a fun story.
My husband took the picture and the soldier looks annoyed at yet another tourist who finds their uniform and hat fascinating. Most of them were pretty good at ignoring us.
Love the red picture! I remember when I went to Rosenborg I only saw one guard. He was so cute and so tall I just had to have my pic taken with him! This is going to be REALLY challenging.But thanks for the tag! Will definitely do it!
Thanks Aleah! We got lucky when we saw a long line of the guards. I would love to see that picture with the Danish guard one of these days :) Good luck with your selections and looking forward to seeing them.
Great pictures! I really love that blue color of Iceland and the golden yellow in the Tetons. Color is great and it is fun to see everyone’s interpretations in their pictures.
Thanks Debbie! I’ve been enjoying other bloggers’ entries as well.
Love your selections, Mary. That yellow is absolutely beautiful! But I like all the colors.
Thanks Marcia! I’ve always loved the yellow of the Fall colors especially the yellows and gold and we got lucky with this shot.
The Red is my favorite. It’s so whimsical. Good luck on the contest.
Thanks Michele! The red seems to be a favorite among all of you here.
The Badwater shot gets my vote.
Thanks Dick! I’ve always loved these salt flats picture.
These are super shots, Mary! I love how the one guard in the RED photo is looking your way. Good luck in the competition.
What amazing photos. They are all beautiful, but the color of the water in Iceland is wonderful.
Good luck with the contest!
Ah you are like the 12th person to mention Iceland to me. I really want to add it as a stopover home from our trip to Europe. That Yellow image from the Grand Tetons is stunning too!
I highly recommend the free stopover from Icelandair! Even if you only have a few days, it’s a great sampler to Iceland. Beautiful place!
Very beautiful and natural views provided on images of this post. All photos are perfect, but I like Green most of all. Pond looks beautifully. Great work.
Thank you! This garden was one of my family’s favorite. It was just so peaceful and for it to be located in the middle of the city was a pleasant surprise.
Gorgeous colors!!! You have motivated me to get on to doing mine – I just don’t know if I have any pictures that are beautiful as the rest of you guys!!
Thanks for linking up!
Thanks Becca! Looking forward to seeing your selections. As always, thanks for hosting a great link-up and commenting and promoting our contributions.
Love the Danish Royal Guards – what a lucky shot!!
It really was great to have stumbled into them and made my kids day even after visiting a castle that day.
What beautiful shots, Mary. I can’t get enough of that blue water…so unique and gorgeous! The “red” photo is very fun. Good luck in the contest!
Thanks Andi! I called the water Windex blue and the kids thought it looked like Gatorade :)
I got nominated too, and am looking forward to this contest. Nice pics!
Thanks Sonja! I can’t wait to see your European take on this contest.
I love the red jackets photo. I can’t believe you even got a red van in the background! The Iceland picture draws me in too-I’m dying to visit Iceland!
The red jackets are by far the winner in this group. I totally didn’t expect that. Lookout for those Icelandair flight specials from Seattle. You’d love it!
I’m going to have to side with the blue picture as well, although all of them are great pictures.
Thanks Steve! I love the unique blue in the lagoon too.
Love the Grand Teton National Park the best. next will be the red jackets!
Thanks for stopping by Joan! The Fall colors bring out the best of the Tetons.
Mary,
Thanks for nomination me.
Here is my post: http://tanamatales.com/capture-the-color/
My pleasure, Ruth! Heading over there now to admire…
All of these photos are fantastic! I think my favorite is either the blue picture or the yellow one–but it’s so difficult to choose! Being a native Oregonian in the United States, I find that I have an abundance of green inspired photos. Perhaps I should find a contest like this to enter =) Thanks for giving me something new to think about as I take photos of my adventure to Italy!
Loved the blue and the green but the yellow is just amazing!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed these photos. The yellow is one of my favorites too.