Foster

Color

This photo for me is exactly what I go for colors. Kodak was always striving to stay within “the naturalness constraint.” I usually follow that constraint. My images look heavily edited, but almost never does anyone question if the colors in the image would be possible in real life. The goal for me is to stretch reality, make anyone who views my images to picture a world that looks like that. I have loved this image since I took it. However, it was not until I looked at the colors that I realized why. The first color the eye is met with Safety Orange. Tim Griffin describes Safety Orange as the color of information, bureaucracy, and toxicity. On the surface it may not be a great start for a portrait of two young men, but I think this is what makes the image. The young man on the left is dressed in a Drab colored jacket and the one on the right is in a Thundercloud colored hoodie. Beyond the three colors I have already mentioned, there are not any others that come close to competing for attention. When researching the colors of this image, my favorite quote that I found was “in 1997, everyone wore drab.” (Aaron Kunin) I think that is why this color works in this image. Fashion for the youth right now is all about recycling past fashion trends. The Thundercloud and Drab colors contrast strongly with the safety orange, but they make it look effortless. That is directly seen in the image, the two men are not trying very hard at all and they don’t need to. The colors also happen to be very close to a triad.