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Polina Washington spent years solely taking pictures and printing black and white movie earlier than adapting highly effective and vibrant coloration to inform a narrative in her pictures. Connecting with Colour in Pictures Primarily based in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and is presently staying in Bali, Indonesia, Washington is a self-described visible explorer. Though she acquired a level in cinematography, she hardly ever if ever labored with synthetic mild in her images, and completely shot on black and white movie and says didn’t actually perceive coloration. “I by no means imagined images in coloration,” Washington tells PetaPixel. “I favored enjoying with contrasts, silhouettes.” “I favored that you may minimize out the superfluous,” she continues. “However sooner or later, I simply received uninterested in it, and I needed to maneuver on. It wasn’t sufficient for me to do monochrome anymore.” Since her artistic change to paint, Washington nonetheless creates black and white photographs, however solely on uncommon events and largely in conditions when she will be able to’t improve the specified feeling she needs to painting utilizing coloration.
Seeing as coloration and lightweight go hand in hand for visible storytelling, Washington sees each as two highly effective instruments on this course of. “Earlier than, I may solely obtain a coloration image with coloured mild, however then I discovered to see it in pure mild as nicely, with the identical processing,” she explains. Telling a Story with Colour and Mild Throughout her artistic journey, Washington discovered to learn how coloration and lightweight have an effect on {a photograph}, and the way to use a mixture of each to create cinematic stills with painterly vibes in step with her present images model. “Mild can disguise what must be hidden or vice versa — to emphasise one thing necessary, so it controls the viewer’s consideration very strongly,” Washington explains. “That’s why I at all times take note of the place the accents of sunshine are directed.” “Mild additionally helps you separate a personality from the background or merges with it, or focuses consideration,” she continues. “It highlights what’s necessary and leaves out what’s not.”
The dialogue of the results of coloration in images is extra visceral. It’s because “we will’t deny {that a} sure wavelength impacts us in a sure approach,” Washington says. “However I attempt to rely by myself emotions and the expertise and statement I’ve in images and portray when selecting colours within the body.” “I don’t need to impose a sure situation or emotion on the viewer — I give them the liberty to expertise one thing of their very own as a result of we’re all totally different,” she provides. Her distinctive images model hasn’t gone unnoticed by Leica both, as Washington — for whom the Leica M-system digicam had been a long-time dream — was one of many first to strive the brand new Leica M11. Having shot with two M-system cameras earlier than, the brand new M11 felt acquainted however extra comfy. “Regarding coloration, I feel all Leica cameras give an excellent RAW picture coloration, which is good to work with within the coloration correction course of,” Washington says. “I at all times edit my photos, so I don’t have any desire as to what coloration I get in a RAW file. It’s sufficient for me that every part is balanced — then the subsequent step of creativity begins in Lightroom or C1.” For different photographers keen to study extra concerning the energy of coloration, Washington’s elementary recommendation is to not be afraid to experiment and do it freely, with out the constraints of what could also be thought of “proper”.
“All the pieces new is born solely when somebody decides to strive one thing out of the peculiar,” Washington advises. “The identical factor works with mild and coloration. It’s good to grasp the essential rules of working with mild and a few fundamental schemes for normal understanding, however then it’s important to make sure to set your self new and attention-grabbing duties and attempt to remedy them out of the field. That is the best way to improvement and attention-grabbing photographs.” Extra of Washington’s work could be discovered on her web site and Instagram. Picture credit: Pictures by Polina Washington.
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