Journey Through Natures Yellow And Golds
The Pleasures of Yellow and Gold in the Natural World
I expect ones first thoughts about yellow in nature is with the sun or ripe corn, or maybe with flowers and bees. However, the color yellow is not always looked upon in a positive light, but in the pleasures of the natural world throughout my life, this bright, cheery and optimistic color will hopefully put a smile on your face!
I have a weakness or should I say a passion for taking photos whenever the opportunity arises. Land and seascapes are a great favorite as if you can get to photograph a sunrise or sunset, whether it's on terra firma or not, you can usually capture rewarding images - and more to the point, enjoy nature and its magical moments.
In my earlier days, it was the African birds and wild animals that took center stage, and you'd be surprised at how many have at least a few yellow or golden tinges on them, especially the birds.
Yellows in the natural world nowadays take me straight into the garden to see the gorgeous flower blooms, petals and stamens with their busy bees at work while I try to keep my camera and macro lens buzzing!
Please join me for a sunny, pleasurable and optimistic whirl around my yellow and golden world!
Created on 11 Jun 2013
All photos © Rob Hemphill
Some images are from affiliate sites like Amazon, Art.com and AllPosters.com and therefore credited by direct links
Thoughts on Yellow in My Life
A Journey in Color
Through life as I've grown up, the color yellow has meant different things to me. They often say that we associate colors with things in our subconscious. As it's subconscious, I don't think I'll be able to recall what has been associated with what, but I'll have a go at what my conscious mind has associated with yellow over the years.
I'm going to embark on my life's journey down a narrow yellow-brick road. Starting in Kenya in East Africa, then back to my roots to Southern Ireland. From there a 20 year stint in a beautiful part of England, then back to the Auld Emerald Isle.
Photo credit: Village Weaver on Branch, Lake Baringo, Rift Valley, Kenya Art.com
KENYA
As a child, I was surrounded by yellow maize and sunflowers growing in the fields as well as yellow flowers, fruit and butterflies in the garden. Also, the grass was often a burnt golden color too due to the lack of moisture or massive insect predation.
A Group of Rainbow Bee-Eaters Sleeping Huddled Together
The birds in the forests had the most attractive multicolored plumage, but it's the yellow colored ones that I remember the most - like:~ the Weaver bird and its amazing nests in huge colonies on a individual trees
~ the Crowned Crane with its pretty golden crest (emblem of neighboring Uganda)
~ Little Bee-eater, which lives and hunts near water where there's always an abundance of food in the form of wasps, bees and hornets.
On the savannah, yellows and golds of animals abound, from the big cats to the giraffes and hyenas.
Bird Watching Safaris in Kenya.
Yellow Flowers
Birds of Kenya
Some of the most colorful birds are found in sub Saharan Africa. I have written about the plight of African Birds and the difficulties many species are now facing - mostly from man's intervention. We need to do more...and we can...
Yellow-Throated Longclaw
Maasai Mara, Kenya
Buy at Art.com
Red and Yellow Barbet
Kenya, Africa
Buy at Art.com
Red and Yellow Barbet
Kenya, Africa
Buy at Art.com
Hope for the Flowers
From Animals and Birds to Farming
Arable and Dairy Farming
IRELAND
Following my early life in East Africa, and after an agricultural training, I started to farm with my father in County Tipperary in Ireland.
It might seem odd that I refer to yellows and golds from a farm in the Emerald Isle where virtually everything is forty shades of green and more!
Apart from the dearth of vibrant yellows in my mother's garden, on the farm we had our share of this sandy color too. Before the days of baling hay the job was done manually, in other words the dried grass was collected up into small central areas around the field and made into haycocks. These were very efficient at keeping the hay dry if rain came before the crop was transferred back to the barn.
The image here was taken in Connemara (a beautiful region in the west of Ireland), when the local farmers were struggling against the Irish weather, to get the crop in quickly. Back in the 1970's and 80's, we seemed to have had more sun so could make hay whilst it shone. Also, the color of the hay was more golden!
Then it came to grain harvest time when the combine harvesters moved in to cut the wheat and barley crops. The valuable yellow and golden grain was used to feed the animals, whilst the straw was used for bedding them down.
A few golds from my green country!
Harvest Gold
Just after the corn has been harvested, the bright golden straw is wrapped up into these large round bales. We used to use the smaller rectangular ones as they were easier to handle in small sheds and cow houses.
In the 1970's, after a couple of weeks of harvest and lifting bales onto trailers, ones hands were any color but yellow!
Again, it's a happy golden time for farmers as they reap the rewards of their labors.
Yellow Association
What Do You Associate Yellow With?
A Star-Bright Yellow In Wine - Wine growing and making
ENGLAND
My yellows have really grown up now and have entered an enjoyable and adult phase of my life - children and alcohol!
Whilst running a vineyard in Suffolk near the East coast of England a few hours north of London, half of the growing up was that of raising a family of three wonderful children, the other half of becoming a fully fledged professional winemaker.
You might imagine that there aren't many yellows and golds in a vineyard - more like reds, browns and greens, You'd be wrong! After all, red wine is made from red grapes which grow from green berries, and they only become red with ripeness (the wine only becomes red from its contact with the grape skins)...
...but when it comes to white wine, it's a different story. White wine shouldn't really be called 'white' - it's more like gold or yellow - so how does it get its color?
Well, green grapes grow, mature and ripen, and take on a translucent appearance. Once the grapes have been made into a white wine, the term used to describe it is something along the lines of...
..."star-bright clarity with a crisp, golden hue and nose reminiscent of lychees."
My golds and yellows, which emanated from nature continued to thirst my quench for 20 years or more, but now that part of this odd journey is over, and a new one about to begin.
The Best Wine Books
Sunsets and Flowers
Return to Ireland with visits to the US
IRELAND
After arriving back in Ireland, we take a trip to North Carolina in the States and a new passion of photography is born. I bought my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D90 with a couple of lenses and I've never looked back. Since then my supply of lenses has slowly grown - typical photographer, or male - I have gadget weakness!
Anyhow, I'm now well placed to capture loads of beautiful things all around me. My earliest loves in photography were taking close-ups of flowers, and I took hundreds and hundreds of images. It became addictive as I peered through the lens into a new macro world at predominantly plants and insects.
Below is a small selection of my yellow flowers or those with a touch of yellow in them.
Flowers A to Z
Coldplay Live - Yellow - In HD
The macro world of a flower makes one realize how amazing nature is, and the microscopic detail that is normally outside our range of eyesight is wonderful. This is what a bee sees as it flies in to feed on the nectar - an abundance of tiny things that make-up part of the flower's reproductive system.
The more close-up macro work I do, the more I get consumed by natures beauty.
Tree Peony
The pretty tree peony with its lemon yellow flowers has always caught my attention when I walk into my parents garden. It has an opulent beauty with abundance.
One bloom can turn a head with its show of silky petals which form a cup shape around the central group of golden stamens. But my mothers plant stands at least six feet tall and is covered with dozens of blooms - it's a beautiful big yellow giant of a plant.
On the Beach - Two's Company
Being able to share the beauty around us with anyone is wonderful. I couldn't resist taking this shot as I was watching the sun go down over a calm sea, the two people ahead were stopped in their tracks, also viewing the setting sun.
Even though this is something that happens every day, one never tires at watching the sun rise or set, whether it's over an ocean or a landscape, it's still truly magnificent. In photography speak, the hour around sunrise and sunset is referred to as 'the golden hour', when the light is at its best.
Fall Colors Are Happy Colors
Everyone loves the colors of the leaves in fall with their yellow and golden tinge. Nature is so amazing when you think about it - here we have a tree that has had the best part of its year, so is a bit tired and lackluster ready to loose its leaves.
What does it do?
It produces these rich and vibrant yellows, golds, reds and browns as a final blaze of glory. Fall is such a beautiful time for all to enjoy, especially the landscape photographer.
The Natural World - Optimistic or not?
Has man intervened too much with nature or are the changes evolutionary?
Are you optimistic about the future of the Natural World?
Get Closer to Nature
A Glorious End to the Day
Taken on Atlantic Beach in North Carolina.
Photo: © 2012 Rob Hemphill
I was in a state just like the seagulls when I took this picture. With a setting sun over a calm ocean, the birds were just enjoying the last of the days rays.
Hope you enjoyed this weird yellow-brick road, thanks for walking it with me!
