Everywhere I look now I see those familiar muted colors and earth tones. Imagery flooded with warmth that wraps around you like an almost forgotten, pleasant memory. These vintage color palettes have become incredibly popular and people just can’t seem to get enough of them, myself included. However, it begs the question, “Why is it that at a time when technology allows for such vibrant and crisp imagery, do we go out of our way to make them appear outdated—with limited colors and aged tones?”
Color palettes and image quality are, for the most part, always at the mercy of the most current technology. Now, we are fortunate enough to have the resources in order to make almost anything possible. Digital cameras allow us to view our photographs immediately, so that we can weed out any imperfections on the spot. Programs such as Photoshop allow for such awe-inspiring manipulation and mastery of our images that sometimes it’s easy to believe that the possibilities are limitless. You can create something purely from your imagination or just improve upon what is already there. It’s remarkable.
But even with our advanced equipment, we still crave the imagery that was once so limited. We have a need to recreate the imperfections where there otherwise were none—longing for the random and unpredictable. Above all else though, we seek out that which is difficult to replicate. One-of-a-kind.
That is why we find ourselves being drawn to warmer colors and imagery. Just saying the word “warm” evokes emotion, even if it’s just at a subconscious level. The reddish-brown, orange, and yellow colors bring with them feelings of comfort, contentment, and joy. Mix those up with subdued, “washed-out” looking imagery and you’ll find yourself swept up in nostalgia. It’s a feeling that people thrive off of; that sense of a unique and special moment in our lives, one we cannot fully bring back. They seem to occur in some former time and place, where we were certain beyond all doubt that we were happy—content. We were home, and we wanted that moment to last forever.
By: Bryan Heredia
Nudibranch or “Sea Slugs” are shell-less gastropods that live in oceans around the world. These creatures are easily some of the most brilliant and vividly colored specimens on earth.
An old dive master once told me,
Going to the sea and not going underwater
is like going to the circus and not going into the tent.
I’ve come across many of these little wonders while diving. It’s breathtaking to swim to a rock on the deep dark ocean floor and encounter some of these vivid colors. These shocking self illuminating tones don’t exist above the surface, even these photos don’t do justice… but they’ll give you an idea.
View more images here & here. See them for yourself, visit PADI.
All Photos: David Doubilet
By: Chris Hoffman
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