(click on the image to see larger version)

Not all light is the same color.  Take sunlight for example.  Throughout the day, sunlight changes colors.  Before the sun rises, it throws a deep blue across the world.  As it breaks the horizon, it is transformed into yellows and fiery reds.  As the day progresses, it shifts from yellow to a slightly blue tint until, at the day draws to an end, the color shift reverses itself back to a deep blue.  This color shift is something we take for granted.  Sunsets give us pretty colors.  Light in the middle of the day is harsh and doesn’t provide the rich colors photographers crave.

What most people forget, however, is that all light produces different colors.  While daylight is often cool (blue), indoor lights tend to be relatively warmer (red/yellow) and florescent lights are green.  Of course, our eye is remarkably good at “fixing” the colors we see.  If we look at a piece of paper at twilight, our brain knows that the paper should be white, and our eyes see it as white.  It is only by really concentrating on the colors that we begin to see what is really there.

What does this have to do with photography?  The color of light has a dramatic impact on our photographs because the camera does not correct color.  It records the color of light as it is, not as our eyes and brain interpret it.  The result is both frustrating (the image doesn’t look like I thought it would) and full of creative opportunity (look at these cool colors).

Lets look at an example of how this information can be used when creating images.  Returning to my tent during a recent safari, I was walking across the terrace when I saw the candles that had been set up on the tables.  In the distance was the the African savanna at twilight.  This situation had two different light sources, sunlight and candle light, and I though there was some potential to play with how those colors interact.  While the color difference between the two light sources was not obvious (my eyes and brain lying to me), I knew that my camera would see things differently.  By setting the white balance to “daylight” I ensured that the twilight would record as a blue of twilight, while the candle light would register as a warm yellow.  The end result is the image above.