Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Visible Electromagetic Spectrum

As an Introduction and Explanation: I am studying to become a science teacher. The electromagnetic spectrum is a critical part of the curriculum in any physical science. Each day for a week, I spent the day looking for one particular wavelength of light. I chose to turn the essay into a lesson and/or assignment I could use in my classes. My rules were: 1) one color per day, following the order of the visible spectrum; 2) if I saw the color, I had to stop and take a picture.

In the electromagnetic spectrum, there is a small range of light detectable by the human retina. This is called the visible spectrum, more commonly know as the rainbow. Every color seen represents a particular wavelength of light being reflected by an object. If an object appears to be one particular color, red for example, that means that the material absorbs all other wavelengths of light, reflecting only the red wave back to your retina.
Monday. 700 nanometers.
A door. 
An old armchair. 
A reserved parking sign. 

Tuesday. 600 nanometers.
A Moped.
A truck design.
A pickup truck.
Crossing flags.

Wednesday. 580 nanometers.
A fancy sports car. 
Ground wire covering.
A permit parking sign. 
A mud-splattered jeep.

Thursday. 550 nanometers.
A conifer.
Classroom seats.
An Army uniform.
A folder.

Friday. 475 nanometers.
A storage crate on a porch.
A geometric door.
 A Honda.
 An old rusty dumpster.

Saturday. 400 nanometers.
An apartment complex sign.
A restaurant logo.
Someone's bicycle.
A child's abandoned toys.


  1. I think that using close-ups in the grid format really forces the similarities between the photos. Since most of the pictures are so close up that they seem almost abstract, the color takes on an even more important role in contributing meaning. I also like the geometry of the shots. Very cool.

  2. I love this...absolutely fantastic and creative. Great job

  3. Eye Candy. Perfect balance of text and images. Good rules and control. Great shots and flawless composition.

  4. great eye for the color combinations. very aesthetically pleasing

  5. i like that it is essentially based on science. you alluded to that much more by adding the length of the wavelengths of light below each photo. great way to make science more artistic.

  6. I think the thing that separates this as unique when it could have been so boring is the composition (putting the pictures together) and the great variety of the textures in the photos. This turned out great. Love the idea.

  7. I think the angles in these shots are great and I love how you set up the blog. Very unexpected and aesthetically pleasing.

  8. I love the set up of this essay. I especially love how each color has really similar complimentary colors, too. The purple pictures tend to have grey, and the green tends towards a tan color. Great work.

  9. Great idea, I love the colors and the layout of the photos.

  10. Way to break down the basics. It makes us all give more thought to the simplest of concepts in photography... color.

  11. i really like how you arranged all the pictures,it really helped us to focus on just the color of the thing. I also like how uniform the color in each photo was with the other photos of that same color. i expected them to be different shades.