Inversion as teacher & seeing without colour
A pattern Iāve been noticing in my post-practice process is this tendency to invert the colours of my images, creating a stark, neon-psychedelic effect. Iāve been very drawn to manipulating form through inverted colours, with the optional black and white conversion. It emphasises shapes, lines, and texture. Like an X-ray, but moreā¦ pronounced. It feels bold, high in contrast, and actually quite the opposite of floral design work in real life.
On the surface, I initially thought it might just be a stylistic choice. But when I enquired further within myself, it dawned on me that what Iām really drawn to, at this stage of my journey, are textures and lines.
When I see my work through inverted post-processing, those elements of lines, textures, and structure stand out very clearly. Stripped down to the bare essence of form, itās when I can really see the piece without the additional layer of colour.
At first, I thought this discovery was thanks to me fiddling around with the colour editing function on the app I used to create my portfolio, to be submitted for an internship application. Then, I remembered about that time when I first started exploring photography, at 11 years old.
With a simple point-and-shoot digital camera, I was initially focused on capturing and documenting whatever caught my eye. As I started to discover and learn through inspiration from other photographers (the days of DeviantArt and Blogger), I became curious about how to improve my photos, because I felt that what I photographed didnāt fully encapsulate what had first drawn me in to capturing it. That curiosity led me to learn basic composition, which noticeably improved my work.
The next shift happened by accident. While playing around with basic image processing, I stumbled upon the saturation settings. Converting what I had captured into full black-and-white left a deep impression on me. It changed the way I perceived photography, both visually and emotionally. In fact, that was how I found out about the world of B&W photography! Stripped of colour, what remained felt like the very essence of the moment ā you begin to notice details and nuances that might otherwise be lost in a world saturated with colour.
Donāt get me wrong, I love experiencing colour. It has the power to evoke its own sets of feelings and atmospheres. That, too, at a later stage became part of my image-making development, influenced by music videos and films that explored colour as a prominent theme. In fact, during my time in video production, there was a turning point where I considered specialising in colour grading. But I didnāt pursue it, as the local industry hadn't mature to that point yet, and being young, new, and with limited resources, I pivoted into a different career direction.
Now, itās becoming clearer to me that this is where my attention naturally settles as a beginner: form, structure. I used to wonder what others meant when they spoke about ātraining the eyeā to see it, and how one actually practices that. I know there isnāt one true single way. Itās deeply personal as everyone has their own way of seeing ā and learning.
So, like that earlier, fateful discovery of black-and-white photography, I find myself grateful for the moment I accidentally clicked āInvertā while working on my internship portfolio slides. Because I think Iām onto something ā a way forward in how I might self-learn within my own practice.
At least for now. Enough for where I am.
The photo I mentioned about for my internship portfolio slide.
The same photo, original, without the post-processing :)