On Pricetags I commented that we need to add a little colour to our cities, especially to Vancouver with its grey winters. Other parts of the world offer some ideas and here are two of them. In Bavaria there is a tradition of bright pastels, if that can be said to be a thing, and in the Netherlands the colour is more in the form of neutrals, but done with texture and variety. Here are some photo essays.
Dinkelsbuhl
Classic confection of the Bavarian arts.
Rothenburg
This looks fake, but actually off the main tourist drag is a real town with real houses and real residents. I have a bunch of my photos here and then some from other photographers who had more favourable light.
Nuremburg
Nuremburg is blessed with a local red sandstone from which it acquires its colour.
Munich
Still Bavaria but takes a more big city approach to colour.
Leiden
Maybe the most quintessential of Dutch towns. The colour is wrought from brick, tile, water and plants.
Delft
An algae bloom in the canals helps with the colour, and the images from the tower show the power or red roof tiles against the green backdrop.
Maastricht
I am keen on these photos from Maastricht first because it is an appealing town, but also because they show some of the light conditions that we see in Vancouver. The palette is earth tones and natural colours derived from natural materials: stone, brick, tile and plaster.
