A few years ago when I was taking photography classes, an instructor gave everyone in our class a set of gel color filters. He had a box of them he no longer needed and he encouraged us to experiment with them using strobe lights. At the time, I wasn’t very interested in the use of gel colors as I was primarily shooting in daylight. I kept those filters, though. For years they’ve been on a shelf with my film cameras and lately they’ve been calling my name.

Instead of using them on strobes, I’ve been thinking of other ways to utilize them. I decided to keep it simple and use my iPhone. I began in the garden with deep, dark purple.

And then I accidentally moved two filters together and I liked the way it split the image.

I added a third filter to see what that might look like with the Gerber Daisies.

I decided to take the filters with me downtown where the options are seemingly endless. I began with bold colors.

I tried using a gel filter that was subtle, but I didn’t love the result.

I played with multiple filters to see what it might look like against a city street.

I tried again using intentional blur.

At a stoplight, I tried using multiple filters, but with various blues. I think I prefer the boldness of the second image.

I had so much fun with these gel color filters! I highly encourage you to try them if you haven’t already. It was interesting to explore my familiar world with a new perspective. I’m curious to shoot with them again in different types of weather and at different times of the day. Next time, I think I’ll use them with my strobe lights!

~ Laura