Sometimes we use color in photography to help accentuate the subject, perhaps by using bold colors that just jump right out at us. But sometimes it’s fun to create photographs with a far simpler color palette, perhaps demonstrating how subjects can blend into the background, essentially becoming a part of it.

In this case while out photographing on the boardwalk I was lucky to see and photograph two instances of green subjects on a green background. In the first case I found a young mantis, likely a Chinese mantis, resting on some leaves. It took a lot of moving back and forth to find a position where I was able to get this little insect in frame and in focus. Each time I moved it was also a struggle to find it again against all that green. :-)

In the second case I noticed another photographer already focusing on a subject. As I walked by we struck up a conversation and he pointed out the small green treefrog resting on a green plant. He offered to move aside and let me photograph it from where he stood (which was a great location to get a side view of the frog), but this was his find and I didn’t want to pressure him to move so I created a couple quick photographs from a slightly different position and left him in peace to continue composing with the treefrog as I’d done with the mantis.

These sorts of monochromatic scenes can be a lot of fun to explore. And they don’t have to involve a unique subject different from the background. In many cases the subject and background can be one and the same.

Steven Schwartzman has more examples of green on green in his post, Green, green, and more green.

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