This month´s CBBH Photo Challenge is leaving me feeling anything but BLUE – because I just love the colour!

According to this website: “Color is a meaningful constant for sighted people and it’s a powerful psychological tool.  By using color psychology, you can send a positive or negative message, encourage sales, calm a crowd, or make an athlete pump iron harder.

Psychology of Color: Blue

Ask people their favorite color and a clear majority will say blue. Much of the world is blue (skies, seas). Seeing the color blue actually causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming; but that isn’t true of all shades of blue. Some shades (or too much blue) can send a cold and uncaring message. Many bedrooms are blue because it’s a calm, restful color. Over the ages blue has become associated with steadfastness, dependability, wisdom and loyalty (note how many uniforms are blue). People tend to be more productive in a blue room because they are calm and focused on the task at hand. Some studies are showing that weight lifters can lift more weight in a blue gym – in fact, nearly all sports are enhanced in blue surroundings.”

The best examples of restored “Don Quixote”  Spanish windmills can be found in Consuegra, not far from Toledo in central Spain, where several mills spike the hill just outside of town.  I certainly had some tilting to do, to capture not only the sails, but also the magnificent blue of the wide open sky.

This blue painted door can be found in The Lost Village of Acebuchal,  situated in the heart of the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Almara Natural Park.   The village, which sits on the traditional muleteers’ route between Granada and Malaga was abandoned and in ruins from 1949 to 1998, but has now been beautifully renovated, restoring the original style.

When I bought my new Canon Powershot SX220HS camera back in June,  I was playing around with the low-light setting, and managed to capture the beautiful blue plumbago plant growing in my garden.  It´s such a pretty colour.

A few weeks ago, I travelled to the village of  Colmenar to meet up with another local blogger.  Whilst I was waiting in the square opposite the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) at the appointed time, I couldn´t help but notice this couple sitting on a nearby bench, deep in discussion.  My eye was drawn to the colour of the woman´s clothing, which was the most amazing shade of blue. 

This street-sign in the nearby white village of Torrox always makes me smile.  Beso in Spanish means “kiss” – so this is Kiss Street!

My final image for this month´s Photo Challenge is from my home village of Cómpeta, and shows a pretty balcony, filled with flowers, against the  deep blue painted windows as their background.

This month´s CBBH Featured Blogs:

** Alyson at the Algarve Blog is a very talented artist and, along with her hubby Dave (a peanut-butter-loving photographer), give regular glimpses into their expat life in southern Portugal.

I am particularly enjoying reading Aly´s A – Z of Portugal, where she takes each letter of the alphabet and writes a different post using the letter as the basis for a post, about things she cares for in Portugal.   This is a very easy blog to read, with many stunning photographs, which always makes me glad that Portugal is an easy drive from my home in southern Spain.

** Talking of a friendly blog with great photos leads me on to my next choice – the Lucid Gypsy.   Gilly describes herself as “a middle aged techno hen with a passion for travel, writing, reading and well, life” – and is very busy working full time, studying and crafting pretty things in the beautiful south west of England.

Gilly loves taking part in Word and Photo Challenges and is always quick to leave an encouraging comment.  Why not pop over and say HELLO to her?

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for November, folks!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month,  link back to this blog and, most importantly,  don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look.  Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month´s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite!  I´m looking forward to seeing your interpretations.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]