Placed firmly atop my travel wish list is Iceland (I know, this list is getting rather long!) Iceland is a nation full of fascinating geography, history, culture and colours. I love the incredible nature palettes created by peaceful, snowcapped landscapes, lust green farmland and mesmerizing blue glaciers. The architecture, particularly in the capital Reykjavik, is equally show-stopping as details like brilliantly painted corrugated sheet metal create a vibrant city that glows with colour and joy. No wonder Iceland often ranks as one of the happiest countries in the world! I really hope to visit this breathtaking nation one day. (p.s. the top image of a magical white house in the middle of stunning island Elliðaey belongs to one of Iceland’s most famous exports, singer Björk. How surreal must it be to live there!?)

(images via zamaan, a.rey, matthew molloy, trek earth, pie ketron, martin ystenes, berta, martin ystenes, martin ystenes, neil gallop, stefthor, a.rey, neil gallop, trey ratcliff, stefthor, neil gallop, a.rey, anna andres)

It’s amazing how colour-blocking can turn ordinary objects into fantastic photo subjects. Love this styling and photography by Gothenburg-based design studio Kontor Kontur. I would like most of the colourful office supplies featured!

(via seesaw)

If you have ever seen Pixar’s animated film Up, you can recall the wonder filled visuals of a house floating through the sky with thousands of brilliantly coloured balloons attached. National Geographic brought that beautiful image out of animation and into the real world for an episode of their new show, How Hard Can It Be? On March 5th, on a private airfield in Los Angeles, the National Geographic team launched a 16′ x 16′ x 18′ house with 300 8′ weather balloons attached into the air. The house flew for about an hour and reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet. The photos of the event are truly magical and really capture the colourful wonder of the film. I am hoping National Geographic recreates other famous animated film scenes. Perhaps those ballerina hippos from Fantasia are next?

(via my modern met)

A theme of chalk street art seemed to pop up in my posts this week which, while totally unplanned, does reflect a style of art I really love. Chalk is probably the cheapest and most accessible art material which is likely why it’s the medium of choice for many kids and artists. I love the powdery and richly pigmented colour chalk creates and how its non-permanent nature allows for chalk to spring up on every surface imaginable (legal or not). There are artists who use the medium in fairly serious styles of art but I find myself enjoying the more casual and random pieces of chalk art that often pop up on streets and embrace its youthful and joyful spirit. This week’s colour me happy celebrates the quirky side of chalk and of course, the vibrance of its colours. There is nothing better than the palette created by a box or pile of brilliant pieces of chalk. This summer, buy some sidewalk chalk – you will find it impossible to not be coloured happy!

(images via goro watari, essimar, steven de sousa, jill allyn stafford, padraic, daddyw, jamin hoyle, john cachero, robert stribley, mark watson, michel, alice)

These photos are part of a project called ‘Sound Sculptures’ created by photographer Linden Gledhill. Using tiny drops of paint, a stereo speaker and high-speed macro photography, Linden captures absolutely stunning photos of the paint reacting to music being played. Several of the final photographs anchored Canon’s Pixma Printer ad campaign. While the images have been around for a bit, I find myself returning to stare at them often. The shapes are mesmerizing as the paint dances to music and the colour combinations are dazzling. I hope to see more of this beautiful technique.

(check out a behind the scenes video of how the innovative images came to life)

It was very windy in Vancouver yesterday and it made me think about my trip to Montreal last year. On a similarly windy day, I spotted a great piece of street art based on dance steps. It was a fairly large and fascinating drawing so I was trying to capture every angle. In one shot, my orchid coloured scarf caught the wind and flew into frame. I didn’t even notice until I went through my photos at home. I love when colour shows up unexpectedly and almost magically. It wasn’t a planned or professionally composed photo but it makes me happy nonetheless!

(photographs by chloé douglas)

Another incredible find from The Big Picture. These images of Nyiragongo Crater, in the heart of the Great Lakes region of Africa, are absolutely stunning. Photographer Olivier Grunewald and his team took a very dangerous trip to within one metre of the Crater’s rim to capture the biggest lava lake in the world (it holds 282 million cubic feet of lava.) Although many products and emergency signs in our world are painting vibrant orange, no man-made hue every seems to capture the brilliant and breathtaking orange of fire, lava and heat. To me, there is something impossible to replicate about true orange in nature. I am kind of glad as it allows some hues to remain special. I especially love the gorgeous gradient of orange to purple as the flame meets the unique volcano gases and disappears into the night air. Amazing. Please visit the rest of the incredible images here.

The Boston Globe’s Big Picture is one of my often visited bookmarks as it tells a news story through incredible photography sets. Their recent feature behind the scenes of New York Fashion Week has some great shots of how such a massive scale event comes to life. I love the photos with striking bits of colour. In particular, I have always wondered how runway shows are organized so I was excited to see the photos of fashion designer Jason Wu’s seating and model charts. Love how the model charts use colour coding to ensure all pieces come together (writing specific style names on top of blue dot for belts, yellow dot for handbags, red dot for necklaces, green dot for sunglasses and purple strips for bracelets or pins.) A strange detail but I really do enjoy colour coding! I recommend checking out the whole set here.

This photo, ‘Girls in the Windows’, is jaw-dropping. Even more amazing, it is from 1960 so its brilliance is clear of any Photoshop enhancements or trickery! Ormond Gigli dreamed up this photo when he realized a brownstone across from his New York apartment was being demolished. He quickly organized 43 models in formal attire to pose in the windows and ended up with an iconic photo that perfectly captures 1960′s architecture, fashion and colour. What an incredible image.

From Ormond’s personal description of the shoot: “We had to work quickly to secure City permissions, arrange for models which included celebrities, the demolition supervisior’s wife (third floor, third from left), my own wife (second floor, far right), and also secure the Rolls Royce to be parked on the sidewalk. Careful planning was a necessity as the photography had to be accomplished during the workers’ lunch time! … the 43 women appeared in their finest attire, went into the buildings, climbed the old stairs, and took their places in the windows. I was set up on my fire escape across the streeet, directing the scene, with bullhorn in hand. Of course I was concerned for the Models’ safety, as some were daring enough to pose out on the crumbling sills.”

This post is a bit late coming. Betty White was the host of Saturday Night Live eight or nine months ago. After that show, I grabbed these photos of the show bumpers and used them as inspiration in building plenty of colour. Albeit a bit late, I still wanted to post these colourful shots of her. Why? Because Betty White looks flipping fabulous bathed in bright hues. I am also a longtime fan of Saturday Night Live’s between skit photography style. It is fun, glossy and colourful. Love the vibrant colour palette used and I am happy they highlight what we all know – Betty White rocks.

How incredible is this photo by Rodney Smith? The scale and composition of a model wearing a billowing dress atop a plane wing are amazing by themselves but the colour scheme is just breathtaking. Soft shades of aqua water, a periwinkle sky, clean white lines of a plane and a vivid coral-orange dress billowing in the air. What can I say? This colour scheme and photograph overall is absolutely stunning.

(image via rangoli)

Italian designer Alberto Seveso took high-speed photographs of colourful ink mixing with water and the results are beautiful, billowing fabric-like shapes. I would love to see this project continue across the whole spectrum of ink colours!

(images via behance)

Sarah Illenberger is a Berlin-based artist and photographer that constructs such whimsical and joyful pieces. Watermelon, with its bright green exterior, hot pink interior and striking black seeds, is the perfect medium for this colourful photo. A piece of melon becomes a happy pink raincloud. I love it!

(image via sarah hillenberger)

Living in a coastal rainforest like Vancouver has immeasurable benefits including lush green surroundings, snow-capped mountains and mild winters. Sure, one too many grey days can cause mild frustration but it seems that a gloriously sunny stretch almost always follows a rainy one. Another side benefit? Those daily transitions of weather create beautiful light shows and rainbow patterns reflecting off of lingering raindrops. Have you ever walked into your living room and a chunk of random rainbow appears somewhere? I love when those bits of magic are captured like this photo by Catriana van Rijn. By reflecting on a rustically textured chair, the rainbow takes on new dimension and life. I kind of wish that pattern chair was sold somewhere…

(photography via catriana van rijn)

I love how Oliver Schwarzwald injects colour into the everyday with such imagination. He creates a completely unique colour palette by adding just a small dash of colour to nature. I especially love his use of colour when applied to ugly urban life. Those balloons add so much joy to an uninspired industrial wall. It remind me of the rainbow graffiti I mentioned yesterday. How can you not love artists who bring happiness and life to eyesores?

(images via behance)

Over the last week and a bit, I have been introducing some of the special features I hope to develop. I thought today would be the best day for colour me happy to appear for the first time. What is this feature? Right now, it is ten or more images that are full of colour and hopefully, inspiration. Future editions might have a theme and perhaps connect somehow. Regardless of how it evolves, I just hope it ends your week on a bright note and truly does colour you happy!

(photo sources from top: paul octavious, sfgirlbybay, landon nordeman, pinterest, abby powell, endless forms most beautiful, stefan ruiz, let’s colour project, let’s colour project, youngna park)