Why Precise Colour Matters to My Artwork: A Dolomites Story – Luke Stackpoole

The Italian Dolomites, October 2020

My recent project took me to a part of the world that is renowned for its beauty all year round, but especially so in the Autumn and that is the Dolomites UNESCO National Park in Italy. My second time visiting here and I could tell from the moment we arrived it was going to be a good trip! We arrived in early October so the tips of the larches were just turning golden in the evening sunlight.

Alpe Di Siusi

On our first sunrise, we headed to the famous Alpe Di Siusi – one of the highest pastures in Europe. Walking through the dark of dawn we had no idea whether it was visible as it is usually covered in fog in the early hours. However, we arrived just as the sun was rising and saw the beauty in front of us! This was an exceptional viewpoint and we even bumped into this awesome dog who posed for some images!

As you can see, the rolling sea of grass and the minimalist cabins on the hillsides gave this place a true fairytale feeling! Shot with a 100-400mm at 400mm!

Church of St Johann

Next up we headed over to the even more famous Church of St Johann in the North of the Dolomites. By this point, the cloud had arrived in full force and there was a mix of rain as we were taking photos. However, it turned out to create a really dramatic atmosphere which really helped to accentuate the drama of the location. The sharp peaks in the background gave the place an eerie yet beautiful scene. I used the grass in the foreground to create a leading line into the church, by placing my camera into the ground.

Lago Di Braies

The next day, we headed over to Lago Di Braies which is one of the most iconic ”Instagram” locations in Italy. We got creative with the reflections on the water and caught this beautiful church with a hint of autumn peeking through. I think the boats in the foreground really made the image!

Passo Giau

After a hearty lunch of spaghetti, we took a long drive through the mountains and ended the day on the route up to Passo Giau. There is a beautiful stretch of road here so of course, we had to get some automotive shots with our BMW. The clouds drifting off the peaks in the distance were incredible to witness.

That evening, we parked at the top of the pass and waited for the moonrise over the distant peaks. We couldn’t have asked for better colours as the moon breached the horizon, check out how orange it looked!

Our Last Day in the Dolomites

The last day of our trip was a little slower as it was raining for most of the day. However, we ended up finding this really atmospheric lane in the middle of nowhere that was perfect for creating some dynamic moody photos. I had my brother running down the road to create a sense of drama. I think it fits well into the Halloween vibes of October…!

Photo Editing After the Trip

By the end of the trip, I was itching to get back home to my editing workstation in the UK, as I much prefer to do my post-processing on a powerful setup with a large screen so that I get a better sense of the full picture. A significant reason for wanting to edit back home is that my ViewSonic 32-inch 4k editing monitor is specifically designed for photographers and creatives like me who need a large, high-resolution monitor with factory-calibrated SRGB colours. For me, this is on another level to editing on a laptop in a hotel room, I can really feel immersed in my process and feel the quality through the screen.

So, Why Is Accurate Colour So Important?

There are a few key reasons for this:

Enhanced Viewing Experience

First of all, you’ll just be getting a better viewing experience from the outset – I’m sure with the expensive camera guy one buys, they want to be viewing the images the way they were meant to be viewed, in detailed rich and vibrant colours that are true to the scene you witnessed in person. For me, this is important as it allows me to return to the moment and create something emotional from the scene. If your monitor can’t display the full spectrum of SRGB then you won’t be seeing all the fine details in your photos.

Consistent Colour Reproduction Across Devices

Accurate colour reproduction is also incredibly important to keep your colours consistent across devices. One example is for posting to social media – if you want the photo to look the same online on people’s phones as on your editing software, you need to have colour accuracy to the same level as the industry standard. Therefore when people view your work online they will see the images just the way you want with the same colour and detail that you envisioned them to see. This goes the same for clients who commission your artwork – when they print billboards, magazines, and digital media – you want them to have the images produced in a colour-accurate environment so that they are being displayed the way you produced them.

Accurate Print Quality

Last of all, accurate colour is important for any photographer who wishes to print their artwork. Print labs recommend this so that the print will look the same on paper as it does on your screen. Any discrepancies here can cause misrepresentation of colours!

So the solution to all of this, certainly in my case is to invest in a factory-calibrated monitor that can display these colours straight out of the box. In this case, the VP3268-4k.

All of the images in this article have been edited using the ViewSonic VP3268-4k monitor, providing accurate colour reproduction, vibrant viewing and sharp detailed picture quality.

Dolomites Gallery

Luke Stackpoole, Photographer & Filmmaker

Luke Stackpoole is a distinguished photographer and filmmaker known for his captivating and emotive imagery. As a ColorPro Ambassador for the past three years, Luke has become an influential figure in the creative industry. Based in the UK, he made a bold career shift from finance in 2017 to pursue his passion for visual storytelling. Since then, he has collaborated with top brands and garnered a substantial online following of over a million people.