All of my favorite places have a distinct color palette tied to them in my memory. I remember Lisbon by the sunny yellow of its tram cars and the blue and white of its famous azulejo tiles, while I picture the island of Santorini being simply white buildings against a background of oceanic blue.

I often wonder if I’ve just arbitrarily picked these colors based on the photos I took in these places, or if a place is truly dominant in the colors I associate it with. So to test this theory, I created an average of the photos I took in two of the places that have the most vivid color associations for me. This was inspired by a tutorial by Tim Owens, which I found through ds160.

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is a very vibrant city, but I will always remember its Old Town area very in distinct hues of ocean blue and terra cotta orange.

Here are some photos of Dubrovnik:

Here is the average photo of Dubrovnik:

Conclusion: 

I’m impressed with the results. In fact, it does look like I remember it: the blue of the ocean on top, and the grey and terra cotta of the buildings below.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Chefchaouen was unlike any place I’ve ever been to. It’s famous for having its buildings painted in every imaginable shade of blue. What’s interesting about Chefchouen is that I don’t associate it with a vivid set of colors like I do with Dubrovnik. In fact, Chefhouen is all a blue-tinted haze in my memory. Therefore, I’m going to put my photos to the test.

Here are some photos of Chefchaoen:

Here is the average photo of Chefchaoen:

Conclusion: 

The average photo of Chefchaouen is not nearly as blue as I remember the city. It looks rather generic, in fact. I’m surprised with the results.

I find it interesting how the average image of Dubrovnik nearly matched the color I had accociated with it. Chefchaouen, however, did not stand up to its fame as being a blue city.

I have to wonder if my perception of a city is influenced by the photos I have of it. Dubrovnik, with a very similar set of images, matched my perception almost perfectly. On the other hand, in Chefchouen I was not focusing my camera on the landscape of blue buildings. Instead, the blue was so ubiquitous that I was focusing on subjects like chickens and children. That may have thrown off my results of the average image.

In any case, I’m curious about your take on the association between places and color. Do you have a place that you strongly associate with a certain set of colors? Do you think your color association could be associated with the photos you took there? Please leave your answer in the comments.