When it Comes to Colors by Zahraa Al Hassani

In this vibrant exploration of color, Zahraa Al Hassani meticulously arranges crayon crumbs to create a striking, kaleidoscopic composition. By focusing on the raw texture and saturation of the wax fragments, the photographer transforms mundane art supplies into a sophisticated study of light and pigment. The image captures a deliberate, playful interaction between form and hue, demonstrating a keen eye for detail and color theory. This work stands out for its creative use of everyday objects, elevating a simple tabletop arrangement into an award-worthy display of artistic vision and technical precision.

When it Comes to Colors by Zahraa Al Hassani
Nikon D3100 with Nikon AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Exposure 1/60sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 800 | Focal Length 55mm
Copyright Β© Zahraa Al Hassani
Light & Composition Photo of the Day

Zahraa Al Hassani

REGISTERED PHOTOGRAPHER

Based in Baghdad, Iraq, Zahraa Al Hassani is a dedicated graphic designer and photographer who balances a professional career at Zain Telecommunications with her creative pursuits. A graduate of the University of Technology in Baghdad, she leverages her extensive background in graphic design to refine her unique photographic perspective. Her work is deeply influenced by her professional experience in visual communication, leading her to explore the intersection of design and photography. Committed to continuous learning, she strives to master the nuances of purist photography while documenting the vibrant world around her.

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13.3/20
RESONANCE
SCORE
299/500
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Award Reach | Reviews
16,156 views | 5 Reviews
Award Winner Photo of the Day
Award Date November 25, 2013
62.0
AWARD SCORE
Value 12.0
Clarity 11.0
Composition 17.0
Style 11.0
Skill 11.0
Photograph Location
Baghdad, Iraq

AWARD SEGMENT | TAGS

Color Photography
Zahraa Al Hassani Photography
Zara Otaifah Photography

Resonance Score Breakdown

Transparency in Award Scoring

Transparency Note: The resonance score (13.0/20) is calculated based on social engagement metrics collected before the award announcement.

Social Shares
5.0/5 points
1,664/1,000 Social Share
Page Views
5.0/5 points
16,156/2,500 Page View
Reviews
0.0/5 points
0/100 Review
Submissions
3.0/5 points
299/500 Submission
Jury Score: 62.0/80
Resonance Score: 13.0/20
Total Award Score: 75.0/100

Expert Photography Reviews · 5

Sophie Delacroix Emotional Narrative, Viewer Response & Psychological Impact Expert Review
Before the eye identifies the wax, something in the chest tightens. It’s the sudden, sharp memory of a classroom floor, the smell of heat and crushed pigment. These crumbs don't just sit there; they vibrate against the retina, triggering a sensory overload that feels like childhood impatience. I’ve returned to this frame three times today, and each time, the chaos of the color settles into a quiet, aching nostalgia for things we’ve long since broken.
Dmitri Kasakov Contrast, Shadow Drama & the Metaphysics of Light Expert Review
Crayon crumbs aren’t merely pigment; they’re the debris of childhood’s lost architecture. Al Hassani forces us to confront the waxen remains of a world that’s already fractured. I’m unsettled by how these vibrant shards refuse to coalesce, shivering against the encroaching dark. It’s a violent geometry. When I look at these jagged edges, I don’t see playfulness. I see the heavy, suffocating weight of a Baghdad afternoon where even color must fight to exist.
Thomas Hargreaves Earned Photographs, Craft Discipline & the Long Wait Expert Review
It’s a tidy bit of tabletop geometry, isn’t it? One suspects the wax was arranged in a climate-controlled room, far from the biting wind that usually defines a proper day’s work. There’s no shivering here, no waiting for the sun to break a storm. It’s clever, certainly, but I find myself missing the grit of the street. I prefer my color earned in the dust of Baghdad, not scraped from a child’s crayon box.
Lena Brandstrom Macro Photography, Optics & the Science of the Seen Expert Review
At f/5.6, the focal plane is razor-thin, forcing the Nikon’s sensor to resolve the chaotic geometry of these wax fragments. The diffraction of light across the jagged edges of the crayon crumbs is, in the strictest physical sense, extraordinary. I’m genuinely moved by how the lens captures the waxy translucence; it’s a tactile brilliance the naked eye usually misses. It’s not just colorβ€”it’s the physics of pigment rendered with such sharp, clinical intimacy.
Yusuf Al-Hamdan Landscape, Light as Presence & the Spiritual Dimension Expert Review
There’s a quiet patience in these scattered wax fragments, a stillness I recognize from the desert at dawn. She didn’t rush the arrangement; she listened to the pigment. It’s rare to find such reverence for the mundane. Looking at these vibrant, broken crumbs, I feel a sudden, sharp ache for the simplicity of childhood. She’s captured the light not as a tool, but as a conversation between color and the cooling, shadowed surface of the table.
Reflections on this Photograph
By Yuki Sato

The Dust of Creation

We often look for beauty in the grand and the permanent, forgetting that the world is built from the smallest fragments. There is a quiet grace in the broken piecesβ€”the remnants of a task finished, the dust of a dream once held in the hand.

Read the reflection →
By Clara Menezes

The Alchemy of Dust

We are taught that to create is to build, to stack stone upon stone until a structure rises to meet the sky. But there is a quieter, more honest way to exist: the way of the fragment.

Read the reflection →

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