MICHAEL ROBERTS, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Michael Roberts is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Kansas in the Clinical Child Psychology Program. In his academic career, he has written or edited multiple books in health service psychology, edited scientific journals, authored articles and chapters in his career revolving around the application of psychology to understanding and influencing children’s physical and mental health. Much of his scholarly work is available at ORCID: 0000-0003-1955-8672. Dr. Roberts enjoys photography especially through Diana and Holga cameras (and excited about the possibilities offered by a new plastic camera, La Sardinia). A collection of his photographs were recently published in a book entitled Imaging the World With Plastic Cameras: Diana and Holga (2023), available from Amazon.

Yellow Tulips of Madrid: Volver a la Alegría
(Photograph; Original print: 4” x 4”
on photographic paper) 

Yellow is the color of joy, hope, happiness, while the tulips connote perennial cheer and affirmation of life. These flowers were set in a small park in Madrid, a city of almost perpetual sunshine. The double exposure in the camera onto the film amplifies the color and multiplies the tulip images as the sun shines through the petals. Backlighting the flowers saturates the brilliance of the yellow, the color of joy and energy. Yellow lifts our mood and affirms the reemergence of optimism, the spirit of humans and creativity. Often overlooked in the luminosity of the yellow is the contrasting leaves and stems of green, the color of regeneration and verdant growth.

This photograph was made in a retro-film format by an inexpensive camera (the Diana). The plastic lens created both bokeh and vignetting effects, signature artifacts of plastic cameras, while giving a timeless quality to the impression.

These tulip blooms of yellow and green convey a “return to joy.” Because the photograph was made in Madrid, perhaps “volver a la alegría” is most fitting.