The whackiness of blue bowling koi

[luke frisbee]

Now Theron showed this on a site most of you don't go to.....
But before I post the illussion I want to say this....
I can't for the life of me understand why koi are not shown in black bowl. Yes I know they look better in blue bowls. Well couldn't it be that the fish in a blue bowl is not the best looking fish in a black or dark green pond and what we want is a koi that looks its best in the pond.
Once again a vestige of when koi dealers ruled koi shows. Koi Keepers should be trying to see the koi in relationship to the pond not how good it will look in a dealer's bowl.

The third illusion at this site shows how distorted colors become in relation to their backgrounds...especially an artificially BLUE background....I say put em in a black bowl at the shows. (and if we used black bowls they would have a proper amount of UV inhibitor and would last forever.)

http://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/O...erception.html

[Steve W]

Hi Luke
Good point i would love to know why not
I have wondered about this for years.


Steve W

[luke frisbee]

Steve W,
the dead fish will come in and tell you that that is the way it has been and therefore will always be.....BTW dead fish are the only ones that go with the flow.

Confronted with reasonable change, supported by logic, shouldn't make people become apoplectic

[mulberryjen]

Illusion #3 is a new one to me - how trippy! I sitting here spinning a color wheel around and thinking about your blue bowl question.

Here's my 2 cents: cerulean blue-ish color of most bowls is directly opposite to orange-red on a color wheel. So, as we all know, the bowl color makes the red of koi seem to intensify to our eye since they are very close to being complementary colors. In the world of make-up, a trick to make the whites of your eyes seem whiter is to wear blue eyeliner instead of black....for whatever that's worth! maybe blue same effect next to white body of koi.

I'm thinking that a green (compliment of red) bowl would make hi pop as well but maybe seem more purplish-red. Could also create after-image effect that might make whites seem pinkish.

Black bowl could really take away from ability to enjoy black & white fish like shiro utsuri, because it wouldn't offer any contrasting background for sumi to show up against. Fish would seem dull.

OK, maybe 3 cent worth!

[luke frisbee]

yes Jen all that is true..and therefore an advantge to dealers that would show the koi they had for sale in blue bowls (some even paint their tanks green).
And yes Black fish would look different in a black bowl....but that doesn't go against what is logical. Our koi live in Black or very dark ponds. And we are misrepresenting how that koi would look in the pond. Which is where we veiw it....and I don't think we should distort the perception of a koi by putting them in light blue bowls for judging.
A local dealer can't keep black koi in his sale tank. many people buy them, take them home and rarely see them again. They buy the koi thinking it will look like that in their pond...the blue color fools the eye and misrepresents the fish... and we require these for judging!

[MikeM]

Very nice, Luke.

It is not uncommon for Japanese breeders to use green in holding tanks... really nice contrast for Gosanke? At KoiAmerica, there was a dealer who placed black bottoms in his blue sale tanks. The Chagoi were not nearly so notable as the white-based fish. First time I paid attention to that being done.

[mulberryjen]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee yes Jen all that is true..and therefore an advantge to dealers that would show the koi they had for sale in blue bowls (some even paint their tanks green). And yes Black fish would look different in a black bowl....but that doesn't go against what is logical. Our koi live in Black or very dark ponds. And we are misrepresenting how that koi would look in the pond. Which is where we veiw it....and I don't think we should distort the perception of a koi by putting them in light blue bowls for judging. A local dealer can't keep black koi in his sale tank. many people buy them, take them home and rarely see them again. They buy the koi thinking it will look like that in their pond...the blue color fools the eye and misrepresents the fish... and we require these for judging!

No doubt. Mike picked out a Showa and has been crying the blues (no pun intended) since he brought it home because it looks orange in the pond compared to our other "red" fish.

To tell you the truth, blue bowls OK with me. I think it just presents the fish in its "best light," figuratively and literally. I spend 95% of my time dressed a certain way, but I don't feel like I'm falsely representing myself when I spiff it up a bit to go out. You go to buy fine jewelry, the cases are lit with bright lights so the stones sparkle. It's a presentation thing to me - enhance the beauty, all that good stuff.

I bought my black koi for good luck.

[aquitori]

Isn't it cool how blue makes orange fish look deeper than they are...And with out it you can't see the bodylines ...Weird stuff, good thread.

[luke frisbee]

Mulberry,
well YOU and the Jewelers are trying to sell something. You've added to my argument.
Whereas Judges are trying to judge, and they should be judging koi in relation to how they look in the pond and not in a baby blue bowl.

[Nancy M.]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee Mulberry, well YOU and the Jewelers are trying to sell something. You've added to my argument. Whereas Judges are trying to judge, and they should be judging koi in relation to how they look in the pond and not in a baby blue bowl.

Excellent point Luke... But for the judges to see the true beauty of the koi, I think Blue tubs work best. Have you ever gone out to your pond and bowled up one of your own living jewels just to see how much it has grown or to make sure it was healthy. And to your own amazement you thought damm that fish looks even better up close in that old blue bowl..