Life in Color: Yellow

Malian Woman

Photograph by Michael S. Lewis

Yellow evokes the shine of the sun and is found throughout nature and the man-made world as a color that commands attention. This highly visible hue is found on everything from bumblebees to school buses, traffic signs to highlighters. Misbehaving soccer players are shown yellow as a warning, and Tour de France racers know the man in yellow is the rider to beat.

Here, a woman in Diafarabe, Mali, holds her brilliant yellow scarf against a blue African sky. Her landlocked country is a desert land that was once a hub for ancient Saharan caravan routes.

Yellow Boat Hull

Photograph by Michael Melford

A yellow boat hull is reflected at the waterline in Quebec’s Forillon National Park. This oceanside park is located at the farthest tip of Gaspe Peninsula in Canada

Staircase Silhouette

Photograph by David Evans

A staircase stands in sharp relief against a wall of yellow stained glass at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Paper Mill

Photograph by Raymond Gehman

A time-lapse photo captures the wispy steam and yellow glow of the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Brunswick, Georgia, at night. The mill is surrounded by the wetlands of poet Sidney Lanier's "Marshes of Glynn."

Train Engine

Photograph by Raul Touzon

A brightly painted train engine stands under a deep blue sky in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Santa Fe Railroad, one of America's most famous, merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad in the mid-1990s.

Huli Wigman

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

Red tears of sweat stream down the yellow-painted face of a Huli wigman in Papua New Guinea. His elaborate costume, donned for a ceremonial welcoming dance called the sing-sing, also includes a dramatic wig of human hair.

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Photograph by Darlyne Murawski

A spicebush swallowtail caterpillar in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, shows off eyespots meant to deter predators looking for an easy meal.

Sunflower

Photograph by Amy White & Al Petteway

Sunflowers like this one in Asheville, North Carolina, are prized for their beauty but also for their seeds and oil. The flowers are unusual among crops because they were first domesticated in North America.

Yellow-Shafted Flicker

Photograph by Michael S. Quinton

A yellow-shafted flicker leaves its nest in a forest in the United States. Flickers are woodpeckers that can hammer trees but prefer to forage on the ground. They often dig in the dirt for ants.

Vintage Plymouth

Photograph by Jim Richardson

The yellow hues of a small home in Lanai City, Hawaii, are matched by its owner's vintage Plymouth. Many residents of this village live in such pastel-painted cottages, first built for pineapple plantation workers.

Phuket Island Beach

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

Yellow beach umbrellas line the sands at a hotel on Phuket Island, Thailand. The island draws many foreign tourists to its balmy climes, crystal clear waters, and Thai hospitality

Eyelash Viper

Photograph by George Grall

Eyelash vipers are indigenous to Central and South America and come in a variety of colors, including shocking yellow.

Maple Leaves

Photograph by Stacy Gold

A blanket of fallen maple leaves covers the ground with gold during autumn in Washington, D.C. The visual "quality" of each fall's foliage is determined by weather conditions such as moisture and temperature.