Mini-Challenge #164 - Juxtaposition Results

sapphire73

Wow! Great participation and lots of great interpretations of this theme! Thank you all for participating in this mini, sharing fun captures and beautiful images!

It was quite a challenge to judge these, thinking about the ways entries fit the theme, juxtaposing subjects in a way that compares or contrasts them, helps us see similarities and differences, or presents us with something unexpected, out of place.

The visual impact of an image, how well I thought an image fit the theme, and the quality of the image were all factors I considered but it was still a difficult and subjective process. I was almost ready to post this last night but decided to sleep on it one more night. Let me just say that the winning shots were very, very close. And I would have been happy to honor many more entries with a mention, but time to move on….

Here are 8 honorable mentions (in no particular order) and 5 winning photos.

Honorable Mention – DonRicklin - “Swan in Squalor”

This is a striking juxtaposition of the graceful, white swan in what amounts to an oversized puddle in a gritty environment.

Honorable Mention – Alans Grin - "Old and New - Floating Monster from Hell"

That cruise ship really does dwarf its surroundings. Great fit for the theme!

Honorable Mention – Fcjvisual – “Making Do”
<a href="http://fjcvisual.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/Challenges/17690202_mV5CHS#!i=2503678530&k=6rnm6Hr&lb=1&s=A&quot; title=""><img src="http://fjcvisual.smugmug.com/photos/i-6rnm6Hr/1/L/i-6rnm6Hr-L.jpg&quot; title="" alt=""></a>
I’ve seen similar scenes in Ghana and India and think you captured this very well!

Honorable Mention – Richtersl - “WWII versus 2010”

I like the way this presents a casual juxtaposition of two eras. (I also liked your earlier entry of the rock and mossy reflections….)

Honorable Mention – Travelways – “April Fools’ Day, Canada 2013”
<a href="http://www.travelways.com/Photography/Conceptual-Photography/Juxtaposition/29316616_j8fbM4#!i=2502447077&k=HDkgSX2&lb=1&s=A&quot; title="April Fools' Day, Canada 2013"><img src="http://www.travelways.com/Photography/Conceptual-Photography/Juxtaposition/i-HDkgSX2/0/L/1st-april-snow-L.jpg&quot; title="April Fools' Day, Canada 2013" alt="April Fools' Day, Canada 2013"></a>
Nice contrast between anticipation of spring and snow fall on April Fool’s Day and the van advertising escape to warmer weather! I also really liked an earlier entry, “Old and New in Ottawa,” contrasting two buildings in a stunning image!

Honorable Mention – Billseye - “You Lookin’ at Me?”

Such a fun juxtaposition, well captured!

Honorable Mention – Kentwaller – “Destruction and Hope”

I remember seeing this before and liked it then and now. My memory is that the rubble is from the bombing of Stuttgart during WWII. So this is a juxtaposition of the past and the present, war and faith or hope, and a mountain (or hilltop) perspective on the city below. Very nice!

Honorable Mention – Chandlerja – “Elderly Youth”

I kept going back to the hands. The totally relaxed hands of the infant and the older hand, ready to support the pacifier or do whatever else might be needed to care for this little one. Very nice juxtaposition, well-captured!

Tied for Third Runner Up – What She Saw – Think Big

Great juxtaposition of sizes, textures, and the three figures! That fabulous sand sculpture and nearby child really pull me into the image. Great entry!

Tied for Third Runner Up – DonRicklin – Young Ballerina and Man at Bath

Wonderful juxtapostions here! The most striking one for me is the contrast in activity. The painting showing an everyday, private activity and the sculpture picturing someone ready for a public performance. Hard to capture this kind of picture in a museum and you did it well.

Second Runner Up – KevXman – Delicate Roughness

This showcases the subtler juxtapositions that characterize so many effective photos. Love the way your composition contrasts textures, depth of field, light and shadow, flower and tree. I liked it from the start and it kept growing on me…. Gorgeous!

First Runner Up – Kentwaller – Ancient Tradition Modern Habit

I smile every time I look at this photo with that unexpected element, the cigarette.
I don’t know whether you just happened to capture this shot or saw the cigarette and quickly framed the shot, but good capture! Having his face in sharper focus would have made it even better.

Mini Challenge #164 Winner – ThirdDayImaging – Guiding Lights
<a href="http://www.thirddayimaging.com/Main-Galleries/All-Images/28334767_HxWww5#!i=2488239681&k=5CZ8NJQ&lb=1&s=A&quot; title=""><img src="http://www.thirddayimaging.com/photos/i-5CZ8NJQ/4/L/i-5CZ8NJQ-L.jpg&quot; title="" alt=""></a>
Great juxtaposition of the moon and the lighthouse! Moonlight illuminating the way as it has for many centuries and the lighthouse, ready to help navigators in fair or foul weather. The clear skies and calm seas give us a peaceful, serene scene but the lighthouse reminds us that it isn’t always so.

ThirdDayImaging (Scott), congratulations! It is now your turn to start us off on the next mini-challenge!

Thanks again to everyone who entered and those who commented on the entries.

Gretchen

DonRicklin

Yowza! A great winner!

And the best I've done for any challenge on Dgrin, an Honorable mention and a Third Place (even if tied with some else! Whoot!

And if you haven't guessed that me with a remote in the Swan shot!

Thank you Gretchen!

ThirdDayImaging

Thank you Gretchen - this was a great surprise. Especially when I saw all the other entries! I do have one quick question. Is there a list somewhere of previous mini-challenges? I'm new to the forum, and I don't want to pick a topic for the next challenge that has been done recently.

ShootingStar

Hi Scott

Congrats. Great shot!

It is a sticky thread at the beginning of the dgrin challenges page.
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=205082

Claire

ThirdDayImaging

ShootingStar wrote: »

Hi Scott

Congrats. Great shot!

It is a sticky thread at the beginning of the dgrin challenges page.
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=205082

Claire

Ahh, knew it would have to be somewhere fairly obvious, and thanks!

juanheredia

Congratulations to the Winners. Really great shots.

kentwaller

thanks for a well run mini challenge gretchen! on the cattle/cigarette photo - basically i was just trying to not get run over by cattle, since staying alive is always one of my top photgraphy priorities

KevXman

kentwaller wrote: »

thanks for a well run mini challenge gretchen! on the cattle/cigarette photo - basically i was just trying to not get run over by cattle, since staying alive is always one of my top photgraphy priorities

Kent, Kent, Kent. Where's the dedication and sacrifice for your art? I mean really! What's life and limb when compared to getting a great shot?

Nicely run mini Gretchen. Thank you for the runner-up status. I was out practicing my waterfall shots when I stumbled across this in the underbrush.

— Kevin

sapphire73

kentwaller wrote: »

thanks for a well run mini challenge gretchen! on the cattle/cigarette photo - basically i was just trying to not get run over by cattle, since staying alive is always one of my top photgraphy priorities

If I were in your shoes, I would have missed the shot altogether. Glad you got the shot and lived to tell about it! Btw, I browsed through some of your galleries and will be revisiting them if we get a chance to spend a few days in Germany again! Beautiful shots!

sapphire73

ThirdDayImaging wrote: »

Thank you Gretchen - this was a great surprise. Especially when I saw all the other entries! I do have one quick question. Is there a list somewhere of previous mini-challenges? I'm new to the forum, and I don't want to pick a topic for the next challenge that has been done recently.

Glad Shooting Star saw your question and answered it already. Hope you have fun with it!

Gretchen

travelways

Congratulations Scott, very nice photo,
and congratulations to all winners - so many nice entries!!!

clap

Thank you Gretchen for mentioning my entry

ThirdDayImaging

Thank you Tatiana, and yes, Gretchen did a great job running the challenge. She has set the bar high, hope I can do as well as she.

I must say, this is great fun!

richtersl

Great image, Scott! Congratulations.

Thanks for the HM, Gretchen.

billseye

Congrats to Scott - a worthy winner for MC 164!

Kudos to all the others and thanks, Gretchen for a fun challenge and the HM.

Bill

grandmaR

I'm wondering what lighthouse that is. Assuming it is a moon rise so on the East Coast (?) It's a nice juxtaposition but I confess that the big watermark across it detracts from the photo IMHO. (Am I allowed to say that?) And I'm still distracted by the big huge diagonal poles in Making Do - really nice photo but hard for me to see the juxtapostion.

I especially liked the swan, the guy with the cigarette, the sand sculpture, the Degas dancer in the museum, and the second runner up with the flower against the tree trunk.

ThirdDayImaging

grandmaR wrote: »

I'm wondering what lighthouse that is. Assuming it is a moon rise so on the East Coast (?) It's a nice juxtaposition but I confess that the big watermark across it detracts from the photo IMHO. (Am I allowed to say that?) And I'm still distracted by the big huge diagonal poles in Making Do - really nice photo but hard for me to see the juxtapostion.

I especially liked the swan, the guy with the cigarette, the sand sculpture, the Degas dancer in the museum, and the second runner up with the flower against the tree trunk.

Your instincts are correct. It's West Quoddy Head Light, and it sits on the Easternmost point in the U.S. in Lubec, Maine (http://www.visitlubecmaine.com/). Although the moon could certainly rise over the pacific as well - it moves around a good bit.

Sorry about the watermark, but if you have ever had an image stolen, you will understand. I've had an image stolen with the watermark cropped out. This positioning makes that impossible. I try to make my watermarks as transparent as possible, but I wouldn't be the least bit offended to lose a contest over it.

ThirdDayImaging

Thanks again for the kind comments. Be sure to enter Mini Challenge #165 - Textures, Patterns, and Abstracts.

sapphire73

grandmaR wrote: »

I'm still distracted by the big huge diagonal poles in Making Do - really nice photo but hard for me to see the juxtapostion.

I think it fits the theme nicely as it compares two vehicles side by side, helping us see similarities and differences. The poles being transported by the bicyclist draw me into this shot.

sapphire73

grandmaR wrote: »

I especially liked the swan, the guy with the cigarette, the sand sculpture, the Degas dancer in the museum, and the second runner up with the flower against the tree trunk.

So many great shots in this thread. I spent a lot of time reviewing everyone's entries and started off with a huge pool of semi-finalists! Thanks again to all who participated.

sapphire73

ThirdDayImaging wrote: »

Be sure to enter Mini Challenge #165 - Textures, Patterns, and Abstracts.

Scott, congratulations again! I'm impressed with how quickly you got the next mini up and running.:D Hope everyone has fun with it!

grandmaR

ThirdDayImaging wrote: »

Your instincts are correct. It's West Quoddy Head Light, and it sits on the Easternmost point in the U.S. in Lubec, Maine (http://www.visitlubecmaine.com/). Although the moon could certainly rise over the pacific as well - it moves around a good bit.

Sorry about the watermark, but if you have ever had an image stolen, you will understand. I've had an image stolen with the watermark cropped out. This positioning makes that impossible. I try to make my watermarks as transparent as possible, but I wouldn't be the least bit offended to lose a contest over it.

Well that explains why I don't know it - I am mostly RI or Mass south to the Dry Tortugas - I haven't been to Maine but once and that was in 1956. I was going by the fact that the sky was still light and if you are going to be looking west when the moon is going down and the sun was rising I think the sky would be darker. We've lived on our boat for the winter for three years, so I've seen lots of sunrises and sunsets. We were offshore one night and I was at the wheel and at least once I thought there was a ship on the horizon and it turned out to be a star rising.

I understand why you watermark, and I've had photos stolen too (some of them for reasons that aren't because of the excellence of the photography but because the photos had been labeled with a subject that people wanted a photo of). Someone that I gave permission to have and use photos of his boat also took a photo of mine of a shrimp boat. I didn't want to make a stink about it because he was an acquaintance, but when I looked for it on the internet recently, I found it had been used in six places including an obituary of a shrimper.

It is this picture


And my photos of grave markers are stolen all the time by the Ancestry folks who do not understand the difference between getting permission and giving credit.

But I still don't like it.