Weekly Photo Challenge: Portraits of Contrast

July 3, 2014 by galeweithers 9 Comments

Hmmmm … let’s talk about contrast … as per this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge.  Sounds easy enough right?  Or is it?  Well it took me quite a while to come up with something but I ended up leaning towards extra support from my Oxford dictionary and thanked it for confirming:

“the state of something being noticeably different from something else when put or considered together” and “a thing or person noticeably different from another” and “the amount of difference between tones in a television picture, photograph, etc.”

Finally think I’ve gotten it now, so here goes.

Contrasting national costumes

I’ve done quite a bit of travelling and always marvel at the contrasts in national dress.  Here are a few examples below – all very beautiful yet uniquely different.

Malaysia

Rome

Beijing, China

Contrasting the same person

In thinking about this post, I thought about the contrasts which could exist in the same person and chose to highlight my aunt – seen in both photos below.  Wasn’t she beautiful?  I’m honestly not sure what fashion statement is being made with the necklace perching off to the side but it matches her earrings and that’s what’s more important … right?  I look at these photos and think it’s a pity we can’t grow old without aging (if that makes sense) but what is sad about this contrast is that in the younger photo she has full control of her mental and physical faculties … today, she has been totally robbed of these and is a mere shell of her once vibrant self.

I will praise you Lord in my youth …

… even as others praise you for me in my old age.

Contrasting light and dark

No better photo illustrates contrasts light and dark than one taken of a sunset.  I thought my inexpensive point and shoot camera did an amazing job of capturing this beautiful scene.  What do you think?

Contrasts in light

 Contrasting the mind of a photographer 🙂

My last example is a bit extract in that I’m looking at the underlying message of unity being communicated by two children with contrasting skin tones, as they tightly link hands and prepare to tackle their uphill journey – together.

I think we can extend this thought to include looking at the contrasting or different decisions made in shooting this awesome photo (taken by a friend as we participated in a very early morning walk for charity) with others that could have resulted in a more ordinary shot i.e.

• instead of taking the photo with the children facing us, it’s taken of their backs
• instead of asking them to pose, we’ve caught them totally unawares doing what little girls do naturally (talk a whole lot)
• instead of taking the photo looking down, the focus is on their movement up the hill
• instead of having the sun behind, the camera’s lens is facing into the glare of the sun as it peeps through the leaves of the trees

 

Friends

Hope these examples are not too far-fetched as I admit that this challenge inspired me to think outside of the box.  But how would you rate my ‘contrasts’?  Were they good, bad or ugly?  Leave me a comment … and here’s to a continued appreciation of the contrasts in our lives 🙂

 

The Details of the Challenge:  This week, in a post created specifically for this challenge, share your own photo showing a CONTRAST.  Join me in navel-gazing, or show us something more everyday — your cat cuddled up with your dog, a red car in front of a yellow house, a figure silhouetted against a setting sun. Try a less literal take and snap a shot of the John Grisham and Shakespeare volumes sharing space on your bookshelf, or go totally figurative and share an image of a person you find full of contrasts.  We look forward to learning what says “contrast” to you!