About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

J is for JUXTAPOSITION

Juxtaposition is an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast. By placing contrasting elements side by side, you add interest to your photographs. You can use small and large, light and shadow, happy and sad, smooth and rough, old and new, horizontal and vertical, dogs and cats, etc.

However, that’s not all you can do in photographs. By using opposing colours of the colour wheel (i.e. using warm and cool colours in contrast), you add a touch of tension to the photo. Also, by using slower shutter speeds along with still objects, you can show moving objects compared to stationary object.

You can also show contrast between sharp focus and out of focus elements by using a wider aperture to blur the background and foreground. All of these methods will add interest and help define the idea behind the photograph.

I went through my photos to see if I had included any juxtaposition in them, considering I had no idea what that was at the time. Remember, I’m still learning just like lots of you. With the following photos, see if you can figure out just how juxtaposition is incorporated.

In this shot, the iconic Vancouver Hotel (opened in 1939) is reflected in the ultra-modern high-rise.

Here we have water, city, and mountains

Here we have two elements: contrast of tall grasses compared to a tall man and the contrast of blue (cool colour) and orange (warm colour).

Here is a bright contrast between green and blue plus a diagonal line within a rectangular frame.

Finally, in this shot I focused on the center of the bud and let the background become blurred.

And in closing, I must thank the jaunty Mrs. Nesbitt for the creation of ABC Wednesday. She and her jolly jewel of a team jump over to everyone's site to, at times, joke around while giving jovial and jazzy comments. Some of us are joyful, others are jaunty or jubilant. But we are never never jealous or judgmental of anyone's post! Here we might jest, but we always encourage one and all to join in the fun.

31 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

One of my favorite words, nicely illustrated.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Liz Hinds said...

That's fascinating. Love the reflection photo to.

Kay L. Davies said...

Always love to see the beautiful west cost.
Thanks for your comment on my J post, Leslie. I haven't been able to link it to ABCW, however, as there isn't a linky thingy.
K

Penelope Notes said...

Juxtaposition is such a wonderful and underused word. I think of it as opposing forces side-by-side that give deeper meaning, as you’ve said. Homeless people hunkered down at the foot of expensive highrises illustrates this well. Your photograph of a historic building reflected in the modern glass structure is a great example. :)

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for your informative post! I am working on Dina's computer now. Today we saw the synagoge with the beautiful Chagall windows.

MaR said...

Great word and fantastic shots!!
J is for...

photowannabe said...

Perfect explanations through your photos Leslie.
I never thought about that aspect of photography but most of the time I think I just do it automatically.
Loving your theme choice this time around.

jill said...

Lovely pics as always xx

Meryl said...

I love the playful concept and your j'jewels' of photographs!!!

Carol said...

What a good post, Leslie, and great photos as well.

Carver said...

Juxtaposition is a great word and I love all of your shots in this post. I think the first is my favorite. Carver, ABC Wednesday Team

Hildred said...

That was very interesting Leslie, - great choice of photos to illustrate juxtaposition.

J.Rylie.C said...

That last shot is beautiful! My J is....

ChrisJ said...

I especially love the photo of the reflection of the old and the new.

magiceye said...

interesting takes!

Anonymous said...

Just too good!

Esp. loved the first one :)

Annie said...

I'm really enjoying this series and learning a lot. That first reflection photo is awesome!

Ann said...

This was actually a new word for me, love the examples. Now I have to go look at my pictures and see how I did!!!!
Ann

Chubskulit Rose said...

I look forward to your tutorials every week, the photos are beautiful too!

Gattina said...

Very well explained with nice pictures !
Gattina
ABC Wednesday

Christine said...

Beautiful photos and a thought-provoking piece! Thank you for sharing it! : )

Joy said...

If I had posted earlier I could have juxtaposition my post:-) I always think that Vancouver looks so photogenic between water and mountains. Love the building.

Mildred said...

Interesting post!
Great shots and very nice entry for J day!
Thanks for sharing;o)

***
Have a wonderful Spring season****

KM said...

I love the third and fourth picture! :)

say cheese said...

interesting post and wonderful photos!

Nydia said...

Great post and beautiful photos as examples for juxtaposition!

Kisses from Nydia.

Russell said...

I cannot pronounce that word - or at least probably not quite right. But, yes, it is certainly a good word.

I watched a movie today called The Help (and I am perhaps the last person to have seen that wonderful film). Talk about .... juxtaposition!

Such a nice, caring, wonderful woman working for a nasty, self centered and cold hearted woman!

I agree with some others hwo commented on the contrast in the photo of the older heritage building reflected in the new glass skyscraper.

Take care.

Russell said...

I cannot pronounce that word - or at least probably not quite right. But, yes, it is certainly a good word.

I watched a movie today called The Help (and I am perhaps the last person to have seen that wonderful film). Talk about .... juxtaposition!

Such a nice, caring, wonderful woman working for a nasty, self centered and cold hearted woman!

I agree with some others hwo commented on the contrast in the photo of the older heritage building reflected in the new glass skyscraper.

Take care.

Shrinky said...

Crikey, you've truly excelled yourself, Leslie, with that last shot - it's utterly sublime, what a beautiful image! This is a great series, I'm loving it.

Jo said...

I absolutely LOVE that photo of the mountains. OMG...! :-) They look like velvet in a jewelry box.

EG CameraGirl said...

Great post, Leslie!