This week it’s Amy’s turn to host the challenge. She writes, “There are many ways to express contrasts in photography, e.g. tone, colors, subjects, lights/shadows, and more. Most of the time, we probably capture them without thinking of the contrasts.” You can read her entire challenge post here. One of the contrasts I hit upon for this challenge is old vs. new. In the image above, a replica of a sailing ship is contrasted against the modern skyline of Cartagena.

In stark contrast to the modern glass and steel in Boston, Massachusetts, the South Meeting Hall in the foreground was a meeting place for the American revolutionaries in the late 1700s.

In black-and-white photography especially, photographers often turn up the contrast to create more interesting compositions or simply focus sharply on the subject. The strong backlight and the single spotlight on the singer are in stark contrast to the lighting in the bar. I emphasized the darkened surroundings with a digital dodge-and-burn technique the modern equivalent of print-making practiced by film photographers for probably over a century.

A few weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video about Josh Adamski and his creation of an effect that now bears his name. I tried my skill to create his effect that basically applies a motion blur to the background while keeping the subject in fully sharp focus. The image above turned out to be my favorite of the attempts I made. The result provides a different sort of “bokeh” that has the effect of emphasizing the contrast between background and subject.

Any dark subject on a bright background (or vice versa) creates its own contrast, but sometimes post-processing can emphasize that contrast. The dark butterfly contrasted nicely with the properly exposed background in the raw image, but I took it a step further by increasing the highlights to “blow out” the brightest parts of the image, but still keep a bit of detail in the background.

The natural contrast between light and shadow is apparent in this view of Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai, the Garden Island in the Hawaiian Island chain. The skies filled with big, puffy fair weather clouds cast interesting patterns of shadow and light on the canyon below.

The image of abandoned docks on the Pecos River is in stark contrast to the river level captured in this photograph I captured in 2014. Statistical data on the condition of the Pecos River through 2022 told me that the drought continues, though improved rainfall last year improved conditions somewhat. Climate change exacerbates the lack of snow and runoff from the freshwater sources in the mountains of New Mexico and water levels in the Pecos continue to be very low.

In a small trailer, drone pilots use the control panel to operate a commercial drone that is slightly smaller than a two-passenger aircraft. The research project in North Dakota was designed to track agriculture for university studies. I noticed the cowboy hat sitting on the panel, to me it represents a contrast between old and new agricultural management techniques.

Thanks to Amy for this week’s challenge, and to Anne-Christine for last week’s “On Display” challenge. Next week, it’s my turn to create the challenge. As I am again on a short road trip, I’ve already got the challenge ready to go and it will automatically publish on Saturday at noon Eastern Time. I look forward to seeing your responses.

John