14-DEC-2006
Patience, Royal Palace, Rabat, Morocco, 2006
I juxtapose one of the palace’s staff members, who stands in the morning sun, with the palace security officers who gather in the cold shadows. The juxtaposition of light and shadow also implies a gulf in status – the men in the shadows have authority, while the man revealed in the light does not. He seems to be patiently waiting for information, but it is slow in coming.
25-DEC-2006
Cornered, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
By juxtaposing a homeless man resting in a ruined building and the ravaged ornamentation on its walls, I create a metaphor for a life in ruins. There is also juxtaposition in color contrast here as well – the man is dark, while the ruins around him, and particularly the ornamentation, are almost cheerful.
28-SEP-2006
Fog on the Firehole, Yellowstone National Park, 2006
Early morning fog begins to lift over the Firehole River Valley as I juxtapose a grazing bison to a leaning pine tree. Both the tree and the hump of the bison’s back point to the left. There is strong contrast between the large tree and the smaller bison. There is tension in the negative space between them -- it almost feels as if the bison could push it over if it got much closer.
24-SEP-2006
Old and new, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006
I juxtapose a massive new downtown office building against the turret of an old neighborhood church to contrast spirituality to commerce and the old to the new. The glass windows of the office building, reflecting the deep blue Utah sky, seem opaque and blind to what is around them. They stare at the church like hundreds of blank eyes.
19-OCT-2006
Parts of nature, June Lake, California, 2006
Using a long telephoto lens, I have reached out to juxtapose a large underwater rock with a dead tree. They are separated by distance, yet the telephoto has incongruously brought them together. One is solid, the other open. One is strong, the other frail. One is on the ground, the other in the water. Yet the tree reaches its branches out to embrace that rock. Its arms seem to be a perfect fit for that big rock.
20-OCT-2006
Sand Tufa, Navy Beach, Mono Lake, California, 2006
Sand Tufas are formed as freshwater springs percolate through Mono Lake’s briny bottom. Eventually, the bottom becomes dry land as the lake shrinks. The sand tufas are intricate sand tubes and columns, exposed as winds strip away their sandy coverings. Here, I juxtapose the hard, dry, black sand tufas with the brown fluff of massed sage. The contrast in color and texture make the gaudy form of the sand tufa seem even more bizarre.
07-AUG-2006
Outnumbered, 8th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
In this street photograph, I’ve juxtaposed a single man walking on ground level, and a second floor window featuring six exotically dressed female mannequins. I offer contrasts in gender, costume, vitality, elevation, and direction that create incongruous relationships rich in potential meaning. The man does not see the mannequins – they are only visible from across the street where I am. The mannequins don’t see him, either. They are otherwise occupied. Yet you can see the entire scene, and take from it whatever you wish.
02-AUG-2006
Madison Square Park, New York City, 2006
Using foreground and background layers, I juxtapose the work of nature against the work of man in this image. The trees offer an oasis of green in a city known for its population density. One of the most historically important squares in New York City, Madison Square was designed as a public space in 1847. Over the last hundred and fifty years, it has been bordered by residences, then shops, the original Madison Square Garden sporting arenas, and numerous office buildings, among them the headquarters of great insurance companies. Yet its sun splashed trees, seen here in early morning back light, have remained the one constant – a reminder that man is here as nature’s guest.
07-AUG-2006
Ice Cream Shop, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
Life imitates art in this layered juxtaposition of a woman sipping a chocolate milk shake. She is oblivious to the similar pleasures depicted in the painting just behind her. I made this image from the street, shooting through a large window in the shop’s door. I included the frame of the door as a foreground layer, which makes the viewer even more of an observer. This juxtaposition of reality and fantasy tells us that the pleasure of refreshment is a blend of both.
08-AUG-2006
Then and now, South Street Seaport, New York City, 2006
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, a forest of masts blanketed the wharves of New York’s East River. Today there are but two sailing ships left, both part of the city’s South Street Seaport Museum. The Wavertree (1885) and The Peking (1911). I juxtaposed them both against the façade of a contemporary office building, appropriately made of green glass, the color the sea itself. I am contrasting two eras in time by placing the ships in the foreground layer and the building as a background layer.
03-AUG-2006
To and fro, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, 2006
In this image I’ve juxtaposed a group of three pedestrians marching along New York’s 168th Street in single file, with one woman walking against the flow, under an umbrella. The heat was fierce, even in the morning, and the umbrella offered her comforting shade. They move stride for stride in opposite directions – a two way journey delineated by the shadow provided by the overhang of the Medical Center’s emergency room parking area. Nobody makes eye contact in this parade of urban anonymity. These people are islands unto themselves.
02-AUG-2006
The long and the short of it, Madison Square Park, New York City, 2006
This is a dual juxtaposition, a study in leafy contrasts. I contrast green against brown, and long against short, stressing the thought and care that the New York City Parks Department brings to its gardening. As gardens go, this may be a relatively small planting, used to flank a statue of Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State William H. Seward at the spot where Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street collide. It offers us contrasts in color, texture, size, height, and shape.
