Vietnam’s new helmet law, which just went into effect, requires everyone who drives or rides on a motorized bike to wear a crash helmet. This has created quite a stir, particularly among young people, who often seem more concerned about messing up their hair than preserving their skulls in the event of a crash. To offset the messy hair dilemma, new emphasis is being placed on helmet fashions, including color coordination. I took careful note of the traces of green on this rider’s facemask – it perfectly matches the color of her helmet. I also was startled by the effect of the rhinestone-studded glasses. I found the entire get-up somewhat incongruous – an attempt to make lemonade out of a lemon. The more fashionable the drivers try to become with their driving costumes, the more bizarrely incongruous the final effect. I made this close up image of a Hanoi cyclist from my tour bus window to prove my point.

This "art" store targets those interested in theology, western kitsch, and nude Indian maidens. Apparently, this incongruously strange fusion of genres sells well in Santa Fe. The image speaks simultaneously faith and myth, of the Spanish and the Indian, and throws in an electric meter for good measure.

I'm not sure if this man is baby-sitting the stuffed animal, the child, or both. In any event, it’s an incongruous situation. Meanwhile, the child seems more interested in exploring her shoes than investigating the cases of ancient pottery that lined the room. I made this image in Mesa Verde’s Museum – the stained glass window gives the image its sense of place. The man and child don’t even seem to notice this beautiful work, yet its vivid colors dominate the image. That adds still another incongruous touch to this image.

The contrasting emotional responses of the bus riders and the people in the advertisement on the outside of their bus are dramatically incongruous. I used this concept during my 2004 visit to China as well – you can see it by clicking on the thumbnail below. I am always trying to build on my ideas, and this time around I matched the number of people in the bus window to the number of people in the advertisement. By limiting the number of emotional responses here, the incongruity is more directly expressed.

A 35-foot high sculpture of a broom and dustpan made of painted metal greets visitors at the base of the “prow” of the new addition to Denver’s Art Museum. The work, by artists Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg, offers a double incongruity. Art elevates a commonplace household task to monumental civic status here. And my distant vantage point creates enormous scale incongruity by contrasting the huge sculpture and the even larger museum building to the tiny figures walking below them.

(You can read Oldenburg’s own thoughts on the sculpture at http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/bigsweep.htm )

By contrasting a bald mannequin to a photograph of a blonde model with a full mane, the window decorator of this store is using incongruous juxtaposition to stop passers-by in their tracks. It certainly drew the attention of a group of pbase photographers on the prowl for startling images. I was able to add still another incongruity that makes the image go beyond the shocking juxtaposition to imply greater meaning. The window is broken, and I shot the image through the shattered glass to tell still another story. The photograph in the background represents what once was, the bald mannequin suggests the present reality, and the layer of broken glass in the foreground speaks of broken dreams and lost hopes.