Gallery: do opposites really attract?
How do you photograph opposites? You can combine them in a single photo, as in the black and white zebras above. Or you can pair photos to show two extremes.
For this week’s Lens Artist Challenge, hosted by Tina, I’ve decided to do the latter. Searching through my archives I found plenty of examples. Do opposites attract? I certainly feel these pairs of images sit rather well together, so perhaps they do.
I also found some interesting quotations on the subject, so I’ll include a few of them too, some better known than others.
Apologies if you’ve seen some of these photos before; they fitted too well not to use them!
Night and day
The night market by the river in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day time view of the river in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sunrise and sunset
Sunrise over the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Sunset over the Okavango Delta, Botswana
You say yes to the sunlight and pure fantasies, so you have to say yes to the filth and the nausea. Everything is within you, gold and mud, happiness and pain, the laughter of childhood and the apprehension of death. Say yes to everything, shirk nothing.
Hermann Hesse
Old and new
The ruins of Banteay Kdei, Angkor, Cambodia
Hotels in Abu Dhabi reflecting the sunset
Young and old
Baby at a festival in Takayama, Japan
Woman from a minority tribe in the village of Ban Xong Ja, Laos
Fast and slow
Cheetah at the AfriCat Foundation in Namibia
Giant tortoise on Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Islands
To know one thing, you must know the opposite
Henry Moore
Big and small
Elephant in Chobe National Park, Botswana
Spider in the Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica
Hot and cold
The dunes of Wahiba Sands, Oman
Antarctic icebergs
What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley
Calm and rough
Early morning mist over Kielder Water, Northumberland
Rough seas off Sal in the Cape Verde Islands
Low down and high up
Fallen leaves on a rainy day in Lucca, Italy
The Torre delle Ore from the Torre Guinigi, Lucca
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction
Isaac Newton
Upside down and right way up
San Michele in Foro, Lucca, reflected in a puddle
The church of San Michele in Foro, Lucca
34 Comments
SoyBend
I liked the hard, shiny surfaces of the buildings in Abu Dhabi and the softness of the sunset clouds in Botswana, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Siobhan – that’s another pair of opposites I hadn’t considered!
wetanddustyroads
You have such a wonderful selection of opposites here! Sometimes it’s difficult to choose my favourite between the two opposites (like sunrise and sunset in Botswana), but I definitely prefer calm waters before a stormy sea (especially when I’m on it)! Lovely photos!
Sarah Wilkie
Ha, I know what you mean! But stormy seas are wonderful to watch and photograph 😃
Reflections of an Untidy Mind
What a superb gallery, Sarah. I love them all. Fabulous quotes too. I was going to tell you my top 3 pairs but reconsidered. I can’t choose. What wonderful adventures you have had.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 😊 Yes, we’re lucky to have travelled so much and as you say, had some great adventures!
JohnRH
Great GREAT opposites. That Abu Dhabi is a stunner!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John 🙂 That one seems to be a favourite with a number of people!
Leya
Love, love your opposites, Sarah! Great photography and quotes too. The spider is gorgeous and I liked it that you had upside down as well.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ann-Christine, I had fun with this one! The upside-down pair was a last minute inspiration when I saw that reflection photo of San Michele in Foro while looking for something else 😉
Wind Kisses
All the photos are stunning! I loved the ruins as compared to the modern Abu Dhabi. Everything has beauty in its time. The spider photo is almost elegant, and the cheetah seems to be interested in you. I love seeing travel through your eyes.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Donna 🙂 I photographed the cheetah from a jeep which was bringing food to the cats protected at AfriCat, so yes, he was very interested! I’ve been pleased that the spider photo has gone down well – the conditions weren’t great (dusk, dark corner) and he came out slightly blurry but thankfully I was able to ‘rescue’ the shot in Topaz Sharpen AI 🙂
grandmisadventures
interesting assortment of opposites!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Annie Berger
Great pairing of contrasting images, Sarah. The sunset and sunrise over the Okavango Delta on Botswana and the images of the babe and old woman were especially riveting.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie, I’m really glad you liked them 🙂
Amy
Remarkable set of opposite image selections, Sarah! Love the contrast in architecture, nature, colors, … Great post! The spider is amazing.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Amy 😊 I had fun putting this together and searching out the opposites in my archives.
Rose
The quotes and images go wonderfully together. My favorite photo comparison was the night and day Siem Reap, Cambodia, followed by the sunrise, sunset in Botswana. I think the surprising color-change in those two sets is what caught my eye.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rose – it’s always so interesting to learn people’s favourites 😀 I was pleased I was able to find some opposites in the same location!
Aletta - nowathome
It’s an amazing gallery Sarah! I love your photos!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 😊
thehungrytravellers.blog
Those Abu Dhabi hotels are pretty spectacular!
Sarah Wilkie
To stay in too! I was in the one on the far right which was pretty flash, but the middle one even more so – we had a fabulous dinner there one evening 🙂
margaret21
In a stupendous gallery, and totally out of character for me, the photo of Abu Dhabi was the one providing a jaw-dropping moment.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret 😊 I was in Abu Dhabi for business (sounds more exotic than it was, but it WAS interesting) and stayed in the right-hand of those hotels. It was pretty flash yet cost about the same as a Premier Inn here!
margaret21
Well, an experience, but I’d probably have preferred one of your humbler experiences!
philosophy through photography
Love the young and old examples.
Great collection for the theme Sarah.
Thank you.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I’m glad you liked them 🙂
philosophy through photography
You are welcome Sarah.
Margaret
Great photographs Sarah.
Yes I think opposites do attract. The benefits of one frequently highlights the advantages of the other. Love the quotes too.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a very good point, thank you Margaret 🙂
Tina Schell
Wonderful response Sarah! You do get around, don’t you?! I loved the blue web in Costa Rica. We did do the rain forest there but never saw that – amazing! And of course the beautiful zebras. IMHO they don’t get enough attention, being surrounded by elephants and leopards etc LOL. Loved your opposites this week
Sarah Wilkie
Aw, thanks Tina 😊 Yes, we do get around I guess! I agree about zebras, and that spider was a lucky spot – our guide that evening wasn’t great, but we bumped into another small group whose guide had found this spider so we got to see it too!