Scott Shephard

If I told you that today’s photo and the photo of cactuses in my previous post are good examples of the use of juxtaposition, you would say that juxtaposition must be . . . . a stark contrast for dramatic effect. And you would be right!

And if I told you to compare and contrast the two photos, you could talk about how this photo (of candelabra aloe flowers) emphasizes linear elements and the photo of the cactuses emphasizes sphericity. (Did I just invent a word?) You could also contrast how you feel when you see this photo compared to the other.

Or you could just look at the photo for a second or two and move on. That’s what most people do.

Anyway, these flowers were captured at precisely the right moment as we walked into the Boyce Thompson Arboretum just outside of Superior, Arizona. As one of my golfing friends from long ago used to say after a bad swing of his ended up with the ball close to the hole, “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

Canon R5 1/160 sec f/4.0 ISO 125