Check out this incredible photo (detail, left) taken in Grindavik, Iceland, by Reuters photographer Bob Strong. This is a BorderTalks image! Talk about conflicting (co-existing?) territories! Within one frame the photographer captures the hallucinogenic combination of a geothermal power plant and one of Iceland’s tourist “hot spots,” the 104-degree Blue Lagoon spa.

This coupling of industry and leisure is a jolt to the eye. In fact, it is such a strange image that I initially thought it must be a composite of two photos. Which brings up an interesting question. If it were a Photoshoped composite rather than a “real world” juxtaposition, would it matter to the viewer? Absent of knowing the technical machinations behind the photo, it would be hard to read it other than as a literal representation. However, if the image were known to be a composite, it would an editorial — an illustration of an idea. Viewers would appreciate its beauty, certainly, but they wouldn’t focus on the “capturing” of the image. Instead they would applaud the digital manipulator who put the image together, and the art director or editor who came up with the concept. On the other hand, when we know the photo is an actual record of a power plant built next to a spa, our perception changes. First, we are amazed that the spa and power plant are actually next to each other. Then we are amazed by the photographer’s skill in capturing these competing realities, beautifully, in one frame. Contextualization is everything.

I Googled Bob Strong to learn more about his work. He has a couple of blog posts on the Reuters website, where he writes about his return to Baghdad in December of 2007. This year he’s spending his time in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and other northern European countries covering winter sports competitions. Most of the shots are pretty standard issue, but occasionally he’s got an interesting one. Check out this photo of the Global Seed Vault in Norway.