Weekly Photo Challenge: Contrast

“Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” ~ Francis Scott Key 1814

The flags waving against a blue sky create a contrast of color.

But the peacefulness of the blue sky is a stark contrast of the wars fought, and the lives lost by the brave, to keep America as the land of the free.

The eagle on the Wisconsin Monument in the Vicksburg National Military Park is a contrast in shades of blue, as he sits atop a white marble orb.
The shiny gold eagle on the Illinois Monument in the Vicksburg National Military Park strikes a bold pose, contrasted against a clear blue sky.
This peacock was proud to pose for a picture, and show off the brilliant blue feathers that are an odd contrast to the duller shades of the plume.
On a sunny fall day, the brown of pinecones create a contrast against the bright yellow and gold of leaves, with a background of blue sky peeking through.
A large piece of petrified wood, dead for hundreds of years, is contrasted amid new, living growth of green foliage springing up around it.