Can you place an ad near an image if there is text (namely a caption) between the image and the ad? All the prohibited examples I've heard of have involved putting the ad directly next to the image.
Hi there, Yes, that should be fine, so long as the image and ad are easily distinguishable as two separate items and not related in any way.
That's the rub--only the adsense people get to decide what's immediately distinguishable. I'm not a good judge since I can spot adsense a mile away from having done this so long. Meanwhile, many average people have never even heard of adsense and kind of assume that those ads are really just part of the website.