Bud Engineering, Close Connections and Ahsoka!

Welcome to the weekly Light Stalking community update!

For this week, Tersha requested our talented members to visually elaborate around the deep and meaningful concept of “intimate connections.” An overwhelming and strong subject to deal with if you ask me. As someone passionate about visual language, taking photos of those around us tends to be hard. Here's my favorite of the very few images I've grappled with from the most important person in my life, Paula my partner:

Up next, is a fine selection of all the well-crafted submissions we had from our dexterous community! But remember, all these challenges are being left open so we can build upon our visual endeavor.

Photo of the Week

With just the needed flair of symmetry, Nature humbly presents the wonders of organic engineering concatenated within a gentle bud. Twisted, the spiraling punctum pierces our attention from the average distance between our lashes and the screen:

Here’s a crop from a larger shot I took of an opening bud of Datura Wrightii from the Nightshade family. I was struck by how the petals were designed to unfold from an efficiently tight bud into a fully wide-open, upright flower.

I’d like to emphasize its aspect of design, so here are two of my attempts – one in color adjusted slightly and one in B&W for contrast and sharpened for detail. Any suggestions?
I’ve also posted the full flower in case you’re not familiar with it. It’s a beauty!

The image was posted in the Shark Tank forum and triggered a richer conversation that we couldn't fit within these lines. Congrats Marty! Thanks for ramming us in such a spectacular way.

Weekly Photography Challenge Digest

Thanks, Tersha and Dahlia for pushing our creative boundaries one step forward every week!

It was taken at a fair and this young lady likely raised her stallmate from a calf. She would be “showing” it. Such real trust and bonding that makes a connection in them both.

Daddy Daughter

For contributing, check out the original challenge post!

A Highlight on the Latest Activity at our Community

Beth shared a stunning portrait of Ahsoka, aka Anakin Skywalker's padawan… shot back in 2023. wasn’t really happy with it, but it’s grown on me since:

the background is mostly just blurred background with a sparks overlay. the green at the bottom is blurred grass, the blue is atmosphere aerosol picking up the blue light on the figure, the top right is probably trees around sunset. or maybe my jeep, since i shot it near the driveway.
the overlay is a bunch of sparks on a black background. google photoshop overlay and you’ll find all kinds of fun things on black. load it in ps as a layer, set the blend mode to lighten and mask out the subject. add some blur if needed.

Patrick wished us a nice weekend in a twisted and somewhat spooky way!

And we are joyful to have heard back from lightandshadow,

I've been absent for a while, lurking on the sidelines and missing the community.
Recent trip to the mountains of North Carolina and experimented a bit with ICM, especially with some wildflowers. Florals are so often routine and this is one way I have tried to provide a novel view, inviting people to see beyond the mundane.

Say welcome back here!

If you want to make the most of your LightStalking user account, make sure to check the latest posts. Also, don't forget to swim the Mobile Monday Challenge! Last but not least, Check out the current reading throwdown, it has some nice insights and recommendations!

We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts

Our Feedback Forum is a fine place for all those people wanting to grow fast as photographers. Here, you'll get your work reviewed by friendly photographers, but you'll also have the chance to comment on the work of others. We believe in the power of feedback, and here are the latest shots shared in the pool:

The Shark Tank is a great place to learn and to discuss, but please read the instructions in order to get a solid experience. Share your comments, opinions, and doubts on any or all of the images above. We also will be delighted to see some of your own images. Remember all comments are given to the photographs; not the photographers. Also, don't forget to participate in our upcoming challenge!!!