Check Out What's Been Cooking At Light Stalking Last Week

Photography has the power of lightening up our lives; and what a great thing it is to start our days by checking out some beautiful images in the comfort of our seats!

Here is our weekly wrap-up – you'll find finely curated photos from the general chit chat blended with some creative shots from Tersha's 590th challenge on Creative Exposure by Changing Aperture! And of course, we'll introduce some worth-seeing shots from the Feedback Forum too!

Photo Of The Week – May 16th, 2022

Photo by Aurimas

Words by Jasenka Grujin

This week POTW goes to @aurikami.
There were many conventionally beautiful shots last week but this one stood out because of the unusual composition and skillful way of using darkness to emphasize the subject. I also like the colors here, they feel cold and metallic, in line with the theme.
Congrats, Aurimas.

What Are Our Members Up To?

Pour some coffee and enjoy our favorite shots from this wild challenge!

Photo by Dave Watkins

*The original idea behind this shot was to use a wide aperture to isolate that stringy lichen. Complete EXIF is f/8, 1/250, ISO 400 using a 100mm macro lens with a heavy crop.*

Photo by Michael

*That beautiful texture strongly resembles some of the classic shots inherited by the straight photography tradition.*

Photo by Robert Apple

*And speaking of straight approaches, this shot is taken right out from the camera and was made possible due to an early 70's exacta mount lens.*

Photo by David Chesterfield

*Nothing like a sharp macro shot to start out the day in the brightest possible way!*

Photo by Patrick

*Honestly, this looks like something taken from a LoTR movie! Pure cinematic value, and quite an example of how aperture can affect a given exposure too!*

Photo by Ken Scheepers

*“A Carolina Wren in the birdhouse on the patio.”*

Photo by Bobbie

Photo by Kristi

*“Foe or Friend?” We'll go with a friend!*

Photo by Wendy P

*By allowing more light to fall into the sensor, the aperture can be used to brighten up resulting images from restrictive shutter speeds and ISO values.*

Photo by Tersha

Photo by Logos189

*Also interesting to note, aperture affects focus' sharpness, so it can be used to produce some dreamy effects like this one above.*

Photo by Charmaine Joubert

*“Looking back”, widely open apertures result in subject separation and a rich perspective thanks to a broad depth of field.*

Photo by Pat Garrett

*Last but not least, tightly closed aperture values (like the f/22 in this shot) produce star-like effects on fixed light sources too.*

What You Shouldn't Be Missing From The Light Stalking Community

Dave shared the following photo of the famously looking Amanita muscaria, also called fly agaric. This is a re-worked image that was darkened a bit with a more blurred background to produce a bit of a mystic feeling. Genius indeed!

Also some more pollen cones:

Daniel shared this image of a bright sunset on Lake Harriet, Minneapolis.

Inspired by Robert Apple, Tersha shared this flying dandelion seed head:

If you want to see more shots, take a look at the Members Picks! A place where our community is able to share their favorite photographs from our forums every week.

We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts

Also, our Feedback Forum got some nice pictures, and is clear that some of you have started building a solid photography style. This is the right place for all those people that want to grow fast as photographers.

Here, you'll get your work critiqued by plenty of well-intended people, but you'll also have the chance of critiquing your peers. We truly believe in the power of criticism and feedback. Here are some of the most interesting shots shared during the last week:

The Shark Tank is a great place to learn and to discuss, so please read the instructions in order to get a better critique 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. Don't be shy, critiques are given to photographs and not photographers.

Also, don't forget to participate in our 591st challenge on Creative Exposure by Changing Exposure!