Solitude in Crowds, Pareidolia with Crocs and Variations!

Welcome to the weekly Light Stalking community update!

Not so long ago, I came across the social phenomenon related to feeling sole or lonely amidst the crowd. Authors prior Marx to contemporary folks like Jaeggi and Rosa, might posit the biggest blame to alienation as the cause of this symptom.

However, a handful of those intellectuals experienced a different kind of discomfort. Such distress led them to reflect on how the feeling of strangeness developed in foreign cultures. Each focused on particular aspects of this odd feeling:

Simmel emphasised on the role of the stranger as a social being and explored how territories affect social interactions.
Schütz aimed to study the essence behind the experience of being a stranger and the process of making sense of an unfamiliar social world.
and Elias understood it as part of the vast historical process of civilisation.

Mixed up by contemporary social acceleration, this feeling is not unfamiliar to any of us. So we are virtually capable of expressing and capturing this common denominator of our human existence. For doing it in an aesthetic and pleasing way, Tersha suggested some nice inspiration. Which by the way comes from the experienced voice of our friend Jason Little.

My two cents on the topic, do it in a non-creepy fashion and don't try to make money like this guy over here. Which by the way, is the photographer of one of my personal favorite photos of all time. In his case, things got controversial, but he still offers a solid example of how the fine-art world works; meaning bigger money is favored to win.

Before jumping into what the talented Light Stalking community delivered for the challenge itself, I want to share a word with you. All this contradiction of feeling solitude in crowds, made me reckon an old Portuguese word a beloved aunt taught me about. The word is “saudade“, and she explained it to me as longing for something unattainable; another human contradiction as well.

Photo of the Week

A bright example of how the right amount of simultaneous stuff helps deliver a tight visual story. The radiant patch of light at the center of the frame does a great job at pulling down the gaze, signaling the place to start reading the shot!

I tried monochrome, but I couldn’t make it work. May try selective color. The 4H members carefully crowd into line waiting to show the Brown Swiss they’ve raised from calves.

Congrats Pat and thanks for sharing such a high quality photograph with us.

Weekly Photography Challenge Digest

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

Full Disclosure: I used Generative AI to remove a pole on the Left of the frame

This fair is always very very crowded with a lot of noise filtering through the speaker systems. It is a testament to the handlers and trainers that they can keep, literally, tons of power calm and controlled while moving through crowds to the judging rings. This man is controlling using only his voice and a “whip” (in his right hand) which he gently used when giving commands.

This whimbrel had chosen a busy parking lot by a popular tourist site as its nesting place. Clever.

For more visual examples of decay and resilience, check out the 704th original challenge post!

A Highlight on the Latest Activity at our Community

Patrick shared a creative portrait:

Waiting on the rain , tried something with props while waiting on the storm that never came.

And some nice pareidolia he pulled out of some aged Crocs!

Robert Apple reminded us to give landscape shots some love!

Is been a month since anyone’s dropped a landscape. The Nowood River Valley

And another sunny landscape from Billy Creek:

Daniel shared an overwhelming shot of an embalmed bee:

As Elin, who shared some small winged fellas!

Finally, Daniel requested some insights for a variation work on the following shot:

Don't let the chance of winning a $250 cash prize slip by! “Elements in Balance” is our theme for July, click here to read more! And remember, if you want to make out 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 better 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!!!