Giants Among Us, Natural Textures And Wildlife Photography – The Weekly Light Stalking Community Roundup

Welcome to our weekly community wrap-up.  It's been another amazing week on the Light Stalking forums with great photography by the community and the discussions in the forums have been engaging and very inspiring in the recent weeks. We also had quite a few members joining the community last couple of weeks, which was even more exciting.

Here is the Photo Of The Week that is judged by Federico every week. This week's photo of the week is by Retired Grunt. Read more about it here – Photo of the Week – December 5th

Copyright Retired Grunt

The weekend photography challenge from last week was “Giants Among Us” and members came up with their creative interpretation of the theme by capturing very interesting shots – some of them are shared below.

This week, we have a new challenge that has some very beautiful submissions already. Join the challenge here – Cultural Portraits

Here are some “Giants Among Us” photographs from the past week's challenge that we thought were great and should be included here:

Tour ship and karst – Copyright Anne Hornsby Spot the climbers – Copyright David C Copyright Wendy P Giant Redwoods – Copyright Frogdaily Copyright Wendy P Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Robert Apple The root ball from one long blown over – Copyright Robert Apple

Here is some information Robert shared about The Giant Sequoias:

You’ll only find them on the upper west coast of the USA, they’re not the Tallest but they are the largest Trees in the World. The first photo is General Sherman and here are a few stats from the Park website.

General Sherman – The Largest Tree (By Volume) In The World.
It is estimated to have a volume of 52,500 cubic ft. (1,486.6 cubic meters). In lumberman’s terms, this one tree probably contains 630,000 board feet of lumber. (A board foot is 12 in. x 1 in. plank that is one foot long.) That’s enough to build 120 average-sized houses. In fact, a single giant sequoia may contain more wood than is found on several acres of some of the finest virgin timberland in the Pacific Northwest. The trunk of General Sherman alone weighs nearly 1,400 tons. That is roughly equivalent to 15 adult blue whales, 10 diesel-electric train locomotives, or 25 military battle tanks! In just one year, an average mature giant sequoia tree adds enough wood to make a sixty-foot tall, three-foot diameter oak tree!

Here are photos shared by members in other forums like General Photo Chit Chat, Landscape Photography, Macro Photography, Astrophotography, etc.

Copyright Tersha Copyright Tersha BW Photo from 1987 – Copyright Retired Grunt Copyright Robert Smith Yoga on the rocks – Copyright Steve Slow life in the countryside – Copyright Frank Fey Valley of Fires State Park – Copyright Jim Powers Copyright John Johnston Overlooking Shoshone Pass near Thermopolis Wy – Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Rob Wood Catch that last bit of color – Copyright Steve Copyright Brad Brighton

David shared a series on smoke photography – A bit more of the Pareidolia

Cool dude in a hat – Copyright David C A little mouse – Copyright David C Loaf Mountain Overlook This Summer – Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Brigham Bechtel Copyright Tersha Copyright Dante Dancel Feathery plant over Pacific Ocean – Copyright Anne Hornsby Cranberry orange gelatin – Copyright Steve Interesting Threads in the Forums:

Our members have started some very interesting threads so you can follow and get inspired and some where you can also post your own photos. These are great ways to learn more in terms of photography and the natural world we live in.

Moments Through a Dirty Windshield – Started by Retired Grunt, who will be posting photos from the project weekly. These are moments of life that he captures while he drives although some are taken while parked. Copyright Retired Grunt Mono mood – A series of interesting photos in monochrome by Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick When clouds mimic the mountains – Copyright Robert Apple Posers – Copyright Robert Apple The Family of Asteraceae – Robert has started this very interesting thread where you can find asters where you live, take photos of them and post them with information on where you found it and the name, or you can just post the information on what you can discover and if possible, other members can help with the name or other details. Copyright Steve Copyright Stefanie Markham Rob’s Daily Shot – Rob is going to post a shot daily in this thread and keep it going as long as he feels like it. He believes it could be a way to improve, share, get opinions and mainly just to have a bit of fun. Some of the shots are shared below, but make sure to check out the rest in the thread! Sitting on the dock – Copyright Rob Wood Building – Copyright Rob Wood Steve’s Start and Finish – Steve will be posting both the image’s starting point and its most recent finish and if possible may share some other notes about the potential he saw when he decided to frame and focus. Ghost hunting – Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Copyright Patrick Interesting Topics And Discussions: Gone Bananas – a discussion on Nano Banana Pro, started by Rob Eyers Insufferable Bores – Check out this thread started by Rob about pseudo-intellectual gatekeepers in photography. This is Disruption – Patrick shared this interesting podcast – worth a listen and follow if you like podcast or anything creative A Win Against AI – Check out the news! Also some interesting discussions happening in this thread! How long have you been Practicing – Patrick started this discussion and is just curious in a general way how long the members have been doing photography. I have been in photography for… – Rob started this discussion – Have you guys ever noticed that somebody who leads with how long they have been doing Photography is usually about to say something to offend somebody else? How do you improve? – Rob started a very interesting discussion on how photographers may fall into a few different groups. Join it here.

If you are someone who captures images with your smartphone, we have a Mobile Photography Challenge where you can post your mobile photos and also check out the works by other photographers. The images must be captured and edited on a smartphone. Join to submit the photos over here.

Reflection (in TV screen) – Copyright Anne Hornsby Copyright Patrick Copyright Max Copyright Stefanie Markham Copyright Jane Bauersachs

There are also some members' picks that are featured. These can be chosen by any of the members and are put in a whole new thread of their own and called out as being a great addition and shot for the forums. Check out those stunning captures here.

Patrick started a thread late last year – “Community Inspired Photo Story Challenge” – capture a story in 3 to 6 photos that hold personal significance and post them with a brief description. While that thread was started to be completed within a week, it has been open with ongoing submissions for the past year and is still open where members can post their stories.

Here are some throwdowns to follow and post your own photos, or you can start your own throwdown too.

Photographing Natures Textures – Started by Robert Apple – Pano, Macro, or anything in between. Only Rule, Nothing Man-Made, natures effect on man made objects is OK. Snowy Pyramids – Copyright Robert Apple Inactive and Calcified Thermal Channels – Copyright Robert Apple A felled birch tree – Copyright Retired Grunt Icicles on the hot springs terraces, colored from various mineral deposits, like calcium oxides and sulfur – Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Wendy P Copyright Patrick Copyright Anne Hornsby Locust wing – Copyright Tersha Wildlife Throwdown – Patrick started this throwdown as we have quite a few new members in the forum who are interested in wildlife photography. Please feel free to post anything wildlife , whatever you love your choice from tiny beast to to kings of the wild. A Wasp with a yellow overlay – Copyright David C Hedgehog – Copyright Tersha Great Blue Heron – Copyright Steve One of the deer at Powys Castle – Copyright Tersha Gull Atop the Hot Springs – Copyright Robert Apple Gathering twigs for nest.   Red-footed Booby – Anne Hornsby Bison – Copyright Stefanie Markham Copyright Patrick Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Patrick Toy photography Throwdown – A throwdown that Patrick has started, where you can submit your toy photography if you are someone interested in that genre. Medical Throwdown – Started by Patrick – to post photos of medical products , jars , bottles , equipment,  packaging , anything you like with any device you want. Everyone needs to give their photo a caption for some context – only 1 rule – Nothing inappropriate please  Breaking the rule of thirds – Rob Wood has started this throwdown and he doesn't care how you do it, just do it! Copyright Retired Grunt Copyright Patrick 2025 Reflections Throwdown – Started by Patrick, in this throwdown, use a unique way to capture your own reflection, whether abstract or otherwise. There are many beautiful images to go through for some inspiration. Patrick himself has been doing one a week and it is amazing to see how reflections can be interpreted creatively, especially self-reflections. Copyright Rob Wood Excavated from the War Room – Copyright Patrick Copyright Retired Grunt Your Pets – Share photos of your pets here. Moocher – Copyright Retired Grunt Sundance and Molly Bee – Copyright Robert Apple Copyright Stefanie Markham Copyright Stefanie Markham Copyright Stefanie Markham Copyright Stefanie Markham Rob started a throwdown – “Abstract Flowers” – a very interesting one and it has some very creative and absolutely stunning shots already. You can participate here.

And, there are images posted in the Shark Tank forum where members request for constructive criticism/feedback on their photos.

If you'd like to join in with our members, feel free to join us on the forums.  We'd love to see you there, and we are a friendly bunch.

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