Weekly photo contest | June 15 – June 22 | solstice

[_timo_redux_]

This week's contest's theme is SOLSTICE.

Traveling to Finland this week has reminded me of the upcoming celebration, Midsummer, that is perhaps the most important holiday in the calendar here, eclipsing even Christmas. Traditionally celebrated throughout much of the world on June 24, the day now is celebrated in Sweden and Finland at the Saturday in between June 20 and June 26th.

The theme is broad: solstice of course is physical, celestial and an exact moment; while Midsummer is cultural, specific and a zone of time. Pick whatever inspires you from this time: bonfires, maypoles, will-o'-the-wisps, flowers ... but remember also (as is the case for the southern hemisphere this week) the theme encompasses winter solstice: darkness but renewal.

As always, standard rules apply:

The photographs must be your own work.

• You may only submit one photo per contest
• No commenting or liking photos until after the judging has taken place
• This contest runs for about a week, starting now
• At the end of the competition, the judge (last week's winner) will choose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place photo, providing as much feedback as possible
• The 1st place winner will start a new thread here with the topic/theme of their choice, and act as the judge for that contest. (Winner has 48 hours to create new theme, after that it defers to 2nd place)
• Be sure to update the Contest Master List as soon as you post a new theme
• Contest ends June 22, 2024, say 5 pm EEDT -- with judging after the hangover clears up

Have fun!

 

[piatigorsky]

 

[Strider64]

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

(sorry)

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

 

[coolguy4747]

 

[lkalliance]

Captured this image of a sun dog not long after a winter solstice. At the same stop I took a video, in which you could see the ice crystals blowing in the air, and the rainbow pattern they created in FRONT of the house, as if I were standing right there. No pot of gold though, darn it.

 

[mtbdudex]

Stratified fog sunrise on a soon to be summer day

 

[Chuckeee]

Weird Red Streak in the sky right after sunset

 

[_timo_redux_]

@piatigorsky Just a hint of detail at the edges of the wings, but otherwise gentle layers bleeding off the page. I like the “soft focus” of this, the atmosphere and the calm it inspires

@Strider64 Impressive capture / great timing. One can sense the does watching and following their mother, at the ready — while otherwise the scene radiates the calmness of an easy summer evening. This tension brings the scene to life for me

@C0ncreteBl0nde The hair, the decorations, the movement; capturing a moment of play at a gathering of young and old. One wonders right away where she’s going with such purpose

@coolguy4747 And here we have the other solstice. Such a delicate leaf — feeling preserved — on the snow and ice crystals. Formally the picture is very clean and simple, which is often a recipe for success; but of course this recipe can also go too far, with the snow too clean, the leaf too perfect — so I like how this picture feels more like a found moment than staged message

@lkalliance A difficult picture to make! Quite a scene to capture: solstice is about light and this photo also captures the arc of the sun, symbolically if not literally

@mtbdudex My own solstice pictures have been about light and mist as well. Love the promise implied in this picture

@Chuckeee I like the gradient interrupted, the horizon interrupted, the sky not cloudless. And I like the dark and light contrast; I do skew in my own photographic preferences towards chiaroscuro


Thanks for the great entries! Let’s go with

3rd @lkalliance
2nd @coolguy4747
1st @piatigorsky

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

Captured this image of a sun dog not long after a winter solstice. At the same stop I took a video, in which you could see the ice crystals blowing in the air, and the rainbow pattern they created in FRONT of the house, as if I were standing right there. No pot of gold though, darn it.

View attachment 2390851

I had to Google what a "Sun dog" is! I had never heard of them and I'm pretty sure I've never seen one (we live a sheltered life out here in Rural America) but this is a really cool photo!

 

[lkalliance]

Nice all around, and thanks, @_timo_redux_! Challenging one.

 

[lkalliance]

Weird Red Streak in the sky right after sunset

View attachment 2390902

I've seen that once before, too. That reddish-orange streak going straight up. I'm sure it's just a "weather balloon."



Oh, and I've always wanted to mention...6 times 9 is in fact 42. Base 13. The most useless of bases.

 

[piatigorsky]

Thanks @_timo_redux_ and everyone, another pleasant surprise to begin the day! This photo was taken a few days after summer solstice four years ago at a nature park in northern Taipei, and it happened to be one of the very few times in recent years that I only took a digital camera with me outdoors. I'll have this week's contest up later today when I get home.

 

[piatigorsky]

New contest is up:

Weekly Photo Contest | June 24 - July 1 | Bikes​