Urban Stalactites - My Monomad Entry.

Hello Hive friends, a few days have passed since my last photography post and I couldn't stay away from this mine great passion for so long! Today I want to share some special photos that I took during the winter holidays, when I went to visit my family.

At my parents' house they are making an extension to the building for my brother, who has a small daughter and would need more space for the future, but due to various unforeseen events the works are temporarily stopped. That day I had brought my Sony Alpha 6000 with me, in case there was something that would inspire me to create some particular shots and while I was looking at the part of the house under construction, I realized that under the concrete casting that was going to expand the garage there was species of Stallatites descended from the ceiling, which I thought well of immortalizing. It wasn't easy because for a day with a very dark sky and little light passing under that building, and obviously I didn't have a tripod with me and I shot everything by hand, having to use longer exposures I tried to keep my hand steadier possible to get a decent shot.

Now that I've developed the RAW negatives, I've become more aware of how articulately formed these stalactites were, which I hadn't realized with the naked eye. So I decided to share them in Black and White for today's #Monomad Challenge.

I find them fascinating, some seem to have formed to spiral, like an infinite twist, while some are more linear and have a spherical drop at the apex.

I really liked to notice this one in particular, which seems to enclose a crystal in the drop, as if it were a jewel inside a spherical case.

Not being able to remain with the doubt about what exactly they were, I did a quick search, because I know that the stalactites in the caves take thousands of years to form, while these appeared after only a few months and the longest are already about 10 centimeters.

From my research I have discovered that the stalactites of the caves are composed of calcite, i.e. calcium carbonate, the main material that makes up the limestone rocks, this material takes thousands of years sliding along the rocks thanks to the water and depositing itself on the ends of rocks to form the stalactites.

While for the stalactites that I photographed coming from concrete blocks, they are due to a similar process, but considerably accelerated thanks to the composition of the cement, which always has calcium hydroxide inside it, which is dissolved by the water flowing through the microscopic cracks that are created in the concrete when it dries and is exposed to the elements. The water crossing the micro-fractures of the cement brings the calcium hydroxide to the outside, which in contact with the air and carbon dioxide, undergoes the rapid carbonation process which transforms it into calcium carbonate, which is the material that makes these particular stalactites from the cement.

The beauty of photography is that by training you create a vision for inusual things, which are often unknown and leads you to research and discover new things every day, it leads you to travel and explore the surrounding world and this factor is certainly the basis of my love for photography.

Friends that's all, I hope you enjoyed my stalactites and also the description of how they were formed, thank you for the precious time you dedicate to me, a hug and always stay on lens.

All texts, photos, videos and images in this post are property of the author @stea90 - For CCO images that may be used, the source is always declared.

Camera	Sony Alpha 6000
Type	Mirrorless
Lens	SELP 16-50mm Power Zoom

Programs used

Image processing: GIMP and Inkscape
Photo processing and development: Photoshop Express

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