23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Shy

Shy reveals the quiet moment before becoming. A tulip held in the soft embrace of its own leaves, half-hidden, half-glowing. The single beam of light touches the petals like a secret, illuminating the beauty that prefers to whisper rather than announce itself. In its stillness, the flower carries the tender tension between protection and emergence, vulnerability and bloom.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America
Camera: NIKON Z 7_2
Copyright: © Veronica Tejera