Connect the dots was a favorite childhood game of mine. A picture emerged. You learned that in a way it was always there but until you made the connections you didn't have much.

Photography is a whole series of connections. It starts with an idea, then there's a connection with a subject causing the photographer to aim their camera there. Ultimately there's a connection between the photograph and an interested viewer.

Is there a difference between texture and pattern? To me, a texture becomes a pattern when the observer sees an alignment of elements. Connections of aligned elements become order. Iron filings on paper are a random texture until a magnet aligns them to the north and south poles and they become a pattern. When seven stars align they become seen as the Big Dipper. When we say the stars were in alignment for someone, we mean that the celestial event had a connection with someone - a positive one, maybe even a magical one.

When a special pattern draws my immediate attention, I feel a connection. Gaze turns into focus. These patterns in nature are not the destination but a vehicle.