View allAll Photos Tagged SharpFocus
"The yellow glistens.
It glistens with various yellows,
Citrons, oranges and greens
Flowering over the skin."
Wallace Stevens
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED September 17, 2013.
"Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course. "
Bobby Flay
Pattypan squash is a species of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) notable for its small size, round and shallow shape, and scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top, or flying saucer. The name "pattypan" derives from "a pan for baking a patty." Its French name, pâtisson, derives from a Provençal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould. The pattypan squash is also known as scallop squash, sunburst squash, granny squash, custard marrow, custard squash...
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"From time to time I turn to you
But I won't let it show like you want me to.
My head held so high; I can hardly see
Wouldn't notice if you were turned to me.
If you were turned to me."
Sara Bareilles Lyrics
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“I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.”
Frank Sinatra
"“Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.”
(Thomas Friedman helped to popularize the proverb about the lion and the gazelle by including it in his 2005 bestseller “The World is Flat” [TFLG]. He said that a sign written in Mandarin on the factory floor of an auto parts manufacturer in China recounted the tale. Friedman labeled the passage an “African proverb” and did not attempt to determine its origin. The quotation was disseminated via multiple avenues including this book and a motivational poster with the title “The Essence of Survival” that reprinted the text.)
quoteinvestigator.com/2011/08/05/lion-gazelle/
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED March 22, 2013.
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Captured with the precision of the Sony a7V and 600mm f/4 GM, this stunning wildlife portrait showcases a male Purple Sunbird transitioning into eclipse plumage. Perched atop a vivid pink Zinnia, the bird exhibits remarkable detail—from the iridescent blue wing-patch to the pollen dusting its curved bill. Shot during the soft warmth of late afternoon, the creamy f/4 bokeh creates a serene, painterly backdrop.
"Walnuts are a delicacy in China. They are expensive."
Stella Lee
"Praising what is lost
Makes the remembrance dear."
William Shakespeare
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"Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist."
Rene Magritte
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"Well there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun..."
Animals Lyrics, The House of the Rising Sun
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Mark Farrington Photography all rights reserved.
View Fisherman on the Rocks, Port Ballintrae Harbour Early Evening Panorama online.
If you like this photo or have any feedback, please leave a comment or favorite the image - constructive comments always appreciated.
If you're interested in licencing any of my photos please contact me here.
All my photos can be viewed on Mark Farrington Photography
Top Sets: Most Interesting | Black & White Photos | Live Music | HDR Photos | Panoramas | Photos of London | Photos of Hampshire | Photos of Dorset
"I need the shade of blue that rips your heart out. You don't see that type of blue around here."
Cath Crowley, Graffiti Moon
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"That's the thing with magic.
You've got to know it's still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you."
Charles de Lint
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
Roald Dahl
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"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt."
Lao Tzu
"A good upbringing means not that you won't spill sauce on the tablecloth, but that you won't notice it when someone else does."
Anton Chekhov
"An affair wants to spill, to share its glory with the world. No act is so private it does not seek applause."
John Updike
"Amuse yourself, torment your desires. Drink when you're thirsty -- that would be very much too simple! If you didn't harbour a temptation eternally in your soul, you'd run the risk of forgetting yourself."
Jean-Paul Sartre
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"Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze."
Carolyn Gold Heilbrun
"The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on."
Emily Dickinson, Nature XXVII, Autumn.
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Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries. The mulberry fruit is a multiple fruit, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in) long. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow. In most species, the fruits turn pink then red while ripening, then dark purple or black and have a sweet flavor when fully ripe. The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. (from Wikipedia)
The nursery rhyme Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush uses the tree in the refrain, as do some contemporary American versions of the nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel. Vincent van Gogh featured the mulberry tree in some of his paintings, notably "The Mulberry Tree."
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"Joy is a subtle elf; I think one's happiest when he forgets himself."
Cyril Tourneur
At a forest halt...
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"With an eye made quiet by the power
Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
We see into the life of things."
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
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Today is the Earth Day. Our beautiful earth, which keeps us alive :-)
Earth Day is an annual day on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Earth Day is observed on April 22 each year. The April 22 date was designated as International Mother Earth Day by a consensus resolution adopted by the United Nations in 2009.
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"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
Aristotle
Today is a birthday of my father...
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The Winter Sentinel: A Red Squirrel’s Survival
This evocative series of photorealistic images captures the resilient and enchanting life of a red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) amidst a pristine, snow-covered winter forest. The collection showcases a masterclass in cinematic lighting, blending wide-angle vistas of frozen pine woodlands with intimate, high-detail macro shots. Each frame reveals the intricate textures of the squirrel’s russet fur, delicate frost-tipped whiskers, and expressive dark eyes.
From the dynamic energy of a mid-air leap through powdery snow to the quiet, focused moments of foraging for pine cones on ice-dusted branches, the series highlights the ethereal beauty of nature’s struggle against the elements. The use of shallow depth of field and soft, golden-hour sunlight creates a magical atmosphere that celebrates the spirit of woodland wildlife in sub-zero temperatures.
These images have been generated by Artificial Intelligence.
"I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity."
Simone de Beauvoir
"I cannot help it - in spite of myself, infinity torments me."
Alfred de Musset
"I think that the leaf of a tree, the meanest insect on which we trample, are in themselves arguments more conclusive than any which can be adduced that some vast intellect animates Infinity."
Percy Bysshe Shelley
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"Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two."
Buddha
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"Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love."
Song of Solomon 2:5
(The flagon is the large vessel, usually glass and metal, that holds the wine.)
"Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed."
Robert H. Schuller
"...to relish the apple of life, the apple of the world, then!"
Henry David Thoreau
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Red-belly woodpecker jabbing female cardinal. I had wondered why most of the birds give the red-belly woodpecker a wide berth when he is at the feeding station. Now I know why! This jab could have been fatal if it penetrated through the skull bone. Large size shows better detail. This image was on explore front page for less than 1 hour on Feb. 18, 2010. The focal point was preset so as to catch flying birds as they landed on the stump.It was pure luck that the main activity took place within that focal plane and with my sharpest (macro ) lens on the camera.
"The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return."
Milan Kundera, Ignorance
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED November 25, 2012.
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"Certain branches cut
certain leaves fallen
the grapes
cooked and put up
for winter "
Denise Levertov (b. 1923), Anglo-U.S. poet, "October."
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"One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place."
Emily Dickinson
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Geum rivale, the water avens, is a flowering plant of the family Rosaceae. Other names for the plant are nodding avens, drooping avens, cure-all and water flower. It is native to much of Europe, with the exception of Mediterranean areas, as well as some parts of Central Asia and North America. In North America, it is known as purple avens. It grows in bogs and damp meadows, and produces nodding red flowers from May to September.
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"But these are flowers that fly and all but sing..."
Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"
“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”
Vincent van Gogh
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"We all have dreams. Try dreaming of Provence. The terrain is stunning: hills, bushes and shrubs in green and ochre. Soft herbal smells of wild lavender, rosemary and thyme fill your nose. Winds surround you. The Mediterranean ocean is in front of you. Then there is wine..."
www.colormagazineusa.com/index.php?option=com_content&...
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A putto (plural putti) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged. Putti are distinct from cherubim, but some English-speakers confuse them with each other, except that in the plural, "the Cherubim" refers to the biblical angels.
Today, in Italian, putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy.
Putti, in the ancient classical world of art, were winged infants that were believed to influence human lives. In Renaissance art, the form of the putto was derived in various ways including the Greek, Eros, or Roman, Amor/Cupid, the god of love and companion of Aphrodite or Venus; the Roman, genius, a type of guardian spirit; or sometimes the Greek, daemon, a type of messenger spirit, being halfway between the realms of the human and the divine.
(from Wikipedia)
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED July 7, 2012.
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"Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it."
W. Somerset Maugham
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“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.”
Marcus Aurelius
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Common chickweed — Stellaria media
Family: Caryophyllaceae (pink family)
Why this fits your specimen
Growth form: Low, sprawling, mat-forming stems running across the soil
Leaves: Small, oval, smooth, opposite pairs
Texture: Soft, slightly succulent-looking foliage
Habitat in image: Moist soil with moss → typical environment
Key diagnostic (likely present though subtle): a single line of fine hairs along the stem
Chickweed is a cool-season annual broadleaf weed that forms dense mats and roots wherever stems contact soil .
Secondary elements in the image
1. Moss (multiple species, likely Bryophyta spp.)
Cushioning and creeping green patches in the soil
Indicates consistent moisture + low competition
Not vascular plants (no true roots, stems, leaves)
2. Grass-like seedling (unidentified monocot)
Narrow linear leaves at lower left
Likely early grass or sedge seedling
3. Possible additional weed (uncertain)
Slight variation in leaf thickness/shape in some stems
Could include:
Mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium fontanum) – hairier, thicker leaves
Young spurges (Euphorbia spp.) – but no visible milky sap or typical branching
Ecology / behavior
Season: late fall → spring dominant
Prefers:
Moist, shaded, nitrogen-rich soil
Growth:
Rapid lateral spread
Re-roots at nodes → persistent
Flowers (not visible here):
Tiny white, star-like (5 deeply split petals)
"If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god."
Napoleon Bonaparte
"Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun."
Pablo Picasso
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"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
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In music, a glissando (plural: glissandi, abbreviated gliss.) is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento. Some colloquial equivalents are slide, sweep (referring to the 'discreet glissando' effects on guitar & harp respectively), bend, slide, or 'smear'.
"It is such a secret place, the land of tears."
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
"When she had passed, it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite music."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"A woman loves orchids, because they make her feel like she's floating on a cloud of possibility.”
www.facebook.com/pages/EXOTIC-ORCHIDS/115014611869070?v=info
The orchid is a flower of magnificence that brings a universal message of love, beauty, wisdom, thoughtfulness, luxury & strength. In China it signifies refinement, and innocence. Today, the meanings of orchids are generally regarded as symbolic of rare and delicate beauty.
[The orchid is a symbol of luxury, with a sense of magnificence and artful splendor, with orchids representing rare and delicate beauty. www.teleflora.com/orchids/flowers-plant-info/orchid-detai... ]
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"Fundamentally, all writing is about the same thing; it's about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration that it creates."
Mordecai Richler
"All around me darkness gathers,
Fading is the sun that shone,
We must speak of other matters,
You can be me when I'm gone.
Flowers gathered in the morning,
Afternoon they blossom on,
Still are withered in the evening,
You can be me when I'm gone."
Neil Gaiman
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED December 1, 2012.
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Captured in a moment of affection, this photograph showcases the loving bond between a human and their loyal friend. The soft natural light illuminates the dog's distinct features, highlighting the trust and comfort found in the gentle hold of a hand.
"All colors are the friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites."
Marc Chagall
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A close‑up photograph of a mother monkey and her infant perched together in the jungle canopy. The mother’s eyes are heavy with experience watchful, protective while the child’s eyes sparkle with pure curiosity and innocent awe. The contrast of their gazes captures the timeless bond between caregiver and offspring, highlighting the different stages of life in a single, intimate moment.
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"Our heart glows, and secret unrest gnaws at the root of our being. Dealing with the unconscious has become a question of life for us."
Carl Jung
"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness."
Dalai Lama
"I have known the inexorable sadness..."
Theodore Roethke (1908 - 1963)
"…Мне хлебом был,
И снегом был.
И снег не бел,
И хлеб не мил."
Марина Цветаева
(He was my bread,
And was the snow.
And the snow is not white,
And the bread is not sweet.)
Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (Russian: Мари́на Ива́новна Цвета́ева, 1892 – 1941) was a Russian and Soviet poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russian literature.
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"You must intensify and render continuous by repeatedly presenting with suggestive ideas and mental pictures of the feast of good things, and the flowing fountain, which awaits the successful achievement or attainment of the desires."
Claude M. Bristol
“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”
James Beard (1903-1985)
"the moon is setting lower in the sky
on a little house with a burnt out porch light
a man is sitting by his mothers side
cause he knows that she wont make it through the night
he takes her hand, she smiles and then he whispers
with a tear in his eye, a familiar lullaby
sweet love of mine
go on now rest your head and close your eyes
sweet dreams, and I love you more than life goodnight
yes I love you more than life goodbye"
Amber Rhodes Lyrics: Goodnight Lullaby
"A successful song comes to sing itself inside the listener. It is cellular and seismic, a wave coalescing in the mind and in the flesh. There is a message outside and a message inside, and those messages are the same, like the pat and thud of two heartbeats, one within you, one surrounding. The message of the lullaby is that it’s okay to dim the eyes for a time, to lose sight of yourself as you sleep and as you grow: if you drift, it says, you’ll drift ashore: if you fall, you will fall into place."
Kevin Brockmeier
"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why."
Kurt Vonnegut
© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED March 12, 2011.