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"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.
A butterfly at Chicago Botanic Gardens. The attenae extended away from the butterfly's head at such an angle that they actually left the focal plane!
"We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun."
Kent Nerburn
© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED January 24, 2012.
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"Do not weep. Do not wax indignant. Understand."
Spinoza (1632-1677)
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A stunning capture of a Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) basking in warm, golden hour light. The image features brilliant rim lighting that highlights the bird's iridescent green plumage and russet cap. Shot with a Sony a7V and 600mm F4 lens, the composition boasts razor-sharp detail against a buttery smooth green bokeh background, isolating the subject perfectly. Ideal for wildlife editorials, ornithology, and nature storytelling.
Red roses are the traditional symbol for love and romance, it symbolized beauty and perfection.
A bouquet of red roses is the perfect way to express your deep feelings for someone special.
This beautiful red rose is from my garden.
Wishing all a happy weekend!
"Oh, the pretty flowers;
Coming ere the Springtime,
To tell of sunny hours."
Mary Howitt
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"Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to."
Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
"Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough.
You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED March 13, 2013.
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"Answer July—
Where is the Bee—
Where is the Blush—
Where is the Hay?
Ah, said July—
Where is the Seed—
Where is the Bud—
Where is the May—
Answer Thee—Me—"
Emily Dickinson, Answer July
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"The afternoon is bright,
with spring in the air,
a mild March afternoon,
with the breath of April stirring..."
Antonio Machado, 1875-1939
(Translated by Alan S. Trueblood)
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"Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We eat light, drink it in through our skins. With a little more exposure to light, you feel part of things physically. I like feeling the power of light and space physically because then you can order it materially. Seeing is a very sensuous act--there's a sweet deliciousness to feeling yourself see something."
James Turrell
'Music gives color to the air of the moment."
Karl Lagerfeld
"People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and its ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations, with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spat blues. Murky darknesses. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them."
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
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A powerful close-up captures a Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) in magnificent, low-level flight, its glossy black plumage contrasting with the blurred, tranquil water below. The vibrant yellow patch around its bill is sharply defined. Photographed during the golden hour of an early morning or late afternoon, the scene evokes a feeling of serenity and majesty in a natural wetland or estuary. The sharp focus on the bird, achieved with a high-end telephoto lens like the Sony 600mm F4, emphasizes the intense focus and freedom of wildlife in its natural habitat.
"True strength is delicate."
Louise Berliawsky Nevelson
"Love’s first snow-drop, virgin kiss."
Robert Burns
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"The light of love, the purity of grace..."
George Gordon Byron
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"Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back from striving toward the summit of fulfillment."
John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
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"Do not say, 'It is morning,' and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name."
Rabindranath Tagore
© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED November 1, 2011.
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Any seasoned Pattaya expert knows that North Pattaya has completely transformed over the years. This frame captures the sweeping urban layout centered around the iconic Terminal 21 Pattaya shopping mall at dusk. Looking down from an elevated vantage point, the massive, lit-up curves of the mall building and its brightly illuminated outdoor airplane plaza dominate the center left. Below, traffic flows through the orange-glowing North Pattaya Road roundabout. Rising directly behind the complex is the towering Grand Centre Point hotel, cutting sharply into the deep blue night sky as the Pattaya cityscape stretches into the dark background. To lock down clean architectural lines and tackle the intense neon contrasts, I relied on my Sony Alpha 7 IV and the razor-sharp Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II. Explore premium image licensing at www.strangphotography.com
"... Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches."
Robert Frost, Birches
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Plutarch reports that a Greek bride would nibble a quince to perfume her kiss before entering the bridal chamber, "in order that the first greeting may not be disagreeable nor unpleasant" (Roman Questions 3.65). It was a quince that Paris awarded Aphrodite.
© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED October 28, 2011.
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The catchlights tell the tale.
Strobist Info:
Single 580EX II in a Westcott RapidBox Duo at 1/2 power, 24mm zoom, on axis, supported by a Manfrotto 420B boom. Deflector plate, inner baffle, outer diffuser and egg crate grid in place. Yongnuo YN622C-TX trigger.
42 inch white reflector, on axis, below subject's chest.
"Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery, like the idle, curved tunnels of leaf miners on the surface of a leaf. We must somehow take a wider view, look at the whole landscape, really see it, and describe what's going on here. Then we can at least wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness, or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise."
Annie Dillard
"Than these November skies
Is no sky lovelier. The clouds are deep;
Into their gray the subtle spies
Of colour creep,
Changing that high austerity to delight,
Till even the leaden interfolds are bright."
John Freeman
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In the silence of an afternoon, he rests—not out of laziness, but reflection.
Every wrinkle on his face is a line in a story unwritten. A stare shaped by the noise he’s endured, the love he’s absorbed, and the time he’s held still in his chest.
He doesn’t ask for your attention. He doesn’t perform.
He just is—present, heavy, seen.
This is Ncop. And this is what quiet strength looks like.
the evening fell soft over valencia, shadows creeping longer as the air cooled. he sat still, a stranger wrapped in quiet confidence. the tattoos on his neck whispered stories you’d never hear, etched into skin like secrets kept. the sharp line of his glasses cut through the dusk, his gaze fixed on something only he could see. the fur-lined jacket brushed against the bench as he leaned slightly forward, every detail of him sharp, deliberate. the world blurred behind him, but he stayed in focus, a portrait of calm defiance.
"Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything."
Willie Dixon
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"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."
Marcus Aurelius
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"This week was full of many light little things… the kind of things that fade away without noting, but the things that make this time of year so looked-forward to."
auburnmeadowfarm.com/2012/05/07/dont-forget-to-savor-them...
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I love these pink bottlebrush, they are very pretty and the bristles reminds me of fireworks!
Bottlebrushes (Callistemon spp.) are among the hardiest of Australian native plants.
Bottlebrush - the name derives from the plant's flowers, which look like brushes for cleaning bottles.
"The heart will break, but broken live on. "
Lord Byron
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"Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true."
Alfred Lord Tennyson
"We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential."
Ellen Goodman
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"I have three treasures. Guard and keep them:
The first is deep love,
The second is frugality,
And the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world.
Because of deep love, one is courageous.
Because of frugality, one is generous.
Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world."
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED August 16, 2012.
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This photograph is a striking study in light, darkness, and modern architectural geometry, set against the backdrop of San Francisco's historic waterfront—a familiar, yet completely reimagined view of the Embarcadero. Rendered in dramatic black and white, the image immediately focuses your attention on the huge, perfectly illuminated white ring or halo that dominates the center of the frame. This circle of light is a contemporary sculpture or architectural lighting feature, placed directly within the arched transom of a large, glass-and-steel building facade, likely near one of the major piers or cultural institutions that populate the area.
The monochromatic treatment strips away the distraction of color, emphasizing the powerful contrast between the brilliant light source and the deep black shadows of the surrounding structure. The entire composition is a masterclass in symmetry. The arch of the building and the grid of the windows are perfectly centered, providing a strong, ordered frame for the glowing circle. The repeating vertical lines of the doors and the horizontal window mullions guide the eye inward, creating a rhythmic, almost hypnotic pattern that locks the light source into place. This structural precision suggests that the building itself, despite its historical context, has embraced a sleek, contemporary aesthetic.
Beyond the glass doors, the interior is visible, hinting at an art gallery, a tech office, or a modern event space. You can just make out geometric patterns on the walls inside—sharp, angular shapes that echo the strong lines of the window grid and offer a further contrast to the perfect curve of the illuminated ring. This interplay between the interior and exterior suggests a threshold, a passage between the utilitarian history of the port (implied by the setting) and the city's modern, art-forward identity. The image feels less about a place and more about an idea: the intersection of raw industry, symbolized by the heavy steel framing and arch, with pure, minimalist form, represented by the perfect circle of light. It captures a moment of quiet, powerful modernity on a street known for its bustling daytime life, inviting viewers to pause and appreciate the beauty found in urban geometry and intense visual contrast.
"The sun just touched the morning;
The morning, happy thing,
Supposed that he had come to dwell,
And life would be all spring."
Emily Dickinson
Early Bloomers Relay
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"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
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"No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking."
Ruth Benedict
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED November 11, 2012.
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Anthurium is a large genus of about 600–800 (possibly 1,000) species of flowering plants, belonging to the arum family (Araceae). Anthurium can also be called "flamingo flower" or "boy flower", both referring to the structure of the spathe and spadix.The Anthurium was discovered in 1876 in Colombia.
"O My Anthurium! Sweet red Anthurium!
Came to my life, gorgeous and adorable
Thou give me a new direction
For a future we’ll share on."
dong agosto (Tacloban City, Leyte Philippines)
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© Copyright Natalie Panga - All rights reserved. EXPLORED March 6, 2013.
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"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see..."
Queen Lyrics
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word "Czech" became prevalent in English.
"Bohemian" may also denote "a socially unconventional person, especially one who is involved in the arts." The term "Bohemianism," when used to mean "social unconventionality", comes from the French bohémien "Gypsy" "because Gypsies were thought to come from Bohemia, or because they perhaps entered the West through Bohemia." (from Wikipedia)
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Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (Russian: Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки, Vechera na khutore bliz Dikan'ki) is a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, written from 1831-1832. They appeared in various magazines and were published in book form when Gogol, who had spent his life in Ukraine up to the age of nineteen, was twenty two. He put his early impressions and memories of childhood into these pictures of peasant life.
The stories are heavily laced with Ukrainian folklore and cultural references, offering a unique perspective into life in the country during Gogol's time period. The structure found in this collection became characteristic of Gogol's writing later on, found in works such as Dead Souls. "Evenings" gained Gogol the fame that would lead him to a prominent placement in the Russian literary circle...
"Everywhere across whatever sorrows of which our life is woven, some radiant joy will gaily flash past."
Nikolai Gogol
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This collection presents a breathtaking cinematic journey through the avian world, capturing the raw essence of diverse species in their most iconic states. From the powerful, sun-drenched silhouette of a golden eagle perched in the highlands to the serene, minimalist grace of a grey heron standing in a morning mist, each image is a masterclass in light, texture, and composition.
The series explores various habitats: the dramatic snowy peaks where raptors soar, the tranquil pink-hued wetlands of wading flamingos, the intricate stick-nests of urban storks, and even the clandestine world of a peregrine falcon overlooking a bokeh-filled city night. Every feather is rendered with hyper-realistic precision, emphasizing the bridge between high-end wildlife photography and the limitless possibilities of digital creation. This portfolio serves as a visual tribute to biodiversity, stillness, and the predatory elegance of birds.
These images have been generated by Artificial Intelligence.
Summer's End - Sea Green Sultry: This piece captures a moment of poised allure as the summer season fades. Because outdoor shoots became too difficult due to the cold, we embraced a studio setting for this themed project. It is an intentional celebration of late-season radiance.
Blue Hour Glamour - After-Hours Intimacy: The mask of the party has fallen. A provocative exploration of presence and poise, where the dress is simply the backdrop to a moment of pure, unadulterated chemistry.
"The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself."
Bertrand Russell
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"True delicacy is not a fragile thing."
James Broughton
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“Life is just a bowl of cherries.”
Proverb
“Cherry ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry
Full and fair ones; come and buy;
If so be, you ask me where
They do grow? I answer there,
Where my Julia's lips do smile;
There's the land, or cherry-isle.”
Robert Herrick
"Limelight is an intense white light which is produced by heating a piece of lime in a flame of burning oxygen and hydrogen. The effect was discovered in the 1820s by Goldsworthy Gurney and the application of the process to create a bright light was developed by Thomas Drummond around 1825. It was widely used in 19th century theatres to illuminate the stage and was first used in a public theatre at Covent Garden in London in 1837. Clearly, actors who were the centre of attention on stage being said to be in the limelight. The figurative use, to people or things that were the centre of attention outside the world of theatre, came into use around the turn of the 20th century..."
www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/201400.html
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"Eat the bread with joy and drink the wine with a merry heart."
Ecclesiastes 9
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