SharpFocus photos on Flickr

Pelikan Souveran 800 Fountain Pen Nib 18k Oblique B by Robert Cook

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Nikon 5200 point-and-shoot/ macro

Made the Flickr Explore pool for August 6, 2006

*Brushes,pens,pencils,... Group Hall of Fame

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Drifters Without A Home by Natalie Panga

62 35

"I am lost without you. I am soulless, a drifter without a home, a solitary bird in a flight to nowhere. I am all these things, and I am nothing at all."

Nicholas Sparks, Message in a Bottle

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To Heroes by Natalie Panga

53 13

“My own heroes are the dreamers, those men and women who tried to make the world a better place than when they found it, whether in small ways or great ones. Some succeeded, some failed, most had mixed results... but it is the effort that's heroic, as I see it. Win or lose, I admire those who fight the good fight.”

George R.R. Martin

Fragile by Tyler Meadows

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Crochet by Mel

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My deceased mother loved to crochet carriage blankets for each of our newborn children. She made a large one for herself which I now wrap myself in at night :) This is a small section of a doll's blanket that she made from the remnant yarn.

Cloth

Happy Macro Monday :)

simple by Ali B.

136 83

"The whole of science of photography is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking...."

SAME MODEL, different look...

You wanna count the hair in his beard, LOOK AT THIS

tufted titmouse flying 2175 by Edward Mistarka

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Tufted titmouse flying to feeder with blue sky

by der_makabere (Cornel Putan)

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Yet Another World by Natalie Panga

56 41

"Somewhere - there must be somewhere where darkness and light are reconciled. So I am starting a rumour, here and now, of yet another world. I don't know when it will present itself - I don't know where it will be. But - as with all those other worlds now past when it is ready, I intend to go there."

Timothy Findley, Not Wanted on the Voyage

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A Great Perhaps by Natalie Panga

54 41

"I go to seek a Great Perhaps."

François Rabelais

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Compare Apples With Pears by Natalie Panga

59 54

"Why do we need so many kinds of apples? Because there are so many folks. A person has a right to gratify his legitimate taste. If he wants twenty or forty kinds of apples for his personal use…he should be accorded the privilege. There is merit in variety itself. It provides more contact with life, and leads away from uniformity and monotony."

Liberty Hyde Baily

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:11-12

* Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

The Rebels Of Color by Natalie Panga

81 23

"To hear never-heard sounds,

To see never-seen colors and shapes,

To try to understand the imperceptible

Power pervading the world;

To fly and find pure ethereal substances

That are not of matter

But of that invisible soul pervading reality. "

Dejan Stojanovic

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Sensual Pleasures by Natalie Panga

115 53

"If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God."

G. K. Chesterton

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The Look by Vasily Shcherbinin

17 4

***

That Bottle Of Memories by Natalie Panga

71 47

"Now that I have opened that bottle of memories they're pouring out like wine, crimson and bittersweet."

Ellen Hopkins, Impulse

"There are just too many things we have to think about everyday, too many new things we have to learn. But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away. They remain with us forever, like a touchstone."

Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

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* Lightbox: Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Natalie Panga

68 34

In Memory Of My Father

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rage at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Dylan Thomas

"Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name."

William Wordsworth

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* Lightbox: Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Geometric Beauty of Feet by Aleksey Yepanchintcev

305 35

Beautiful girl’s legs on toes

They Have Their Exits And Their Entrances by Natalie Panga

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"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts..."

William Shakespeare, As You Like It

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One July Summer by Natalie Panga

40 16

"What has happened to summer,

That's what I want to know.

Is she on a vacation -

Who knows where did she go?

Tell, what was she wearing;

A zephyr breeze and rosebud

Or grass and wild berry?

Could she be honeymooning

With spring or early fall

Or has she gone so far away

She'll not return at all? "

Dorothy Ardelle Merriam

Painted Tongues by Natalie Panga

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"The tongue is the most remarkable. For we use it both to taste out sweet wine and bitter poison, thus also do we utter words both sweet and sout with the same tongue."

Neil Gaiman

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On An Evening In Late Summer by Natalie Panga

58 19

"...and watches the seepage of late light

down through the sedges,

the last gray islands of cloud

taken from view, and the wind

ruffling the moon’s ash-colored coat

on the black bay."

Mark Strand, 1934

Nothing Is Superfluous (The Hollyhock) by Natalie Panga

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"In her (Nature's) inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous."

Leonardo da Vinci, 1452 - 1519

Such Sweet Sorrow by Natalie Panga

86 56

"Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow."

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

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Summer Exuberance by Natalie Panga

58 51

"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.

Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.

Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.

Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance."

Yoko Ono

" I know that if odour were visible, as colour is, I'd see the summer garden in rainbow clouds."

Robert Bridges

* Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Embroidered Flower by Natalie Panga

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"It is the harmony of the diverse parts, their symmetry, their happy balance; in a word it is all that introduces order, all that gives unity, that permits us to see clearly and to comprehend at once both the ensemble and the details."

Henri Poincare

"It is not together, but the ensemble is perfect."

Eugene Ormandy

* Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Apples, Lovely, Ripe and Juicy by Natalie Panga

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"Apples, lovely, ripe and juicy and especially for you..."

Ian Dury And The Blockheads Lyrics

"These apples are delicious!

"As a matter of fact they are," she said

Can all this fruit be free?"

Ed Robertson

* Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Three Persimmons by Natalie Panga

50 36

Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros.

The word Diospyros comes from the ancient Greek words "Dios" and "pyros". In context this means more or less "divine fruit", though its literal meaning is more like "Wheat of Zeus". It is however sufficiently confusing to have given rise to some curious interpretations such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire"... The word persimmon itself is derived from putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, from Powhatan, an Algonquian language of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit".

(from Wikipedia)

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* Lightbox: Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Sermons In Stones by Natalie Panga

54 36

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything."

William Shakespeare

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* Lightbox: Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

The Ancient Stare by UggeTheExplorer

24 18

The shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) is one of Africa’s most extraordinary birds — prehistoric in appearance, with a gaze that feels like it looks straight through you.

This close-up shows the incredible textures and intensity that make the shoebill such a sought-after sighting.

Christmas Rose And Avocado by Natalie Panga

109 27

"Love for the beauty of the soul.

I shall love you always.

When the flower of life has gone,

ever I shall find you.

When all is lost and winter comes,

I shall be your spring time.

And memory fades and wilts then,

I shall always find you....

I shall always find you...."

Laurel A. Rockefeller, The Ghosts of the Past

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Misty Rocks in Portballintrae Harbour (Long Exposure) by Mark Farrington

3 1

---------

View Misty Rocks in Portballintrae Harbour (Long Exposure) 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

June Romance by Natalie Panga

73 29

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."

Bern Williams

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Frutas y dolor by Blas Torillo

13 10

Frutas y espinas

The Pansy Violets by Natalie Panga

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The name 'pansy' is derived from the French word pensée meaning "thought", and was so named because the flower resembles a human face; in August it nods forward as if deep in thought.

The pansy or pansy violets are a large group of hybrid plants cultivated as garden flowers. Pansies are derived from Viola species Viola tricolor hybridized with other viola species, these hybrids are referred to as Viola × wittrockiana or less commonly Viola tricolor hortensis. The name "pansy" also appears as part of the common name for other Viola species that are wildflowers in Europe.

Viola tricolor, known as Heartsease, is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. Lady Mary Bennet of England, afterwards Lady Monck, is responsible for introducing the pansy in 1812; she found every variety of Heartsease available and planted them all in her garden. The all-pansy garden reseeded and multiplied, creating new varieties of the flower. In 1813, a well-known florist called Mr. Lee, who worked at Vineyard Nursery, happened to encounter Lady Monck’s collection and anticipated his profit in further cultivating the flower. While Lady Monck’s initial interest in the natural world procured the pansy’s place in socialites’ hearts, it was Mr. Lee’s Romantic views on cultivation that furthered the flower’s popularity.

(from Wikipedia)

Ophelia's oft-quoted line, "There's pansies, that's for thoughts", in Hamlet (Act IV, Scene V) comes from this tradition: if a maiden found a honeyflower and a pansy left for her by an admirer, it would mean "I am thinking of our forbidden love" in symbol rather than in writing.

And Live Like It's Heaven On Earth by Natalie Panga

65 28

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough..."

Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

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Grown Up In A Utopia by Natalie Panga

72 36

"Freeways flickering; cell phones chiming a tune

We're riding to Utopia; road map says we'll be arriving soon

Captains of the old order clinging to the reins

Assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains

But it's a long road out of Eden..."

The Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden

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A Chestnut-sided Warbler foraging among the branches by Amarnath

14 2

During spring migration at Magee Marsh, midges, crane flies, adult fly variants, and small beetles emerge in massive numbers around the swamp forest. This provides the much needed protein to the migrating Chestnut-sided Warblers.

Warblers typically stay at Magee Marsh for 1 to 3 days after their flight from South American and Mexico before flying over the open waters of Lake Erie at night. Crossing Lake Erie requires immense physical endurance for these little birds. If headwinds or storms blow in from Canada, the birds stay at the marsh for up to a week until conditions improve.

Magee Marsh is a great spot for warbler viewing during Spring migration.

Tagetes From Tages by Natalie Panga

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The August's last, loveliest smile...

"Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits."

Samuel Butler

"Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard."

Walt Whitman

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Scooters, a tuk-tuk, and a taxi, all lined up waiting for the same green light. Bangkok in Thailand by Wilfried Strang

kaleidoscope by Jesse Edsell-Vetter

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uploaded " 7/3/06 for flickr's 100 best photographers

Queen Anne's Lace (the flower of wild carrot)

Somerville, MA USA

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This is Sukhumvit 11 at night, one of Bangkok's busiest nightlife corners, caught in that few-second pause between the light turning green and the whole row of vehicles actually moving. Riders and passengers packed onto scooters, most of them checking phones while they wait, a classic blue-and-red tuk-tuk idling next to them, and a taxi's rooftop light glowing behind. Above it all, the elevated BTS station and its walkway loom over the intersection, steel and concrete stacked over a street that never actually stops moving, even when everyone in the frame is standing still.

This is the kind of scene that sums up getting around Bangkok after dark — every form of transport the city runs on, stacked into one intersection, all waiting on the same signal.

Here's why I set the camera the way I did. Night traffic scenes like this are almost entirely mixed lighting — LED signage, streetlights, headlights, shop lighting, none of it consistent. I opened up to f/5.0, wide enough to gather real light but still tight enough to hold focus across a wide row of riders stretching from one side of the frame to the other. 1/100 sec was the balance point — slow enough to keep ISO from climbing further, fast enough that the riders, mostly stationary but shifting slightly, stayed sharp rather than smearing. Even with that balance, ISO 5000 was necessary to pull a clean exposure out of a scene with almost no strong, even light source — a completely fair trade for holding onto detail on every rider's face and every reflection off the wet street.

28mm on the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II kept the frame wide enough to capture the entire row of vehicles and the elevated station towering above them, without losing the scale of the scene by zooming in too tight.

Part of my ongoing series on Bangkok street photography and Southeast Asia nightlife — the traffic, the tuk-tuks, the everyday grind of getting around this city after dark. More Thailand travel photography on my page

Technical details:

Sukhumvit 11, Bangkok, Thailand. 1/100 sec, f/5.0, ISO 5000, 28mm — Sony Alpha 7 IV with Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II.

www.strangphotography.com/behind-the-lens-frame-by-frame#...

Every Heart Sings A Song by Natalie Panga

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"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet.'

Plato

" ...but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death."

Leonardo da Vinci

* Best seen in larger size on black (click image above)

Grapes And Grape Juice by Natalie Panga

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"The juice of the grape is the liquid quintessence of concentrated sunbeams."

Thomas Love Peacock, Melincourt; Or Sir Oran Hautton

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