Hope Inspiring Resplendent Roses & Blossoms At Blessed Home Long Island, New York, Day Before My Birthday 2012 - IMRAN®

Hope Inspiring Resplendent Roses & Blossoms At Blessed Home Long Island, New York, Day Before My Birthday 2012 - IMRAN®
A dozen years ago before I penned these words in 2024, the rose bushes at my blessed home on Long Island, New York, were in full, glorious bloom. It was the early summer of 2012, the day before my 50th birthday.
The tornadoes and droughts of total economic meltdown, brought on by the policies of Republican President George W. Bush which enriched the super-wealthy with one trillion dollars of tax cuts, had wreaked havoc on my life as on millions of ordinary individuals, families, and entire towns. The next few years were spent on surviving, recovering, and rebuilding. Even then it was a rocky road.
By the time 2012 rolled in, after a labyrinthine journey of heart-sinking troughs, fleeting peaks, and unexpected drops into new valleys, life began to hint at a promising change ahead. I had to remind myself that life’s most exquisite blooms often come accompanied by the piercing thorns of reality.
The key is to persistently tend to one’s garden of dreams, rooting it in unshakeable faith, nurturing it with the water of hope, showering it with the rain of love, fortifying it with the grains of gratitude, and ceaselessly illuminating it with the lights of confidence, and perseverance.
No matter the adversities you face, remember, they are but temporary. You possess the strength to surmount them. Never let go of your dreams. Never relinquish your authentic self. Within you lies an indomitable spirit. You are capable of blooming despite the thorns. Are you ready to live the life you dream of?

© 2012-2025 IMRAN®

Natural 3D - IMRAN™

Natural 3D - IMRAN™ -- 100+ Views Within Hours Of Posting!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 6MB JPG. Handheld, 450mm zoom ISO250 at f/5.6 1/60 seconds with flash.

Walking around my home after a morning of rain, I shot several photos of the wonderful flowers that were blooming in the beds.

I was amazed by the almost 3D effect this photo's bokeh background, the foreground flower and the sharply in-focus buds, created.

No editing on these natural colors, brought to life by firing off the flash - though it was morning and an outdoors scene.

© 2011 IMRAN
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G(l)O(w) GREEN! - IMRAN™

G(l)O(w) GREEN! - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 30th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on March 29, 2011

This is one of the most unnatural looking yet completely natural colors I can recall capturing. This non-HDR shot shows stunningly high dynamic range of my neighbor's highly Neon bright Hydrangea to the side of my house at high noon.

It was nearing mid-day when I stepped out of the house to take some pictures on an especially vivid, blindingly bright, Summer day in June.

Usually the weather at my home at that time can be somewhat hazy from humidity and heat on Long Island, New York.

This day it was definitely glowing warm and the sun was almost vertically above. These plants are at the corner of my neighbor's house, and partly shaded - but the grassy grounds that stretch behind the house were awash in the bright hot light of the sun.

I cannot take credit for the spectacular colors the Nikon D300 captured at ISO280. I was simply shooting in Program mode - while bending over backwards (literally) to frame the three depths of flowers aligned but visible for a bokeh effect and playing with the 100-300 (450mm eq) lens.

I hope you too can feel the heat and afterglow from this image.

© 2010 IMRAN
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Budding Gen(i)us - IMRAN™

Budding Gen(i)us - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Though I do not know the name of this flower bud's genus, I just know that the soft , luscious, suggestively inviting textures of pink on it could make any budding genius rise to the occassion - of taking a stunning, unedited, image as this came out. The silky wall of pink of an already blooming flower and the bokeh with green higlights in sharp and soft relief completed the effect.

Can you see what turned the camera on so much?

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
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This Bud (Light)'s For You!

This Bud Light's For You! - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Straight out of camera, stunning Nikon D300 RAW image simply framed in Photoshop with *NO* editing or processing of any kind. Saved as 4MB JPG from 14MB original at ISO640, f/5.6, eV+1, 0.02 seconds,

So you can imagine the stunning bright green background and soft pink shades the Nikon D300 captured (I wrote this on June 26, 2010) at the side of my home.

From the previous pink on black Hearts On Fire(works) sky photo, this is a nice transition to a pink heart shaped rose bud with green details nearly matching the slightly overexposed green grass of the ground with more flaring pink in the background.

My immediate neighborhood is like what Palestine could be with Peace in the Middle East. As a Muslim American I am blessed with amazing neighbors (Catholics on one side, Jews on the other!), who're as sincere and caring to me, if not more, than many real family cousins!

As a matter of fact, this bud in bright summer morning light is a reminder of neighbors, friends, buddies who are a light in one's daily life. I don't drink but, my dear neighbors, "This Bud (Light)'s For You!"

As I was saying, I have no conflict with them but let's just say we could have had a "War Of The Roses"! One of my neighbors, who is big time into gardening, always says how she has no luck with Roses. I, despite my not being into gardening, other than planting and forgetting, seem to be quite lucky with roses in particular.

I guess I win this war of the roses and celebrate victory with a bokeh of roses. ;-) After all, as Shakespeare would have said, what we call a rose does smell as sweet even in a neighbor's flowerbeds!

God willing, when things get better, I will plan to plant more beautiful flowers around my home, because it has been a while since I did that.

In the meantime, this rose, planted several years ago, continues to be a source of immense pleasure and gentle beauty. I take in its sensual aromas when I stop by to smell it every night when I go for a walk. And it is a source of beautiful photo opportunities like this one.

I hope you enjoyed the photo and the thoughts it brought to mind.

© 2010 IMRAN
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Technorati Tags: IMRAN, ImranAnwar, Nature, Nikon, Photography