Author: Mihaela Limberea

A Reality So Subtle

In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.

Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz (1864 – 1946) was an American photographer and founder of the controversial movement Photo-Secession that promoted photography as a fine art.


To read more quotes, click here. To read more on photography, click here.


Hope Is the Thing with Feathers

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
  56. The Spirit of Poetry
  57. Nightfall in the Tropics
  58. Journey of the Magi
  59. The City Lights
  60. January
  61. Winter Night
  62. My Heart Has Known Its Winter
  63. Things Said When He Was Gone
  64. Jabberwocky
  65. Expectancy
  66. Surrender
  67. At the Mid Hour of Night
  68. Fog Scheduled for 18th March 2025
French Vintage Drawing

‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.


Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) was one of the most original American poets. She is considered one of the most important American poets of the 19th century, along with Walt Whitman.


To read more poems, click here.



Favorite Photos: August 2023

  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea
  10. Favorite Photos: October 2023
  11. Favorite Photos: November 2023
  12. Favorite Photos: December 2023
  13. Favorite Photos: January 2024
  14. Favorite Photos: February 2024
  15. Favorite Photos: March 2024
  16. Favorite Photos: April 2024
  17. Favorite Photos: May 2024
  18. Favorite Photos: June 2024
  19. Favorite Photos: July 2024
  20. Favorite Photos: August 2024
  21. Favorite Photos: September 2024
  22. Favorite Photos: October 2024
  23. Favorite Photos: November 2024
  24. Favorite Photos: December 2024
  25. Favorite Photos: January 2025
  26. Favorite Photos: February 2025
Close-up of two pink dahlias

Another photo taken with my new Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens, and I’m still in love with it!

All Lensbaby lenses use only manual focus, so it’s best to take lots of photos to make sure you nail the focus – especially when shooting at large apertures, as I do. I love to shoot for the blur, and I normally love F/1.8 to F/2.8, but I noticed that F/2.8 to f/4 works best for me when using a Lensbaby.

And since EXIF data for the lens is not available, it’s best to note what lens and what aperture you were using. Since I only have the Velvet 85, the lens is not an issue, but I tend to forget to note the aperture. I still need to find the best process for this. I think simply going from large to small apertures (F/1.8, which is the largest on this lens, to F/2.8, then F/4, then F/5.6, and so on) would be simplest. Or having cards with the aperture values that you photograph every time you change the value. Oh well, time will tell.

Still-life with pink dahlia, vintage camera and vintage books

I’ve continued experimenting with still-life photos and textures. This is so much fun! I particularly love this photo because it contains the three things I love most: photography, books, and flowers.

I used my macro lens at f/2.8 for this photo and a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio.

Close-up of a pink dahlia

This is another photo taken with the Lensbaby Velvet 85. How gorgeous! Straight out of the camera, hardly any processing needed. Did I mention that I love, love my Lensbaby? I added a texture from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio, since I’m so in love with textures at the moment.

Hackspett, Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) posing in our backyard. This is the old oak tree that both squirrels and birds love.

We call it the Tree of Life. Woodpeckers and squirrels chase each other up and down its trunk, small and not so small birds land on its branches first before jumping down to the bushes closer to food and water, and a lot of insects call it home. It provides a quick getaway for birds and squirrels when they get startled, and even our tabby Minette climbs it every now and then to survey her domain. (I suspect the woodpecker may have something to do with it.)

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa, Pudrad smaragdflickslända

The butterfly and damselfly season is here, at last! I’ve taken loads of photos, but I didn’t have time to process any of them, save for this one 😅. This is an emerald damselfly couple (Lestes sponsa). The top one is the male; females lack the bright blue color of the males. 

I’m looking forward to setting camp by the little lake in the woods and photographing more damselflies and dragonflies again!


I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.


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Celebrate World Photography Day!

Still-life with vintage books, vintage camera and pink dahlia

August 19th is World Photography Day, an annual celebration of the art, science, and history of photography.

Why August 19th, you ask? On August 19th, 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype process, the first to obtain a permanent image with a camera. History was made that day, and the long road to photography as we know it today began.

The best way of celebrating it is to share your best photos with the world. The one above is one of my favorites; it contains the three things I love most: photography, books, and flowers.

Happy World Photography Day!


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Happy International Cat Day!

Close-up of a sleeping tabby kitten

Happy International Cat Day! This is Minette, our tabby, when she was a kitten, only three months old.



Favorite Photos: July 2023

  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea
  10. Favorite Photos: October 2023
  11. Favorite Photos: November 2023
  12. Favorite Photos: December 2023
  13. Favorite Photos: January 2024
  14. Favorite Photos: February 2024
  15. Favorite Photos: March 2024
  16. Favorite Photos: April 2024
  17. Favorite Photos: May 2024
  18. Favorite Photos: June 2024
  19. Favorite Photos: July 2024
  20. Favorite Photos: August 2024
  21. Favorite Photos: September 2024
  22. Favorite Photos: October 2024
  23. Favorite Photos: November 2024
  24. Favorite Photos: December 2024
  25. Favorite Photos: January 2025
  26. Favorite Photos: February 2025
Close-up of a pink dahlia

This is my favorite photo at the moment. I’ve finally bought a Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens, and I’m in love! This is the very first photo I’ve taken with it. It was meant as a test shot, and I didn’t have any expectations, Lensbabies using manual focus only thus a bit challenging, especially at large apertures – but look how gorgeous that Dahlia came out! Love, love, love it! I took a lot of photos yesterday but didn’t process them yet so, this one will have to do for now. Now I do have some expectations for the new photos, ha, ha!

Still life with a pink dahlia in a pink vase and two antique books

I’ve started experimenting with still-life photos and textures, which I quite like. I used my macro lens at f/2.8 for this photo and a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio. (Denise Love runs the studio, and her textures are gorgeous).

Close-up of a Dark Green Fritillary butterfly (Argynnis aglaja)

It’s butterfly and dragonfly season, and I’ve taken loads of photos. I didn’t have time to process any of them, save for this one, and that very quickly, mostly to test the new textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio. This is a dark green fritillary butterfly (Argynnis aglaja).

Portrait of a Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)  standing in a green field

Yep, I’m still processing Australia photos. I came home with 20 thousand photos. Even after brutal culling, I still have plenty of keepers to process. I found this funny Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) at Stokes Bay, Kangaroo Island (South Australia). I always dreamt of photographing one on the beach, but no luck. Yet.

Two Eurasian lynxes (Lynx lynx) laying together

Northern lynxes (Lynx lynx lynx) rest after playing hard for half an hour or so. I photographed them and many other animals and birds at the Nordic Wilderness Center in Järvsö, some 300km north of Stockholm.

Did you know that these mini tigers can purr just like domestic cats? How cute?

Bonus: the stunning shades of blue and green of the sea on Kangaroo Island. The colors are so vibrant and captivating, it’s hard to believe they’re even real! These photos only start to capture the beauty and majesty of the ocean. I hope they can make you feel like you’re right there, soaking it all in.


I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month.


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Success Is Counted Sweetest

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
  56. The Spirit of Poetry
  57. Nightfall in the Tropics
  58. Journey of the Magi
  59. The City Lights
  60. January
  61. Winter Night
  62. My Heart Has Known Its Winter
  63. Things Said When He Was Gone
  64. Jabberwocky
  65. Expectancy
  66. Surrender
  67. At the Mid Hour of Night
  68. Fog Scheduled for 18th March 2025
Abstract photo of a field with the sea in the background

Success is counted sweetest

By those who ne’er succeed.

To comprehend a nectar

Requires sorest need.



Not one of all the purple Host

Who took the Flag today

Can tell the definition

So clear of victory



As he defeated – dying –

On whose forbidden ear

The distant strains of triumph

Burst agonized and clear!

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) was one of the most original American poets. She is considered one of the most important American poets of the 19th century, along with Walt Whitman.


To read more poems, click here.



KI Glossy Black-Cockatoo Photo Published!

Pair of Glossy Black-Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus)

My Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoo photo has now been published in the Journey Beyond Magazine in Australia! Here’s the article if you’d like to read more about these magnificent birds and Kangaroo Island wildlife.


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Answer July

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
  56. The Spirit of Poetry
  57. Nightfall in the Tropics
  58. Journey of the Magi
  59. The City Lights
  60. January
  61. Winter Night
  62. My Heart Has Known Its Winter
  63. Things Said When He Was Gone
  64. Jabberwocky
  65. Expectancy
  66. Surrender
  67. At the Mid Hour of Night
  68. Fog Scheduled for 18th March 2025
Bumblebee

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— 

Nay—said the May— 
Show me the Snow— 
Show me the Bells— 
Show me the Jay! 

Quibbled the Jay— 
Where be the Maize— 
Where be the Haze— 
Where be the Bur? 
Here—said the Year—

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) was one of the most original American poets. She is considered one of the most important American poets of the 19th century, along with Walt Whitman.


To read more poems, click here.



Favorite Photos: June 2023

  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea
  10. Favorite Photos: October 2023
  11. Favorite Photos: November 2023
  12. Favorite Photos: December 2023
  13. Favorite Photos: January 2024
  14. Favorite Photos: February 2024
  15. Favorite Photos: March 2024
  16. Favorite Photos: April 2024
  17. Favorite Photos: May 2024
  18. Favorite Photos: June 2024
  19. Favorite Photos: July 2024
  20. Favorite Photos: August 2024
  21. Favorite Photos: September 2024
  22. Favorite Photos: October 2024
  23. Favorite Photos: November 2024
  24. Favorite Photos: December 2024
  25. Favorite Photos: January 2025
  26. Favorite Photos: February 2025
Red squirrel holding a strawberry


I’d seen some cute photos of squirrels and strawberries on Instagram, and I decided to give it a try. Said and done. I picked up the most beautiful strawberries I could find at our little market, set up my hide, and waited. For a long time. I had almost given up when this cute red squirrel finally showed up and approached, oh, so cautiously, the strawberries. Quite suspicious of the whole thing, I can tell you.

She picked one up, sniffed it carefully, and then threw it away. Not interested, apparently. I barely had time to take a photo. Then she selected a large walnut instead and ran away with the treasure.

Experiment over, and I’m happy with the outcome. One photo but quite pretty, isn’t it? It’s enough for me.

A goldfinch standing on a branch

A goldfinch posing so nicely in my garden. I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of a goldfinch for quite some time now and wasn’t pleased with the earlier results. Nailed it this time, finally!

Close-up of ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis)

A close-up of ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) taken at Millesgården. I’ve added a texture from Flypaper for more background interest; the background was a bit flat for my taste. The texture I used is Vetheuil from their Impressionist Painterly Pack. (I’m so impressed I could identify the texture; I had actually renamed the texture layer for future reference, I always intend to but very often forget it ha, ha!).

Close-up of a blue forget-me-not flower

Forget-me-not from my garden. I used a texture for the background again, but I’m not sure which one; I obviously didn’t rename the texture layer in this case. I think it’s from Flypaper as well, their textures are some of my favorites.

A portrait of a pair of Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus)

I didn’t process this photo of the Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus) in June, actually, but I’ve included it anyway. It’s the one that will be published in the next issue of the Journey Beyond Magazine in Australia. So, super favorite at the moment!


I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month.


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