Macro Beauty

Jennette, a dedicated macro photographer, invests her heart and soul into capturing the intricate details of small subjects. Her relentless pursuit of tiny creatures and objects, whether in gardens, forests, or her backyard, is a testament to her unwavering passion for her chosen profession.

What truly distinguishes Jennette in her macro photography is not just her patience but also her singular perspective. Her images of insects, flowers, and other miniature wonders unveil a hidden realm of beauty and complexity, exposing the delicate patterns of the Monarch butterfly’s wings, the translucent petals of a dew-covered flower deep within the forest, and the intricate structures of tiny insects she discovers locally or on her various trips around the globe.

As Jennette’s portfolio grew, so did her reputation. Her work was featured in nature magazines, art galleries, and online publications, earning her recognition and admiration from fellow photographers and nature enthusiasts who often compared her photographs to those from BBC Earth’s Planet Earth series.

One day, while exploring a local nature reserve, Jennette stumbled upon a rare and elusive species of orchid that few people had ever seen. With her macro lens, she captured the exquisite details of the flower, from its velvety light purple petals to its detailed markings, creating a series of breathtaking photographs that showcased the orchid’s innate beauty. Jennette clicked through the pictures on her camera and was pleased that she had taken some pretty good ones. She then envisioned accepting an award for Best Photography, thanking her family and friends for their endless support. Snapping out of her Photography Oscars daydream, Jennette quickly gathered her bearings and continued into the deepest parts of the reserve, searching for anything else worth photographing.

Jennette’s macro photography is not merely a medium for sharing the hidden beauty of the natural world; it is a catalyst for a profound shift in perspective. Her work inspires people to appreciate the often-overlooked wonders under their noses, urging them to slow down, look closely, and marvel at the extraordinary details around us. We only have one planet to call home, and unless we all become billionaires and shell out the money to ride in a rocket to Mars, we must cherish and appreciate the blue and green marble that is Earth.

Amnesia

Forty-five minutes. That’s how long it took before she woke up. It felt like it was longer, but she couldn’t remember a single thing. The last thing that went through her mind was sitting in a room channel surfing before stopping at a channel airing her favourite nature documentary to the doctor telling her to relax while lying on the operating table and that it will all be over soon. She wanted to respond but the anesthetic quickly knocked her out, making her surrender to the darkness.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a hospital bed with warm blankets covering her. A nurse stood beside the bed, checking her vitals and her chart. “Hey, welcome back,” the nurse said with a small smile. “The surgery was a success and now we just need to run a few more tests before we call someone to come take you home.” The young woman could do nothing but nod as the nurse proceeded to take her blood pressure and whatever else that she needed to get done.

Moments later, another nurse came by and told her that she could get up to go change. Groggily, she got up from the bed and made her way to the change room with the white plastic bag containing her clothes and belongings. She managed to change back into her own clothes without rupturing the place where she had the surgery. Still feeling dizzy and nauseous from the anesthesia, she came out of the dressing room and followed the nurse to a waiting area to allow the effects of the anesthetic to wear off.

“Would you like some juice and cookies while you wait?” The nurse asked, one hand holding out a small basket filled with various cookies and a juice box in her other hand. The young woman gratefully took the food items from the nurse and began to nibble away at the oatmeal raisin cookie and sipping at the apple juice. Her stomach had been growling all morning since she skipped breakfast thinking that it might affect the results of the operation. “Now just sit tight while we call your Mom to come and get you,” the nurse said as she walked away to make the phone call.

The young woman waited for another hour and a half before the nurse returned, telling her that her mother is here to take her home. Slowly standing, she followed the nurse out of the hospital and into the reception area where her mother and brother were waiting for her. As she sat in the front seat of her mother’s car, the latter asked her how the surgery went. “I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t remember anything.”

Waterfall Dreams

It is something that I’ve seen,

Every night in my dreams.

A large stream of water,

Flowing down from the cliff.

Looking like something,

Straight out of Planet Earth.

Confusion clouded my mind,

While I wondered why it appears.

Drifting back from Dreamland,

That waterfall still lingers in my subconscious.

Flat Earth

The flat earthers terrified her. She couldn’t fathom how after years of scientific advances, there are still people who believe that the planet that they call home is flat. 

One day, while walking home from the train station after a long day at work, she overheard a child talking to her mother. “Mommy, is the Earth round or flat?” The little girl asked. Her mother thought for a moment and said, “The Earth is flat, honey, it’s always been flat.” The little girl’s eyebrows scrunched together, confused about her mother’s response.

“The teacher said that the Earth is round, is the teacher wrong?” She asked, looking up at her mother for clarification. The child’s mother was taken aback as she tried to figure out how to answer her daughter’s question. The young woman couldn’t take it anymore so she walked over to the mother and daughter, a friendly smile on her face.

“Hi, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” she said, the smile still in place as she turned her attention to the little girl. “Your teacher is not wrong, sweetie, the Earth is very much round. Well, it’s technically oval and it’s the gravitational pull that makes it round.” The little girl gave the young woman a toothy smile, glad that her teacher is right.

The young woman then turned to the mother who had a sheepish look on her face, “I do not know why you believe that the Earth is flat,” she said, giving the woman a levelled glare. “but it’s not right to tell children things that are not true.” The young woman sighed as she continued, “Next time, educate yourself before you educate others and make sure that the information is from a credible source and not from some random book put together by people who lived hundreds of years ago.” The mother nodded as she took her daughter’s hand, leading her away toward the train station.

As she watched mother and daughter walk further away, the young woman smiled to herself. “Guess I just did my good deed for the day,” she mused, turning around to walk in the opposite direction. The young woman then took out her headphones and put them in her ears before hitting play on her playlist, letting the music add to her good mood.

2100

The Earth will still be here,

Global Warming will be no more.

Cars will no longer have wheels,

Like something out of “The Jetsons”.

Buildings will run on voice commands,

Incorporated with the latest technology.

Languages of the world will slowly fade,

As English becomes the last one standing.

Though all this is only a figment of imagination,

It won’t be long before fiction evolves into fact.

The Language Virus

It spreads throughout the world,

With no end in sight.

There is no cure for it,

As it continues to infect the planet.

Lying in wait like a predator waiting to pounce,

Searching for unsuspecting victims.

Yet language is not a true virus,

Where it will infect or kill.

It is welcomed with open arms,

Into each and every being.

New World

My name is Asanashia Renoir, I’m 776 years old though I look 27 in human years, and I attend Sorentia University on the planet Karon. It resembles the blue planet Earth in some fashion, but instead of humans, it is populated with creatures much like myself. Some are winged, some are not. Some have magical abilities while some carry weapons as their source of defense.

It was the start of a new semester and I was searching for one last elective to take. I scanned the virtual course selector and managed to narrow my choices down to two: Planet Creation or Galaxtronics. Seeing as how much I hate anything to do with math, no offense, I decided to choose Planet Creation.

The first day of class was like any other, we all sat on theatre-like seats with table arms on the right side of the seat, half-listening to one Professor Makari go through the course outline. When he got to the part about one of 2 projects worth half our final grade where we each have to create out own planets caught my attention. I sat up as straight as I could, took out my notebook and pen and wrote all the project specifications down.

I then thought about what kind of planet I would create and what creatures I would inhabit my planet with. I figured that I could populate it with griffins, unicorns and tall, immortal elves, each with their own magical ability and knowledge. I then overheard someone sitting next to me tell the person beside them that they’re going to populate their planet with humans and I mentally scoffed at the idea. Humans are simple-minded creatures who wants to take control of everything around them and to populate an entire planet with them is just absurd.

As I finished writing, class was dismissed for the day and for our first assignment, we are to come up with a name for our planet and the materials that we would use to create it. I left the lecture hall with those thoughts in mind, and a small smile made its’ way across my face as an idea begins to form.