Magedah Shabo

@magedah.bsky.social

1803 Followers 795 Following

haiku | nature photos | nonfiction author and editor

A single white clover flower stands on a long stem against an out-of-focus background of deep green vegetation.
Black-and-white film still showing a man and a woman standing together in a snowy wooded landscape. The subtitle reads, “People always laugh at me.”
Close-up of newly opened pale blue hydrangea blossoms with ivory centers, softly lit against a dark, blurred green background
A copy of Vanished Roads by Thomas L. Vaultonburg rests on a brown wooden desk beside a window. Afternoon sunlight and the shadow of a nearby houseplant fall across the desk. The book has a pale blue cover featuring an illustration by Tré that invites multiple interpretations. What at first looks like a single broad tree begins to look like two columns of narrow trees, while what first appears to be an opening within the tree may instead be a distant path partially obscured by many intertwined roots.
Close-up of a pink rose with tightly curled petals, their edges just beginning to brown, set against a softly blurred garden background
Close-up of a vibrant pink rosebud framed by delicate sepals against a softly blurred background of deep green and dappled light
Minimalist black line drawing of an abstract form. To the right, the poem reads: root to strand one dance
Partially opened carmine rose against a dark green background with soft bokeh suggesting distant foliage and sky
Green blackberries emerging from withering pink flowers
Viewed from outside a detention facility at night, a lone figure stands against a brightly lit window while blurred loops of razor wire fill the foreground. The person is visible only as a dark silhouette against the light, and the surrounding building fades into darkness. The image was made during a protest by detainees over conditions inside the facility.
A pale pink peony in soft focus just beginning to open, set against a dark blurred background with hints of brick and foliage
Soft-focus pink double impatiens flower glowing among blurred blossoms and deep green leaves
Paper collage of a passiflora, or passion flower, by Mary Delany: a pink fringed bloom with an intricate yellow center, green leaves, and curling tendrils against a black background
Cluster of vivid magenta plume celosia flowers, photographed with shallow focus so the central blooms appear sharp against a blurred background of plants, flooring, and greenhouse beams
Moody edit of a pale pink peony in full bloom with a tightly closed bud beside it, against a background of vague, dark green foliage
A pale pink peony in soft evening light, with blurred and desaturated forest bokeh in the background
A deep burgundy rosebud with petals just beginning to unfold against a soft green blurred garden background, with a smaller unopened bud beside it
A black ant walks across the tightly closed, pale pink petals of a peony bud surrounded by green sepals. The background is a soft blur of grass, trees, and light.
A cluster of bright pink dianthus flowers with speckled centers, surrounded by green foliage against a softly blurred garden background of green leaves and orange blooms
A tiny purple ground ivy flower with a trumpet-shaped bloom loosely resembling an orchid or snapdragon, growing among green leaves in soft sunlight and surrounded by other blossoms
Close-up of a round purple chive blossom composed of many tiny star-shaped flowers clustered on a slender green stem, with a softly blurred garden background of green leaves and purple blooms
Moody edit of a white iris covered in raindrops, its ruffled petals softly illuminated around a golden center
A pair of magenta azalea blossoms resting on a sunlit brick surface, their shadows cast sharply in the foreground, with a softly blurred background of trees and a building and sunlight flares at the top of the frame
A soft, cool-toned image of a periwinkle flower among green leaves, with other blooms blurred in the background. Brown autumn leaves are faintly visible, scattered among the spring foliage.
Close-up of a cluster of pink cherry blossoms, with the rest of the flowering tree softly blurred behind them. A luminous dawn sky transitions from pale blue to bright yellow near the horizon.
Close-up of thin green blades backlit by low sunlight, with a bright streak of light cutting diagonally across the frame and tall trees and foliage blurred in the background
Backlit white dogwood blossoms and dark branches stretch across a bright blue sky, with sunlight filtering through the petals and soft-focus foliage in the background
The sun glows from behind a large cumulus cloud in a pale blue sky, with crepuscular rays fanning outward into the blue, conveying a level of enthusiasm that isn’t strictly required on a Monday.
Single white Star of Bethlehem flower in cool light, growing low in the grass, shown in close-up with six petals and a bright yellow center, isolated against a dark, blurred background
Photograph of a 1989 paperback copy of The Haiku Handbook on a wooden surface in sunlight. The cover includes the subtitle “How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku,” lists the authors William J. Higginson and Penny Harter, and is decorated with blocks of pink, green, and blue.
Close-up of a violet flower in grass, with white, blue-veined petals. The background is a blur of deep green, with warm, golden bokeh from the setting sun in the top right corner.
Two dogwood flowers in cool-toned monochrome. Their semi-translucent petals, photographed from below the tree, stand against a clear sky, with the soft shapes of distant blossoms visible at the bottom of the frame.
Close-up of a grape hyacinth on a slender green stem. The flower is in focus and lit by warm sunlight, set against a softly blurred tree trunk and dark forest background.
A monarch butterfly gently opens and closes its wings as it explores clusters of tiny white blossoms.
Waxing gibbous moon in a soft blue dusk sky, slightly off-center, surrounded by a thin veil of diffuse cloud haze, with a faint contrail stretching along the top edge of the frame
Close-up of a wild violet growing from a crevice in a cherry tree trunk, its purple-and-white bloom just above a distinctly heart-shaped leaf.
POV: You are lying on your back facing a clear blue sky while a dandelion puff is booped against your nose repeatedly.
Close-up of a single open rose, its petals soft and layered in pale cream with washes of blush pink, catching gentle sunlight. The flower’s center is golden, while the background is a blur of deep green leaves
A photograph of thin, delicate branches with clusters of soft lavender-pink blossoms extending across a pale, open sky
A pond photographed through thick weeds. The far side of the water is lined with grasses of a golden hue and, beyond that, a wooded area. Above the treetops, the sunset glows in thick horizontal stripes of pink and violet.
Close-up of a pinkish-red rosebud just beginning to unfold against a dark green blur. The rosebud has a single pale green sepal extended as if to hug you, reminding you that your life is precious too.
Solid black silhouette of a bird, likely a grackle, perched among branches against an eerie, pale gray, vignetted sky
Close-up of grape hyacinths in a grassy field. In the blurred background are tall trees, a cloudy, pale blue sky, and a bright golden sun that is about to set. A beam of light slants through the closest cluster of deep purple flowers.
A cherry tree in full bloom with dark branches and bright pink blossom clusters against a yellow dawn sky
Close-up of violet-pink cherry blossoms in full bloom, set against a soft, blurred background of golden-peach sunrise.
Close-up of a cluster of pale cherry blossoms at the end of a long, slender branch, held down toward the camera by a hand. In the background, trunks and branches rise sharply from the low-angle view, their blurred silhouettes nearly black against a white sky.
A bright blue sky filled with billowing, cotton-like cumulus clouds. The sun casts bright beams from behind one of the main formations, while the undersides of the clouds are shadowed.
A pink rose glows golden in sunlight, with a more distant rose in soft focus behind it, surrounded by deep green leaves and burgundy-edged thorns
Double-exposure of a delicate white moth found floating in a birdbath in early autumn. Its wings are overlaid with prismatic colors, evoking fragility and ephemerality.
Close-up of purple flowers (blue salvia) taken from a low angle, highlighting their vertical stems. Behind the flowers, tall trees and a golden-hour sky are visible. Poem by Sylvia Plath: I Am Vertical But I would rather be horizontal. I am not a tree with my root in the soil Sucking up minerals and motherly love So that each March I may gleam into leaf, Nor am I the beauty of a garden bed Attracting my share of Ahs and spectacularly painted, Unknowing I must soon unpetal. Compared with me, a tree is immortal And a flower-head not tall, but more startling, And I want the one's longevity and the other's daring. Tonight, in the infinitesimal light of the stars, The trees and flowers have been strewing their cool odors. I walk among them, but none of them are noticing. Sometimes I think that when I am sleeping I must most perfectly resemble them— Thoughts gone dim. It is more natural to me, lying down. Then the sky and I are in open conversation, And I shall be useful when I lie down finally: The the trees may touch me for once, and the flowers have time for me.
A white dogwood tree at night, photographed from below, its blossoms lit against a dark sky
Abstract close-up of textured glass where golden light forms a faint rainbow amid deep blue-black shadows and geometric shapes
White autumn asters blooming above concrete
A waxing gibbous moon in late summer, set in a pale evening sky and framed by silhouettes of bare branches and dark foliage
A dark, moody edit of a great blue heron standing in shallow pond water with green reflections from nearby plants and trees
Close-up of a burning bush (Euonymus alatus) fruit in autumn, showing a dark purplish-brown capsule split open to reveal a bright red seed hanging from a thin green stem against a softly blurred background
Brick pavement under thin snow, patterned by winter light with deep blue shadows and warm golden highlights from the direction of the setting sun
Ice-coated tree branches catch low light, forming a bright line against a blurred background of blue sky and dark trees.
A yellow, partially decayed leaf with a patch of exposed veins against a pale blue sky