top of page
Go To Top

Photography - HOME SWEET HOME is a subsection of Photography

My favorite place for taking pictures is in and around our home.  The "around" part comes from where we live.  We live in a Twin Cities suburb, conveniently located near the metro area.  And yet, the nature is all around us.  Fortunately, we also have a big pond in the backyard.  Over the years, and in collaboration with the watershed district, we have cultivated a native plant habitat around it.  (Credit goes to Christine!).  This attracts all kinds of wildlife.

 

Add to this Minnesota’s stark seasonal changes, and you have a perfect backdrop.  No matter what time of the year, all you have to do is to just look out the window, and you'll see something interesting happening.  Then it is just a question of making the effort to take out my camera and capture the beauty in front of me - and preserve it forever.   

 

I also take quite a few pictures "inside" the home.  This is primarily about convenience.  In this case, my shooting studio is typically the dining table in the formal dining room.  That's because the table is next to a north-facing window.  This provides beautiful diffuse lighting, which is great especially for still photography.  And I have a great deal of control over the two most important elements of photography -  composition and lighting.

Index

Inside the Home

INSIDE THE HOME

 

Most of these pictures were taken between November and April.  This is when the outside is drab - so I bring the color inside!

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy eggs close-up

More Than Meets the Ei:  One of my favorite photos tells more than what meets the eye.  (das) "Ei" means egg in German and is pronounced as "eye" in english (2008)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy orange flower

If a Flower Could Smile:  2016

DSCNaimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy red flower dew close-up

Brightening up a Day in Winter:  2010

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy flower bouquet farmer's market

Farmer's Market Bouquet:  In 2010

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy flowers peoni
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy flowrs violet close-up

Remembrance of the Summer:  In 2010 and 2013

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy yellow water drop on flower dew
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy yellow fower close-up
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy floer cose-up orchid

Antidotes to Winter:  In 2008, and 2018 (orchids)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy water drop on petal purple flower close-up

Orchid:  One of my first attempts at photographing flowers on the dining table (2008)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy Christmas candle wreath close-up still life

Orchid:  One of my first attempts at photographing flowers on the dining table (2008)

Season's Greetings:  In 2017

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy cowboy boots belt hat line dance

Ready to Line Dance:  I was cluelessly mistaken about line dancing.  Nevertheless, these boots remain my favorite (2012)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy morchella morels mushroom close-up Turkish Dlight

Morchella aka Morels: We used to forage mushrooms back in Germany but had stopped doing so in Minnesota because the varieties are different.  Now we forage only morels because they are difficult to confuse with other varieties. Besides, they are second only to truffle in taste (2011)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy morchella Morls mushroom Turkish Delight

Morel Delight:  The visual delight of morels should not be underestimated.  Glad that I took the time to preserve the beauty "for ever" (2011)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy green marbles flower vase

The Vase, Not the Flowers:   The base of the vase, with stem and marbles, was more interesting than the flowers that I had originally intended to shoot (2009)

Around the Home

AROUND THE HOME

DSC_2037b BEST.jpg

The Enchanting Corner:  This year, we created this inviting nook around a water fountain in our front yard (2020)

DSC_2076a.jpg

Tiny, Green Frog:  Every year, we find these tiny green frogs on 3 feet high, pink coneflowers.  Why and how do they get there?  As I was taking the picture, I was surprised by a bee!  Taken in the backyard in 2020.

DSC_1132a.jpg

False Goatsbeard: A great composition in the backyard, with wild grass and a garden flag ( 2020)

DSC_1616a.jpg

Mini Daisy with a Fly:  The flowers are just 10 mm in diameter, in the backyard in 2020

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy bee cone flower purple honey

Cone Flowers and the Bee:  In the backyard in 2015

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy daisy buttefly white flower yellow

A Butterfly on a Daisy:  In the frontyard in 2010

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy pink conefower butterfly yellow

A Butterfly on a Coneflower:  In the backyard in 2010

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy bumblebee close-up violet flower
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy dragonfly on a stick close-up

Bumblebee and Dragonfly:  In the backtyard in 2008

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy tiny green tree frog on a leaf

Tiny, Green Frog:  On an elephant ear plant.  Taken in our backyard in 2014

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard spotted fawn innocnet look large eyes hiding surprised green underbush

Oops. Did I Scare You?:  Our backyard is a daycare center for fawns (2017)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard duck train duckling green pond water swim

Duck Train:  Making it to the other side of the pond (2011)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy Canadian Goose gosling backyard swim green pond water
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard pond wood duck pair

Geese and Ducks Share the Pond:  A Canadian Goose family (2011) and a a pair of wood ducks (2014)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard pond dead log on water snapping turtles the more the merrer

The More the Merrier:  Innumerable turtles, big and small, call our pond their home.  Sunbathing on a log (2011)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy bacyard pond white egret orange beak fish reflection wings

The Egret:  The pond with frogs, fish and turtles is a splendid table for the egret (2016)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backychird chikadee nest nestng songbird peekaboo

Chickadee:  Every summer the tiny tenants come back and pay back with all day long songs (2017)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy bacyard Wren songbird nest nestng peekaboo
DSC_0946 New b.jpg

Wren:  In the backyard, in 2015 and 2020

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy gazebo kitchen window bench comfy inviting backyard

A Kitchen View of the Gazebo:  The gazebo for the summer and the three season porch-like kitchen for the rest of the year (2013)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy frontyard pink hydrandgea entrance stucco house flower garden

A Farewell to Summer: The tender pink hydrangea are the harbinger of impending autumn (2012)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard watefall flowing water fountain rocks serene tanquil moss

The Neighbor's Waterfall:  The waterfall in Bob and Cheryl's backyard is a pleasant sight from our balcony (2015)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard grden nymph blue flwoing wate

The Nymph: In Bob and Cheryl's backyard (2015)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy red white blue ripe juicy autumn sky crab apple cloud

Red, White and Blue:  Ripe and juicy - for the birds in the coming winter (2008)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard tree reflection frozen pond misty cold winter

The Harbinger of Winter: An enchanting view of the pond on an early, foggy, fall morning - seen from the kitchen.  As the ice starts to melt, it breaks up the reflections of the trees (2015)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy cold winter garage frost flower window pane winter ski Minnesota
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy window pane garage frost flwer cold winter Minnesota

Frost Flowers:  Relax!  These are garage windows.  Homes are well insulated.  Now get ready for some winter fun (2017)

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy home dusk illuminated window at dusk cold winter Minnesota decorated colorful white snow stucco beautiful house winter evening

"Baby it's Cold Outside": "Listen to the fireplace roar...".  Home, sweet home at dusk (2016)

Memory Photos

MEMORY PHOTOS

Although this page is for "hobby photos", I cannot resist posting two "memory photos" from 2010.  

 

On a fine Sunday morning in the spring, as we were clearing the backyard, what did we find?  A freshly born fawn under a pine tree!  We kept away from the tree, expecting the mom to return.  But even after an hour, nothing has happened. Apparently, it had been abandoned.  Now its survival depended on us.  So, I had to go and buy a baby bottle.  But it wouldn’t drink a drop and got weaker by the hour.

 

Not knowing what to do, we called the wildlife management center for advice.  They told us that after giving birth, it is typical for does, to leave the baby alone for a while.  The baby is supposedly safe because at that stage they will not have developed any body odor to attract predators.  Really?  We should just leave the fawn on a quiet shady clearing and the mom will come back.  

 

By that time, the fawn had become visibly weak and lethargic.  It hardly moved.  We had given up hope, but we did as told, and kept a watch through the kitchen window.  For a while, nothing happened.

 

Then we saw a doe at the other corner of the backyard.  It looked around cautiously, then proceeded slowly and carefully towards the prostrate fawn, which all throughout had remained motionless.  But suddenly, it perked up its ears, then first it raised its head slightly, and then its neck.  It raised itself on its wobbly feet.  And then, lo and behold, suddenly it bolted towards the approaching doe.  It jumped around the mom for a while with obvious joy before starting to drink.  And we had thought it was dying!  After a while, and once the fawn had its tummy full, the doe and the fawn retreated slowly towards the wooded area and were soon gone.

Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard young fawn under pine tree Minnesota
Naimul Karim Naim personal website photgraphy backyard young fawn feeding milk bottle pine tree Minnesota
Memory Videos

VIDEOS

Now that I have violated my own rule - what the heck, I am going to post some (amateur) videos from summer, fall and winter as well.  Spring is not worth the mention because it is short and barely noticeable.  In Minnesota, after winter, the summer comes suddenly and with a vengeance.

The backyard, with the pond surrounded by a native plant garden, has become a refuge for many wildlife.  In the spring and summer, deer come and go, feed here and give birth to fawns, which later play around in the backyard.  Birds nest in flower pots.  A variety of ducks and geese come back every year to nest.  Frogs are everywhere, and offer a loud "frog concert" every night in the summer.  

 

And then there are the turtles, many many of them, tiny and big.  There is a big daddy turtle, more than two feet in length, that migrates between our and the neighboring pond across the street.  

 

A couple of years ago, we had stocked our pond with small fish.  Now egrets have become regular visitors.  And occassionally, "romps" of river otters stop by.  They are voracious fisher eaters and are not welcomed by most pond owners.  But we don’t mind; the fish population seems to survive. 

SUMMER

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.46.48 PM.png
Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.50.14 PM.png
Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.52.31 PM.png
Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.54.58 PM.png
Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 6.57.55 PM.png
Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 7.01.12 PM.png
7.jpg
mq2.jpg

FALL

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 7.51.04 PM.png

Video 1:  A beautiful view from the kitchen on a lazy fall early afternoon.  Nice to see the willow tree that we had planted a few years ago doing so well.  The leaves are turning and the winter is not far away.  But I love fall - it is my favorite season in Minnesota.

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 7.48.54 PM.png

Video 2:  Another view from the same kitchen, on a beautiful Saturday morning in 2018.

WINTER

Screen Shot 2018-11-24 at 8.01.32 PM.png

Video 1:  Brrrrr… It’s cold out there…. and beautiful!  Cold, crunchy and sunny is certainly better than gloomy and slushy.

bottom of page