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Arch View
This natural arch was within a large section of land called "Canyonlands" in southeast Utah. Although there are many distant things to see in this vast territory, this photo opportunity was a brief hike from the road. Upon first finding this framed lookout onto the valley below, I just knew it would make a great image. For some time, I moved around, first left and right, then closer and farther, higher and lower, until I ultimately got the rock formations below to frame nicely inside the arch.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Twin Peaks
northern MontanaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Crater Walk
I'm hiking across the inside of a volcano crater and am loving the diverse assortment of mineral colours – every few minutes it seems like i enter a new alien world with unique soil and rock colours. The distant base of the clouds are over a mile in elevation, and they peak around 8,500 feet – the camera is just under 10,000 feet to capture this beautiful and unique land.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mount TianZi 1
countless pinnacles in ZhangJiaJieDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Long Lake
JiuZhaiGou ValleyDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Pinnacle 2
a lone pinnacle in the area of Mount Rainier, WashingtonDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Lake Powell
northern Arizona (Utah border)Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mirror Lake
JiuZhaiGou Valley, ChinaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Ke'anae Rocks
waves crashing through the rocks at Ke'anae. I was particularly impressed with how much this scene changed in appearance within a few seconds of time. At one moment, you can clearly see the layering of rock columns and splashing seawater; a moment later it almost appears like mountain peaks covered with plentiful waterfalls above the clouds.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Coastline
scenic coastline of MauiDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Crater World
I'm climbing down inside a volcano crater and am amazed with the variety of rock/soil colours that are so neatly piled about.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Island of ‘Ãlau
one of the dozens of tiny islands in the Hawaiian IslandsDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Delicate Arch 1
eastern Utah near MoabDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Tioga Pass
I was traveling through a high mountain pass at about 14,000 feet and came across an area that was begining to melt in preparation of spring. I started sizing up the scene and wandered about for the perfect perspective. The masses of melting snow had a beautiful ripple pattern and a large melted area ahead with mini-glaciers made a great foreground. In my usual excitement in preparing for a shot, I commonly overlook safety, and this was noexception. As I squatted down with my camera and pod ready to capture this lovely winter scene, I kept noticing a continuous sinking feeling which required camera adjustments to re-frame the picture properly. The melting snow was settling from my presence and I began to wonder if that melted area ahead was really part of a frozen lake. I looked around and noticed that I was in the middle of a large flat area surrounded by a distant wall of trees all around - I was standing in the center of a large lake. Just as I was debating on whether I would fall through the melting snow, I figured I was already set up for a good photo, so I might as well shoot some film. Thankfully, I made it back onto solid land without incident.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mountain View
This scene has summer fun and relaxation written all over it. It was late June and a perfect day for the season. Climbing down the steep embankment, I was actually standing in several inches of water to get a good view of the mountain peak framed nicely between the nearby trees. I waited for the ripples I created to disappear, and adjusted the tripod rather low to capture the stones just below the water's surface. The way the water refracted from being able to see the bottom of the lake, which slowly faded into the reflections from the far shore, was a nice bonus.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Wall Spires
very large wall of tightly packed spires in Utah wildernessDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Wall Mounds
blade-like sandstone mounds in eatern UtahDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Wave
This is truly in the middle of nowhere and reachable only by foot (or perhaps parachute). It's hard to believe that rock could form in such fluid shapes but it sure makes for a great find for those willing to bare the elements of the desert.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Ridge
I'm checking out the high terrain in the Andes Mountains, South America. It's early morning and things are just starting to warm up a bit as I stare out from my vantage point. I'm about three miles in elevation, and although the days are quite warm and sometimes hot, the moment the sun goes down, the air becomes freezing cold. I've been camping up here for several days, exploring what the land has to offer. Today, I plan to head along the ridge off to my left to see where it leads me.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Karst
rice fields and karst-type mountains near Guilin, ChinaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Delicate Arch 2
eastern Utah near MoabDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Stones
Many northern states like Montana have an abundance of colourful stones delivered by glaciers long ago. These happen to be at the edge of a lake under a few inches of water. The entire beach area and bottom of the lake (as far as I could see) was covered in this manner and the stones just under the water provided great rich colour with minimal wave distortion. To be able to shoot straight down and not have any perspective in the stone pattern, I stood in the water and waited for the ripples to disappear before capturing this neat texture image.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Cliff Violet
eastern china mountainsDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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The Gorge
Although it was toward the end of spring, the rushing waters from the above melting glacier were still quite cold. Things started out rather shallow and the water temperature didn't appear to be much of a concern. As I hiked through the stream into the gorge, the cavern walls narrowed, the water got higher and there were less sandbars to rest upon. Soon I was in fast moving waters up to my thighs and each step took careful planning. In addition to my legs going numb, I was having less and less available space to carry my camera gear. On occasion, the surrounding vertical walls would widen out a bit and there would be patches of dry land. While thawing out on one of these less common pieces of dry ground, I captured this scenic image of the area.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Evening
This image has an interesting story. It started when I was traveling through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and got a tip about a couple-hour trail leading to a wonderful overlook. After discovering that the overlook faced west and I could get there in time for sunset, I decided to take the last-minute advice and head out for one more shot. The trailhead was reasonably easy to find, as there was a gravel area along the side of the road for a couple cars to park. Grabbing my gear, I started out with a quick pace to reach the overlook in time. In the first few minutes, I noticed that the trail was very poorly marked and the ground had almost no wear marks to follow. I had great difficulty tracking the spacious and distant markers as the trail wound through the woodsy hills. With an occasional backtrack to find a missed trail marker, I arrived just barely in time for a fantastic sunset. Everything was almost surreal, with fantasy-like colours, and I had only a moment to absorb the beauty and capture a few frames of film. At the same time, I noticed a section of red granite that was illuminated by a beam of sunlight giving the rocks a beautiful and strange glow. I like to collect rocks from places I've been, so this seemed to be a great opportunity. I found a football-sized chunk and pulled it from the side of the mountain, packed up my equipment and started to head back. In just a few minutes, the sun went down and it got quite dark. I had thought the trail difficult to find in the day; now it was impossible. The night sky was overcast, so I had no direction reference with the stars and the thick woods seemed to absorb any available light. I quickly became lost and was uncertain to even what direction the car was parked. Large things seemed to be moving about, sticks breaking nearby, things flying above; I could only guess what was nearby as I could barely see the trees next to me. As I hiked up and down steep foothills, the camera gear continued to get heavier and my oversized souvenir rock almost got left behind on countless occasions. Really wished I had brought water (and not the rock) and continually debated on spending the night where I stood. I talked myself into continuing on as it was getting cold. I had no jacket since I wasn't planning on being out this late, and those seemingly large creatures all around just might be hungry. It's after midnight now, and my luck has changed. I see a fallen tree that I remember seeing before. I take a moment to carefully orient myself and figure out that the car is only a few miles away.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Passage
Arizona wildernessDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Saint Mary's Lake
east end of Glacier National ParkDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Delicate Arch 3
eastern Utah near MoabDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Where Air is Thin
I'm traveling through the barren high-plateaus of Bolivia. The air is very dry and crisp - anything resembling moisture, blows over and lands somewhere else. My current elevation is about 15,000 feet and the center peak is another 10,000 feet up.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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The Bryce Bowl
Once you get high enough, you can take in an entire bowl section of Bryce Canyon in one view.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Playground
Utah wildernessDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Crown
crown-shaped pinnacle in ColoradoDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Canyon Falls
this is one of the final water drops from the 'wettest place on Earth'. The inner parts of this canyon receives over 240-inches of rainfall each year which flows through a large number of tall waterfalls throughout the canyon.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Shrub Survival
This photo demonstrates that plant life will adapt and survive whenever possible. These bushes are determined to grow in the cracks of this jagged wall of rock. For viewers, like myself, it made a sensational view with the unique combination of the softer more rounded shaped bushes that were evenly spaced amungst the sharp edged rocky terrain.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Woods Cliff
a pleasant combination of rocky cliffs and thick forest in southern Illinois. i was lucky to find a very large fallen boulder to climb up on to get above the brush and capture this view.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Caverns
Belowground caverns in Arizona wilderness, carved out by centuries of flash flood waters from rain many miles away.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mystery Peak
I was camping out on one of the lower peaks (about 8500 feet) in the Andes Mountains. It was a wet and somewhat tropical area and had a light rain most of the night. As daylight started making itself known, the remaining rain clouds started dissipating and swirling about the neighboring peaks. Once again, I grabbed my camera gear and prepared for a moody shot. The sunlight was peaking out here and there, clouds blowing by and changing each second, I just had to wait for everything to come into balance and squeeze the shutter's release cable. The dark neighboring mountain peak intertwined with scattering clouds created a mysterious and suspenseful image, expressing the drama in the air this morning.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mount TianZi 2
layers and layers of spire-shaped mountains in ZhangJiaJieDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Windy Waterfall
i'm still making my way through Waimea canyon and today it's quite windy. Whenever the trail nears the canyon edge, i'm blasted with very strong winds and dirt that is sweeping through the canyon. I see a tall waterdrop on the far side of the canyon and it's water never reaches the ground – the wind is so strong, the waterfall breaks up into a cloud of mist and then nothing but humidity.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mounds
For several kilometers in the GuiLin area, there exist many of these uniquely shaped mountains. They are a pleasure to travel through and are ever-changing as the sun passes over. The locals have a saying concerning their beautiful surroundings; "I'd rather be a GuiLin man [person] than a supernatural being".Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Outcropping
unique outcropping of weathered sandstone in ColoradoDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Highland
this is a nice wide-shot of the inside region of an inactive volcano crater. The elevation is over 10,000 feet and the air is clear and thin, allowing me to capture all the amazing colour features of this strange land.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Spires
The many shapes and colours found within Bryce Canyon, southern Utah.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Summer Day
Jackson Lake and Teton MountainsDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Trees & Peaks
North Cascades, WashingtonDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Canyon Fog
I often prefer to get going just before sunrise so I can arrive at my planned location as the day starts. I greatly appreciate the long shadows of early morning and the entire experience of a day just beginning. I setup at the southern rim of Bryce Canyon and as the sun started making itself known, there was a dreamy layer of fog over the entire area. Moment by moment as the day became brighter, the fog receded into the lower valleys doing its best to avoid the direct sunlight. I patiently waited for just the right combination of light, fog, and colour to capture this early morning scene and now many can enjoy this balance in the elements.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Walls & Trees
It is slow and tiresome hiking over these steep rows of sandstone walls speckled with small trees; it is a very hot day and most of my time is used climbing up & down (and winding to & fro) than actual forward progress.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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MachuPicchu
High in the Urubamba Mountains, lies the recently famous ruins of MachuPicchu. The peak off to the right is WaynaPicchu. After a lengthy steep climb up damp and slippery rocks, it provides a nice overlook of the ancient city. Many photographers stand on the hill on the left side of this photo and capture a portion of the ruins; I chose to climb to a neighboring peak and shoot down over the entire area. The stepped plateaus going down the side were farmland and between each level are stone steps protruding out from the wall.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Desert Sculpture
These guys brought a great smile to my face as soon as I saw them. They looked so funny and entertaining, I nearly titled the shot "Abbott & Costello" after the famous comedian pair. They had a certain life about them, as if they were a part of some mythical legend beings that became frozen into these rock formations.
The two formations are actually a fair distance apart, making a combined photo more of a challenge. So I did my usual circle the item of interest until you find the best perspective. I tried hiking a ways away and zooming in from a neighboring hill, then up close, then this side or another, until discovering this perspective that worked perfectly for my taste.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Side of Rainier
Mount Rainier in WashingtonDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Rainbow Window
eastern UtahDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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On a Clear Day
It was a beautifully clear morning while I was driving through the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. With the sun still low on the horizon and a deep blue sky, the details on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were crisp. I drove up and down the desolate country road until I found the ideal center-point to begin my shoot. Using a non-distorting very wide angle lens, I could easily capture this entire range of mountains with the center peaking at 14,000 feet.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Garden of the Gods
part of the Garden of the Gods park in eastern Colorado; a wonderfully easy place to walk and enjoy the scenery.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Sliding Rock
massive thumb-shaped rock slowly shifting from errosionDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Road to Rainier
driving around Mt. Rainier on a clear summer dayDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Pinnacle 1
Walking along on a cliff in southern Utah, I couldn't pass by this shot. A single monument of sandstone spires standing tall in the middle of a pine forest made a great pair of complementary patterns.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Waimea Canyon
also known as 'the Grand Canyon of the Pacific', this is certainly a wonderful place to hike and shoot some film (as long as you don't mind the annual 240+ inches of rainfall).Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Crevice Pass
a picture-perfect passage between cliffs in southern IllinoisDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Great Walls
massive blade-like rock walls composed of different elements creating an unique and colourful view in natureDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Wall Arch
natural arch in wall of sandstone in eastern UtahDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Stripes
Arizona wildernessDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Vermillion Mounds
I was hiking to the Paria wilderness in Arizona and parked my car in southern Utah, as far as the nearest dirt road would take me. On my way to the Arizona border (located at the "V" on the far left), I passed by a grouping of vermillion striped mounds that reminded me of a dessert of some sort. Perhaps it was just the heat and my desire for something cold to eat.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Pagoda
After climbing up and down countless steep spires for 4 long days, I can greatly appreciate the solitude of this pagoda.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Ridge Point
another spectacular view of Waimea canyon. The lush vegetation and diverse soil colours make for some very nice canyon photos.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Nature's Wall
One of my favorite locations is southeastern Utah. The area has many bizarre rock formations in all shapes and sizes. It is just after dawn and I'm on my way to a planned trailhead as I pass by these absolutely massive walls of rock. A few extra moments for this side trip won't hurt my plans, so I stop and wait for the sun to raise just a little higher. I grab a non-distorting wide angle lens and finish setting up in front of this wonder. The low warm light made this giant formation glow with contrasting shadowed edges, enhancing its texture and rich colour, making for a beautiful image to preserve on film.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Mars
i just couldn't pass up a side trip to Mars to grab a couple shots! Or maybe i just happen to be inside a volcano crater and the surrounding landscape looks much like a Martian world.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Falls and Rapids
I was set up for this whitewater section of rapids and took several shots, freezing the splashes of water at different moments in time. It was an extremely wet area from all the mist, and the lens had to be wiped down between each shot. Then I continued my hike up stream, shooting along the way. At the base of the falls, it was time to change film. For an unknown reason, my camera indicated that I had rewound the film completely, but a good portion was actually still vulnerable. When I opened up the back, boy was I surprised to have just exposed my work to daylight. Having no idea which part I had just ruined, I retraced my steps and began reshooting each scene with a different camera back in hopes to not repeat the malfunction. While in wooded areas, since many scenes are shaded by neighboring trees, I commonly will first hike unencumbered with gear to calculate the ideal time of day for that particular scene. Thankfully, my window of light for this area was long enough to obtain a second set of exposures.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Hanging Out
central ChinaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Last Day of Winter
Sierra Nevada MountainsDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Bryce Canyon
southwestern UtahDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Valley Walls
I particularly liked the lines in this image; the way trees and shrubbery were growing up the sides matched the angle of the peaks. The mountain walls were exceptionally steep (nearly vertical) which made it easier to capture the grassland foreground and keep the mountain peaks crisp and close. The sun was still early and somewhat low which pronounced the roughness and magnitude of this shear wall of rock.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Stonehenge
Southern EnglandDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Chinese Mountains
looking down across the unique mountain shapes in Yangshou, ChinaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Up & Over
Delicate Arch, one of the most photographed natural arches in the country, and is even the state icon appearing on nearly everything throughout Utah. It is quite massive and resides on the edge of a steep canyon wall that quickly slopes more and more, making the hiker uncertain just how far beyond this landmark they can travel before footing will give way.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Range
valley near MarcaHuasi in PerúDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Distant Wall
distant wall of sandstone in warm evening light (Utah wilderness)Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Twin Falls
hiking through Waimea canyon on KauaiDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Evening Walls
south-eastern UtahDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Chugach Mountains
Chugach Mountains in the Yukon TerritoryDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Bottoms Up
I'm standing at the bottom of Bryce Canyon, surrounded by very tall spires of sandstone. It's a beautiful summer day and the sky is a strong blue, making a perfect contrast to the surrounding walls of orange stone. It almost appears as if I am looking down at a lake instead of looking up at the sky.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Green Sand Beach
welcome to the southern most point in the United States which happens to be on the big island of Hawaii. there is only a handful of beaches like this in the world, where a nearby cliff of olivine (peridot) minerals creates such a unique colour of beach sand. a much closer look at the sand will show that blended in with the olive-green is some sparkling gold that glistens quite well in the sun.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Pyramid
northern MontanaDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Arches
Rock forming natural arches like this is nothing short of fascinating. I had captured a few images as I was nearing these arcs of rock, but once I got under them, I layed back and felt that this was the way they should be reproduced.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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Stone Heads
funny-shaped sandstone monuments in Utah wildernessDownload: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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This Way Up
It looked like this giant balanced rock was a hand pointing straight up into the sky. I could have wrote something real philosophical, especially since this was located in the "Garden of the Gods" but as I was standing near its base, I just hoped it wasn't time for this magnificent piece to settle.Download: 1024x768 Wallpaper |
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