this is a closeup shot of a copper snake chain necklace. the islands of gold are parts of corroded copper links that are kept bright by constantly rubbing against the skin. the aqua river is the remaining part of the copper that goes down into valleys between chain links where the corrosion has gone untouched and turned a beautiful blue-green. the chain of this necklace measures 0.045 of an inch in diameter and this photo captures an area equivalent to the thickness of a credit card.

certainly appearing to be a pile of gemstones, this is actually a extreme closeup shot of a flower anther. within the middle of a gladiolus flower, you'll find four long and narrow stems protruding from the center of each bloom. three of these have a tiny banana-shaped pod (anther) on the end, and the remaining one (stigma) has three tiny fingers on the end. if you zoom into the anther, it appears something like a long canoe-like boat heaping full of cargo. zooming in more (and from the side), you can get a clear view of the 'cargo' of cells stacked up in the anther/boat. this photo is a tiny portion of that cargo and each 'gem' is about half the area of a human hair. (check out our "Sea Monster" shot to see the neighboring stigma up close.)

these large birds appear to have infinite patience as they stand motionless for hours waiting for their meal to swim by.

early morning on Kauai

although usually a moisture-loving plant, i found this one in Arizona. i think its roots must have tapped a nice hidden water supply.

tall Saguaro cactus towering over others in southern Arizona

a walk in the woods during early autumn in Indiana

the surf is definitely 'up' today