JiuZhaiGou Valley, China

crown-shaped pinnacle in Colorado

it is rare that i photograph man-made things when i'm traveling around looking for beautiful things in nature, but artistic construction like this will make it into the photo collection.

the amazing colours and complex patterns hosted by a lovely peacock

almost looking like the famous british breakfast omelet, this is actually an extreme closeup shot of a flower petal. more specifically, an area of 0.06 x 0.04 inches (about the thickness of a DVD) of a gladiolus bloom. i focused on the area of the petal where it transitioned from an overall pale-yellow down to it's dark-red throat. here, i discovered a layer of egg-yolk-like cells separated by clear gel-like cells which allowed me to see down to a lower layer of pale-yellow flesh riddled with tiny purple spots (averaging 1/1500 of an inch each). all-in-all, a most interesting find for the day that makes a beautiful piece of abstract art.

This is the main center area of MachuPicchu. The "D" shaped structure near center is the Temple of the Sun. For some reason it was worthy of a complex curved wall, unlike all other surrounding structures.

Toward the end of each summer, I try to go out and chase butterflies. Partially just to capture something delicate and enchanting and partly just to stay in shape by constant lugging equipment from spot to spot trying to capture close-ups as they flutter around in the wild. It's not often that one can get camera gear between a bloom and a feeding butterfly. With this unique perspective, the large and colourful insect has a more slimline stealthy appearance while it feeds on this zinnias nectar.

resident of Indiana wetlands