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

Southern Arizona wilderness

closely resembling a (well used) golf ball, this is actually a super closeup shot of a Zinnia's flower petal. the petals have a cool pattern of dimples each measuring about 1/1000th of an inch across. we then focused a ultra-tiny spotlight so that the shaft of light was the size of a human hair (smaller than a laser beam). as the highly focused light bled out through the relatively flat petal (see inset), it created the shading effect of a round ball.

Standing next to the high-elevation 'Science City' atop Mount Haleakala, all i can see are these clouds and the small patch of land i'm standing on.

it's a beautiful mid-spring day and i walked in many circles, ducking and bobbing my head for some time, trying to find the angle that best complimented this tree's glory. the clusters of large white flowers are quite bright against the surrounding forestry and such contrast made for a great shot.

the surf is definitely 'up' today

Wind blowing across the desert is dropping in ultra-fine sand like a constant dry rain. It is gently piling up everywhere on us and our equipment, but when the sun reaches its highest point, the light illuminates the raining sand and produces these shafts of light.

I had not seen a Bald Eagle before and certainly did not expect to see one in Indiana. I was driving along a stretch of highway with forest on both sides and where hawks are a common site. I usually scan the sky to see what might be flying around and one day I see an absolutely huge silhouette swooping down. It was far bigger than any hawk I've seen, so I pulled off the road and began to explore. Not far away, I learn that it was a Bald Eagle and it was now calmly sitting in a tree. I reposition my car to make full use of a hill, then stood on top with my tripod and longest lens to grab this shot.