Although this can commonly grow into a tree it is officially classified as a shrub (cotinus coggygria) from Eurasia, and a really cool shrub at that. This was my first encounter with one of these and I was delightfully amazed with its colours. The leaves were a grape-purple on the top side with a more common greenish underside. When the sunlight shown through the leaves, they lit up a brilliant red, adding another odd colour to this unparalleled plant. I made sure to capture this wonder of colour on a bright sunny day with an equal amount of leaves showing their upper and lower hues.

northern Indiana

I came across this friendly creature high in the Andes Mountains. As I began a quick set up for a photo, she came closer and more curious and I couldn't help but notice a seemingly happy expression.

I'm hiking across the inside of a volcano crater and loving the diverse assortment of mineral colours. every few minutes it seems like i enter a new alien world with unique soil and rock types. 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.

This beautiful moment was captured on Navajo's land in Arizona. With permission from the Native Americans, I visited their sacred and amazing canyons. It's a bit windy topside so there is a constant shower of sand pouring in. In just a few minutes, piles of this ultra-fine sand begin to build up on our shoulders, pockets, and equipment making the day-long adventure quite memorable. When the sun is at its highest, it illuminates some of these sand showers to appear as magnificent beams of light.

closeup of a tortoise emerging as desert temperatures become more tolerable just before sunset in Arizona

sunset above the clouds near hawaiian islands

A white dicentra plant bathed in morning sunlight.