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 re-shooting 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.

A white dicentra plant bathed in morning sunlight.

hot mineral springs in Wyoming

although passing for the scales on a blue dragon, this is actually an extreme close-up photo of the iridescent stripe on the wing of a Mallard Duck. the feather starts off with a main shaft (or quill) with hundreds of branches (barbs) protruding from the side. zooming in on one of these barbs, there are again hundreds of protruding tiny branches (barbules) on each barb. this photo captures approximately 4 of these barbules and their scale-like shapes. each of these 'squares' measure around 0.0012 inches across (less than the thickness of aluminum foil).

a fresh and perfect bloom of a yellow, white, and pink variegated rose

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.

well, not actually a mountain, nor made of anything hard like crystal – this is actually a very closeup shot at the edge from where a flower petal was torn. the tear left little shards of protruding flesh that when brightly lit, the whole thing glowed like an ice sculpture. this particular shard measures 0.046 inches tall (less than the thickness of a DVD) and you can see the elongated cells of white and purple that made up the flower petal.