I am often quite bored during long flights and look for anything to do within the confined cabin space. Sometimes the cloud levels are just right while the sun is lower for better light, and I take the time to set up a tripod and camera on the flight. Tight spots like this are fantastic for my Trekker tripod. It is so versatile and accommodating to the oddest of places I wish to place a camera. Getting a few curious looks from nearby passengers, I carefully scout for a nice grouping of clouds to occupy my time. I usually try to avoid any view of the plane or wing, but this time it was unavoidable in my row. As it turns out, I really liked how the wing establishes where the photo was taken and prefer it over many shots from other flights.

one of 10,000 roses at the International Rose Test Garden in Oregon.

For several kilometers in the GuiLin area, there exist many of these uniquely shaped mountains. They are a pleasure to travel through and are ever-changing as the sun passes over. The locals have a saying concerning their beautiful surroundings; "I'd rather be a GuiLin man [person] than a supernatural being".

JiuZhaiGou Valley

crown-shaped pinnacle in Colorado

glass tulips illuminated with various neon lights would certainly make a wonderful piece of contemporary art, but this is actually a closeup photo of a Grecian Windflower. in between the bumpy center cone and the outer petals, is a ring of many stamen with short filaments. zooming in extra tight on the area where the anthers (top part resembling mini-tulips) connect with the filaments (supporting stems), and adding in a micro-spotlight to make everything sparkle, you then get a shot like this. each filament (stems seen at the bottom) measures around 0.0062 inches in diameter which is a tad thinner than a bristle on a toothbrush.