the amazing colours and complex patterns hosted by a lovely peacock

aerial view of clouds forming over Gulf of Mexico

High in the Urubamba Mountains, lies the recently famous ruins of MachuPicchu. The peak off to the right is WaynaPicchu. After a lengthy steep climb up damp and slippery rocks, it provides a nice overlook of the ancient city. Many photographers stand on the hill on the left side of this photo and capture a portion of the ruins; I chose to climb to a neighboring peak and shoot down over the entire area. The stepped plateaus going down the side were farmland and between each level are stone steps protruding out from the wall.

some picture-perfect stalks of Imperial Fritillaria (lutea maxima) just waiting for someone like me to come by and capture them on film.

the exotic blooms on this particular tropical vine last only a day. After just missing a couple of openings, a gardener friend and I was pulling shifts going to check on it's status twice a day. Finally, late one morning, the magnificent passiflora opened to display it's unparalleled details. Immediately, I load up an excessive amount of gear so that nothing would warrant a second trip and spent several hours more than adequately capturing the moment on film. As the day progressed and the sun started getting low, the entire wonder began to close only to fall off the next day; but on film it lives on.

Banyan forest growing in swampland

cliff-edge walkway through the mountains and trees in Pennsylvania

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.