yes, this is real. i was hiking through a desert (with a load of camera gear of course) and saw this little cactus growing on top of a rock. it was too unique and charming to pass by without taking this photo opportunity.

peeking up under the nodding flowers of imperial fritillaria stalks (lutea maxima)

looking straight down toward the tops of foliage and a simple dirt (mud) road.

Meet "Crusty" the sand crab on the coral-sand beaches of Guam. He was kind enough to not move while I setup my gear in very close proximity and capture this macro shot.

the lovely Andrea West orchid (Hawaii rainforest)

It's been raining most of the day and it's paying off by making this typically smaller waterfall much more voluminous.

in June 1967 a special type of meteorite called a 'pallasite' was discovered in the Magadan district of eastern Russia (near Seymchan). it is one of only 61 known meteorites of this type and it contains olivine crystals mixed in with other metals and rocky materials. we noticed a tiny spot that really sparkled in the light, so we zoomed in and photographed it (seemed like the proper thing to do at the time). this photo is 0.03 inches wide which is about the thickness of a credit card and just big enough to capture this most interesting area.

I found this young Great Horned Owl in early spring while it was still cool on most days. She took to me well and never seemed to mind my presence when I came by her section of woods. In this shot she's about six weeks old and loosing most of her puffy baby feathers. This is certainly my favorite of all animals and it was a pleasure coming across one in the wild.