looks like these two males are chatting about their upcoming fish lunch (Aleutian Islands)

dense bamboo forest in southern Maui

Columbines, in general, are a lovely flower coming in wide assortment of colour combinations. This giant columbine was growing all by itself and appeared very proud to be doing so well on it's own.

clearly appearing like something out of a Hollywood special-effects laboratory, this unreal-looking skin is actually quite common and is perhaps devouring something right outside your back door... it is a super-closeup of a June Bug's thorax (shoulder blade equivalent). the June Bugs in our area are an uninteresting plain brown, but as we explored it's outer surface, we noticed a very small metallic-looking shiny spot. far too small to see with the naked eye, we zoomed in on this spot and discovered it to be made up of many 'skin' cells of reds, oranges, and yellows each measuring around 1/3000 of an inch across. the green jellybean-like objects are actually pits in the bug's shell and have a hair growing out of each one (similar to a human pore). these deep bowel-shaped pits (about 1/400 of an inch long) were lined with more metallic-type cells that reflected our lighting back in various greens.

eastern Utah

It was late in the day and I had been shooting a garden until my surroundings became dim. On my way out, I passed by a patch of primrose flowers next to a large boulder. I was amazed at their vibrant glowing colour even though the surroundings were in dull evening light. Being reasonably certain that they were not battery-powered, my only rationalization was that these petals were made of the same fluorescent substance on firefly tails. I returned the next day to shoot them in bright sun, but the flowers appeared quite average. So, I waited until they were once again in the dim evening shade and captured their neon colours on film.

foliage on the tropical island of Guam

On my way back to the studio, after a routine walk with the camera, I stopped to rest a moment halfway up a steep hill. It was early autumn and the leaves had begun their colour cycle. Like most of us, sometimes I forget to look up to see what's directly above. In my moment of fatigue (too much gear), I arched my back to stretch and WOW! I was standing right under a perfect shot. A lower branch spread across my view with bright red leaves and a little higher up was a maple that turned yellow and just past that, a couple different greens from the oaks. Topped off with patches of deep blue sky, it was truly a colourful moment.