a pleasant combination of rocky cliffs and thick forest in southern Illinois. i was lucky to find a very large fallen boulder to climb up on to get above the brush and capture this view.

I came across this friendly creature high in the Andes Mountains. As I began a quick set up for a photo, she came closer and more curious and I couldn't help but notice a seemingly happy expression.

I was traveling through a high mountain pass at about 14,000 feet and came across an area that was beginning to melt in preparation of spring. I started sizing up the scene and wandered about for the perfect perspective. The masses of melting snow had a beautiful ripple pattern and a large melted area ahead with mini-glaciers made a great foreground. In my usual excitement in preparing for a shot, I commonly overlook safety, and this was no exception. As I squatted down with my camera and pod ready to capture this lovely winter scene, I kept noticing a continuous sinking feeling which required camera adjustments to re-frame the picture properly. The melting snow was settling from my presence and I began to wonder if that melted area ahead was really part of a frozen lake. I looked around and noticed that I was in the middle of a large flat area surrounded by a distant wall of trees all around - I was standing in the center of a large lake. Just as I was debating on whether I would fall through the melting snow, I figured I was already set up for a good photo, so I might as well shoot some film. Thankfully, I made it back onto solid land without incident.

This is one of many pools of water from underground hot springs at Yellowstone. As the water spreads out at the surface, it cools and allows a variety of different algae to sustain life. In this case, the algae that survives in the hotter temperatures is blue and green, and the somewhat cooler algae appears red and orange, forming a circular rainbow pattern to mark the temperature ranges of the water.

crown-shaped pinnacle in Colorado

cluster of apple blossoms during mid-spring

from time to time, i see a shot that just shouts "tropical" and i capture the moment just for that reason.