My friend and master gardener was showing me the sites and we came across her favorite of all trees, the chionanthus virginicus, or fringe tree. In late spring it blooms with drooping clusters of white flowers. I now understand her passion for the tree as is had a very soft friendly appearance with a lovely scent from it's quantity of blooms.

long and soft water drops at the upper Talafofo Falls in southern Guam

a cluster of purple vanda orchids in Brazil

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.

this is a Maple tree photographed at night and illuminated only by an industrial-strength helium-cadmium laser (441-nanometer blue). extra care was taken to perform this unusual lighting technique in a secluded country setting due the laser beam having an effective distance of 35-miles. I'd like to note that no plants or animals (or photography assistants) were harmed in the making of this photo; although, we might have sterilized a few mosquitoes.

For many years, I lived next to a large duck pond just outside my back door and it was not uncommon to see me set up on a nearby bank. After some time, the local inhabitants seemed to accept my presence and felt safe to get closer for a better look like this curious duck.

sunset over the many islands in northwestern Washington

eastern Utah