vast amounts of water flowing over Horseshoe Falls (Canadian side of Niagara Falls)

side area of MachuPicchu

Lake Michigan lighthouse in northern Indiana

This is a Great Horned Owl at about 3½ weeks of age. Quite a darling little puff-ball of feathers sitting there wondering what the guy with the camera is up to. The mom isn't due back for a couple hours so I have a chance to capture this cute creature for everyone to enjoy.

almost looking like the famous british breakfast omelet, this is actually an extreme closeup shot of a flower petal. more specifically, an area of 0.06 x 0.04 inches (about the thickness of a DVD) of a gladiolus bloom. i focused on the area of the petal where it transitioned from an overall pale-yellow down to it's dark-red throat. here, i discovered a layer of egg-yolk-like cells separated by clear gel-like cells which allowed me to see down to a lower layer of pale-yellow flesh riddled with tiny purple spots (averaging 1/1500 of an inch each). all-in-all, a most interesting find for the day that makes a beautiful piece of abstract art.

There are many woodsy areas within biking distance of the studio and they make wonderful places to explore and capture images. This particular one is nearly all pine trees and has a wonderful air about it. The ground is very soft with years of accumulated pine needles and while the sun is high, light dances through the trees and makes for very interesting patterns for as far as the eye can see. I chose to capture this as a wider shot to enhance the field of view so the viewer becomes more immersed and can almost smell the pine air.

an unusual grouping of various flowers

giant variegated Agave plant in Arizona desert