Along the desert surface, a lengthy crack can be seen. More exploring reveals an entire other world of underground beauty. I have the camera pointed up at about 45° toward these whirls of sandstone carved out by centuries of flash flood waters from rain many miles away.

well, not actually a mountain, nor made of anything hard like crystal – this is actually a very closeup shot at the edge from where a flower petal was torn. the tear left little shards of protruding flesh that when brightly lit, the whole thing glowed like an ice sculpture. this particular shard measures 0.046 inches tall (less than the thickness of a DVD) and you can see the elongated cells of white and purple that made up the flower petal.

a fresh and perfect bloom of a yellow, white, and pink variegated rose

i just couldn't pass up a side trip to Mars to grab a couple of surface shots! Or maybe i just happen to be inside a volcano crater and the surrounding red-rock landscape looks much like a Martian world.

Below ground caverns in Arizona wilderness, carved out by centuries of flash flood waters from rain many miles away.

some picture-perfect stalks of Imperial Fritillaria (lutea maxima) just waiting for someone like me to come by and capture them on film.

beautiful rain-forest trees and foliage in southern Maui

i'm keeping my distance and using my longest lens as this female hunter is sizing up lunch.