almost passing for a multitude of old dusty harpsichord strings, this is actually a closeup photo of a polished gemstone called 'Tiger Eye'. we zoomed in where the chatoyancy effect was the strongest to capture these fiber-like inclusions that make up the cat's eye appearance. the width of this photo is about 0.037 inches which is a tad thicker than a playing card.

This is a straight-down shot of a young corn lily plant (Veratrum californicum) common in moist meadows along the west coast. The accordion-shaped leaves look just like my camera bellows, but the plant is quite poisonous. In fact, if animals eat the foliage, their offspring can be born with cyclopia (one large eye in center of head).

closeup of a tortoise emerging as desert temperatures become more tolerable just before sunset in Arizona

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

you'd probably believe me if i said this was a tentacle from some deep-sea creature, but it is actually a closeup shot of a common flower stigma (the tiny little stem sticking out of the center and captures pollen from the stamen). the stigma of a red gladiolus is only 0.025 inches in diameter (thickness of 2 playing cards) and this photo captures the very tip that protrudes farthest outside the bloom. (check out our "Balanced Gems" shot to see the neighboring anther part of the same flower).

a couple of tiny frogs taking a nap on a tree branch

glass tulips illuminated with various neon lights would certainly make a wonderful piece of contemporary art, but this is actually a closeup photo of a Grecian Windflower. in between the bumpy center cone and the outer petals, is a ring of many stamen with short filaments. zooming in extra tight on the area where the anthers (top part resembling mini-tulips) connect with the filaments (supporting stems), and adding in a micro-spotlight to make everything sparkle, you then get a shot like this. each filament (stems seen at the bottom) measures around 0.0062 inches in diameter which is a tad thinner than a bristle on a toothbrush.

I'm walking along a bridge in northern Kauai and notice the tree tops are at eye-level for easy shooting. I pan around for the best cluster of Locust branches and then patiently wait for the slightest of breezes to pause long enough to capture this shot.