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

When one gets a camera close enough to a drip of water, the whole surrounding world can been seen within. This makes for a rather unique and interesting image that is sure to start conversation. Seeming to be an eternity, I v-e-r-y carefully moved my camera around to capture the surrounding patch of daisies and early morning sky inside this water-lens without the slightest disturbance to the delicate drop. After a few micro-adjustments to the position just right, the sun glistened on the edge of the drop and made a wonderful sparkle highlight.

Jackson Lake and Teton Mountains

a picture-perfect passage between cliffs in southern Illinois

dense bamboo forest in southern Maui

edge of a corn crop in Indiana

This is a highly concentrated salt lake in eastern California that is known for its unique calcareous rock formations (tufas). These structures range from a couple feet to perhaps 15 feet tall and are quite rigid. Most of these structures form on the ground near the shore, but I really enjoyed this grouping when surrounded by water. Plus, the winds coming over a nearby mountain range, produce complex clouds rolling over this area and are usually quite interesting and often stormy in appearance.

okay, so this is really myrtle spurge (euphorbia myrsinites) and the first time i saw it, it truly appeared alien to me. It had such an amazing combination of unique shapes and unusual method of branching, that i was certain this was from another world.