looking quite similar to an xmas tree with ornaments and tinsel, this is actually a photograph of a hostile invasion possibly taking place in your own backyard. if you see a plant with a white or light-gray powdery substance on the top-side of its leaves, it is probably an invasion of the 'White Powdery Mildew Fungi'. many different types of these spores spread with the wind, rain, birds, and even the feet of insects, and when the right type of spore lands on a suitable plant, it quickly takes hold by rooting into the plant. it then steals nutrition from the plant to grow an outbreak of thread-like structures over the surface (seen as white rice-like chains in this photo) which eventually block the plant's photosynthesis process and kills it. when the mildew fungus is sufficiently mature, it develops new sets of spores (inside the brown raisin-like containers) to travel in the wind and repeat the cycle. each of the brown spore-sacks measure about 0.0014 inches in diameter which is the thickness of kitchen aluminum foil.

when a large mass of lava cools very slowly, it can create column-like fissures during it's cooling. then, over the years, water and ice push the columns apart and the outer pillars topple giving you a scene like this one. there's only a handful of places on earth where conditions were just right for these strange rock formations to form.

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.

south-eastern Utah

apologizing in advance for those with allergies... here's a whole cluster of pollen spores. each one measures about 0.006 inches across, so this entire grouping is equivalent to the thickness of a DVD. the photographed colour was enhanced from pale tones.

sunset above the clouds near the hawaiian islands

this allium bud is just starting to initiate the blooming process and is looking quite good so far. It's still only about an inch (2-3cm) in diameter and i've got my camera gear just a few inches away to capture the minute details of this beautiful process.

early morning at the top of Bryce Canyon