The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco is a fantastic setting for many great images. I saw these two swans swimming about and set up on the nearby shoreline. As with most animals, you really must do a lot of waiting for the right moment (unless you are lucky enough to come across one that responds to verbal instruction). There were many fair shots, but each time something was not quite right, so I very patiently waited, slowly panning the camera to track their movement and making adjustments along the way. In as little as a half hour, there was finally a moment when they both stopped eating seaweed and faced each other just long enough for me to complete my work.

Mount Rainier in Washington

While hiking through the many woods in the valley, I came across a clearing packed full of ferns. Clearings between the groves of trees were common, but none were like this one. These ferns average five to six feet in height and were nothing short of spectacular. The sunlight filtered through the airy flora creating many layers of green as it progressed toward the shaded ground region.

Temple of the Sun in Cuzco

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

It was late spring in the Utah desert and I got caught in a light rain shower. It was hot, so the rain felt nice, but I still didn't want to get soaked and be encumbered with wet clothes. I stooped under a tree about the height of a house (tall for the region) and let it shelter me from most of the rain. In about 30 minutes, it turned to a fine mist and I continued up the mountain. Soon the sun started to peek out and turned my surroundings to a steamy sauna. Whenever the sun comes out after a rain, I immediately look for the possibility of a rainbow. Rainbows are so beautiful and last only a moment, that I do everything possible to capture one onto film. Sure enough, one started to emerge right in front of me, but was mostly obscured by the ground, so I started to run up the hill for a better view. The mountainside was steep and seemed to never end. Each time I thought I could see it leveling off, by the time I got there, it continued upward. I was exhausted and time was quickly counting down. I managed to make my way to a partial overlook and captured ¾ of the arch of colour before it faded away.

this is one of the final water drops from the 'wettest place on Earth'. The inner parts of this canyon receives over 240-inches of rainfall each year which flows through a large number of tall waterfalls throughout the canyon.

looking straight down toward the tops of foliage and a simple dirt (mud) road.