the exotic blooms on this particular tropical vine last only a day. After just missing a couple of openings, a gardener friend and I was pulling shifts going to check on it's status twice a day. Finally, late one morning, the magnificent passiflora opened to display it's unparalleled details. Immediately, I load up an excessive amount of gear so that nothing would warrant a second trip and spent several hours more than adequately capturing the moment on film. As the day progressed and the sun started getting low, the entire wonder began to close only to fall off the next day; but on film it lives on.

beautiful rain-forest trees and foliage in southern Maui

about a week ago, my finger got pinched and created a tiny blood blister. now it's coming off and i decided to photograph the remains using a very tiny lens. this photo captures an an area about .057 inches wide (about the thickness of a DVD) and is of the outer regions of the blister where the dark dried blood meets the surrounding tough dried skin (whitish areas).

dense bamboo forest in southern Maui

if you can't find any fruit stands in the Chernobyl district, you can create your own wacky-looking berries by dipping them into a vat of radioactive waste (or high fructose corn syrup will probably work the same). okay, this is actually the center area of a Grecian Windflower that happens to resemble raspberry-like shapes and colours. each protrusion measures 0.007 inches in diameter (equivalent to a single bristle on a toothbrush) and is surrounded by tiny clear hairs giving the appearance of ice crystals.

I was camping out on one of the lower peaks (about 8500 feet) in the Andes Mountains. It was a wet and somewhat tropical area and had a light rain most of the night. As daylight started making itself known, the remaining rain clouds started dissipating and swirling about the neighboring peaks. Once again, I grabbed my camera gear and prepared for a moody shot. The sunlight was peaking out here and there, clouds blowing by and changing each second, I just had to wait for everything to come into balance and squeeze the shutter's release cable. The dark neighboring mountain peak intertwined with scattering clouds created a mysterious and suspenseful image, expressing the drama in the air this morning.

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.

Columbines, in general, are a lovely flower coming in wide assortment of colour combinations. This giant columbine was growing all by itself and appeared very proud to be doing so well on it's own.