this is a closeup shot of a copper snake chain necklace. the islands of gold are parts of corroded copper links that are kept bright by constantly rubbing against the skin. the aqua river is the remaining part of the copper that goes down into valleys between chain links where the corrosion has gone untouched and turned a beautiful blue-green. the chain of this necklace measures 0.045 of an inch in diameter and this photo captures an area equivalent to the thickness of a credit card.

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

Wild raspberry bushes in northern Indiana

Southern England

cluster of Dendrobium orchids in China rain-forest

a Cinnamon Fern in bloom

a pleasant combination of rocky cliffs and thick forest in southern Illinois. i was lucky to find a very large fallen boulder to climb up on to get above the brush and capture this view.

I was hiking to the Paria wilderness in Arizona and parked my car in southern Utah, as far as the nearest dirt road would take me. On my way to the Arizona border (located at the "V" on the far left), I passed by a grouping of vermillion striped mounds that reminded me of a dessert of some sort. Perhaps it was just the heat and my desire for something cold to eat.