southern China

although pesky, once you start to explore the common housefly, all sorts of amazing discoveries can be made. this is a super-closeup shot of the shiny metallic area on a blue bottle fly (blue housefly) capturing an area about the thickness of a playing card. the surface contains deep dimple-like cavities (similar to a golf ball) with an ultra tiny hair (about 1/8000 of an inch) in each one. the blue metallic colouring is mirror-like and reflects our lighting around like a highly polished automobile.

Banyan tree silhouettes and reflections in Horseshoe Lake (southern Illinois) during sunset

cluster of Dendrobium orchids in China rain-forest

a picture-perfect passage between cliffs in southern Illinois

sunset over the many islands in northwestern Washington

There are many woodsy areas within biking distance of the studio and they make wonderful places to explore and capture images. This particular one is nearly all pine trees and has a wonderful air about it. The ground is very soft with years of accumulated pine needles and while the sun is high, light dances through the trees and makes for very interesting patterns for as far as the eye can see. I chose to capture this as a wider shot to enhance the field of view so the viewer becomes more immersed and can almost smell the pine air.

Southern Arizona wilderness