clearly appearing like something out of a Hollywood special-effects laboratory, this unreal-looking skin is actually quite common and is perhaps devouring something right outside your back door... it is a super-closeup of a June Bug's thorax (shoulder blade equivalent). the June Bugs in our area are an uninteresting plain brown, but as we explored it's outer surface, we noticed a very small metallic-looking shiny spot. far too small to see with the naked eye, we zoomed in on this spot and discovered it to be made up of many 'skin' cells of reds, oranges, and yellows each measuring around 1/3000 of an inch across. the green jellybean-like objects are actually pits in the bug's shell and have a hair growing out of each one (similar to a human pore). these deep bowel-shaped pits (about 1/400 of an inch long) were lined with more metallic-type cells that reflected our lighting back in various greens.

I am often quite bored during long flights and look for anything to do within the confined cabin space. Sometimes the cloud levels are just right while the sun is lower for better light, and I take the time to set up a tripod and camera on the flight. Tight spots like this are fantastic for my Trekker tripod. It is so versatile and accommodating to the oddest of places I wish to place a camera. Getting a few curious looks from nearby passengers, I carefully scout for a nice grouping of clouds to occupy my time. I usually try to avoid any view of the plane or wing, but this time it was unavoidable in my row. As it turns out, I really liked how the wing establishes where the photo was taken and prefer it over many shots from other flights.

path through California Redwoods

abstract shot of dichrolam film in bright sunlight

almost passing for a multitude of old dusty harpsichord strings, this is actually a closeup photo of a polished gemstone called 'Tiger Eye'. we zoomed in where the chatoyancy effect was the strongest to capture these fiber-like inclusions that make up the cat's eye appearance. the width of this photo is about 0.037 inches which is a tad thicker than a playing card.

i was lucky to have an ash tree growing right outside the studio. On one rainy day, i stepped out on the 3rd floor balcony and could look straight across into the branches holding countless drops of rain. It's a gentle misty-rain, so the drips grow, drop, and start again every few minutes. This gave me little time to set up before the scene would change and i'd have to recompose for a different shot.

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.

I am a personal fan of lots of foliage. I maintain several quite large house plants but they just don't compare to standing amongst a rain-forest. This was captured along the way to Hanna, a remote southern town on Maui.