I'm precariously hanging over a sheer cliff to capture a straight-down perspective of the ocean waters below. With my assistant faithfully grasping my belt and a small nearby tree, i was able to get the camera gear over the edge enough to watch for the best mixture of rock and swirling waves.

early morning on Kauai

Meet "Crusty" the sand crab on the coral-sand beaches of Guam. He was kind enough to not move while I setup my gear in very close proximity and capture this macro shot.

vertical blade-like mounds of sandstone in eastern Utah

sunset above the clouds near hawaiian islands

an up-shot of the large clusters of dates on this Phoenix dactylifera in Kauai

I was traveling through a high mountain pass at about 14,000 feet and came across an area that was beginning to melt in preparation of spring. I started sizing up the scene and wandered about for the perfect perspective. The masses of melting snow had a beautiful ripple pattern and a large melted area ahead with mini-glaciers made a great foreground. In my usual excitement in preparing for a shot, I commonly overlook safety, and this was no exception. As I squatted down with my camera and pod ready to capture this lovely winter scene, I kept noticing a continuous sinking feeling which required camera adjustments to re-frame the picture properly. The melting snow was settling from my presence and I began to wonder if that melted area ahead was really part of a frozen lake. I looked around and noticed that I was in the middle of a large flat area surrounded by a distant wall of trees all around - I was standing in the center of a large lake. Just as I was debating on whether I would fall through the melting snow, I figured I was already set up for a good photo, so I might as well shoot some film. Thankfully, I made it back onto solid land without incident.

okay, so this is really myrtle spurge (euphorbia myrsinites) and the first time i saw it, it truly appeared alien to me. It had such an amazing combination of unique shapes and unusual method of branching, that i was certain this was from another world.