a picture-perfect passage between cliffs in southern Illinois

this is a Maple tree photographed at night and illuminated only by an industrial-strength helium-cadmium laser (441-nanometer blue). extra care was taken to perform this unusual lighting technique in a secluded country setting due the laser beam having an effective distance of 35-miles. I'd like to note that no plants or animals (or photography assistants) were harmed in the making of this photo; although, we might have sterilized a few mosquitoes.

Ka'anapali Beach is famous for it's gentle shallow waters and beautiful ocean sunsets like this one.

despite it's appearance, this is not a coral reef growth, nor anything under the ocean. it is actually a closeup shot within the center of a daisy. we were surprised to discover that the flower's fuzzy brown cone was made up of these finger-like structures that looked so much like something under the sea. the photo captures 0.036 x 0.054 inches (about the thickness of a DVD) of the flower's center cone.

Looks like these two are watching each others' back preparing for a mission.

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.

This is a collection of some of the water drops flowing into the Yosemite Valley. It is difficult to take a bad photograph in this area, as the main valley area is surrounded with lush pines and giant cliff walls in all directions. The falls were abnormally robust this summer due to a previous heavy winter and wet spring.

foliage on the tropical island of Guam