JiuZhaiGou Valley, China

hot mineral springs in Wyoming

northern Indiana

an 80-foot waterdrop along the McKenzie River in Willamette National Forest

distant wall of sandstone in warm evening light (Utah wilderness)

I had not seen a Bald Eagle before and certainly did not expect to see one in Indiana. I was driving along a stretch of highway with forest on both sides and where hawks are a common site. I usually scan the sky to see what might be flying around and one day I see an absolutely huge silhouette swooping down. It was far bigger than any hawk I've seen, so I pulled off the road and began to explore. Not far away, I learn that it was a Bald Eagle and it was now calmly sitting in a tree. I reposition my car to make full use of a hill, then stood on top with my tripod and longest lens to grab this shot.

i just couldn't pass up a side trip to Mars to grab a couple of surface shots! Or maybe i just happen to be inside a volcano crater and the surrounding red-rock landscape looks much like a Martian world.

one of the dozens of tiny islands in the Hawaiian Islands