This is one of many pools of water from underground hot springs at Yellowstone. As the water spreads out at the surface, it cools and allows a variety of different algae to sustain life. In this case, the algae that survives in the hotter temperatures is blue and green, and the somewhat cooler algae appears red and orange, forming a circular rainbow pattern to mark the temperature ranges of the water.

mysterious mounds of rock peaking through the surface of a mineral water pond in JiuZhaiGou

High in the Urubamba Mountains, lies the recently famous ruins of MachuPicchu. The peak off to the right is WaynaPicchu. After a lengthy steep climb up damp and slippery rocks, it provides a nice overlook of the ancient city. Many photographers stand on the hill on the left side of this photo and capture a portion of the ruins; I chose to climb to a neighboring peak and shoot down over the entire area. The stepped plateaus going down the side were farmland and between each level are stone steps protruding out from the wall.

When one gets a camera close enough to a drip of water, the whole surrounding world can been seen within. This makes for a rather unique and interesting image that is sure to start conversation. Seeming to be an eternity, I v-e-r-y carefully moved my camera around to capture the surrounding patch of daisies and early morning sky inside this water-lens without the slightest disturbance to the delicate drop. After a few micro-adjustments to the position just right, the sun glistened on the edge of the drop and made a wonderful sparkle highlight.

appearing to be a nice artsy mosaic of tiles, this is actually a closeup shot of a Rose of Sharon flower. this particular shrub had white blooms with dark-pink patterns down in the throat. when you zoom in (way in) to where the pink and white meet, you can see cell patterns like this. (photo captures 0.05 x 0.03 inches of the flower petal so the height of this photo is the thickness of a credit card)

Although barely blue on their top-side when the light reflects just right, I saw these "Blue & White Longwings" in the light jungle regions just outside of Iquitos Perú (north-eastern Perú). Their lengthy wings flap rather slowly and gracefully (less fluttery than typical-proportioned butterflies), and they almost appearing to be flying in slow-motion and not fast enough to stay in the air.