like most things we get our hands on,.. we photograph it. this is a closeup shot of a synthetic-foam brush and after we zoomed in, it became quite clear on how it holds paint so well. the foam strands (connected together like a web) average around 0.0027 inches in diameter (size of a human hair).

this would be the coolest set of marbles around, if only they were really marbles. this is actually an extreme closeup photo of a compound eye on the Green-blue Long-legged fly (Condylostylus). these flies are much smaller than the common/plump housefly, and they serve good purpose around your garden's plants. this one had red eyes that originally appeared like rows of warm-red jelly beans with an overall dull luster. but once we pinpointed the studio's lighting into the eye's lenses, it rapidly increased the aging/deterioration process and the inner-eye elements started displaying this beautiful crackled pattern. each of these lenses measure 0.0008 inches in diameter (about the thickness of kitchen plastic wrap), and a closer look will show that some have a tiny three-hair 'grappling-hook' coming out between them.

winding access path between fields of rice in Chinese countryside.

looking quite similar to an xmas tree with ornaments and tinsel, this is actually a photograph of a hostile invasion possibly taking place in your own backyard. if you see a plant with a white or light-gray powdery substance on the top-side of its leaves, it is probably an invasion of the 'White Powdery Mildew Fungi'. many different types of these spores spread with the wind, rain, birds, and even the feet of insects, and when the right type of spore lands on a suitable plant, it quickly takes hold by rooting into the plant. it then steals nutrition from the plant to grow an outbreak of thread-like structures over the surface (seen as white rice-like chains in this photo) which eventually block the plant's photosynthesis process and kills it. when the mildew fungus is sufficiently mature, it develops new sets of spores (inside the brown raisin-like containers) to travel in the wind and repeat the cycle. each of the brown spore-sacks measure about 0.0014 inches in diameter which is the thickness of kitchen aluminum foil.

After the boiling hot mineral water oozes up from the earth, it eventually starts to cool and the mineral elements fall out of suspension. Since the edges are cooler than the middle, the sediment builds up a little perimeter wall one grain at a time. Over time, large cascading pools are created as they overflow and puddle to create more.

crown-shaped pinnacle in Colorado

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

path through California Redwoods