I took this night shot facing on the California coast near Big Sur. I believe I made a 30 second exposure, but I can't remember. You can tell how long the exposure is by the arc of the star trails. Every 1/4 degree (15 minutes of arc) is 1 minute. (I remember this by remembering that 360 degrees is a whole day, so 15 degrees per hour.) I'm too lazy to measure the angle right now so I'lll just guess it was 30 seconds. The bright yellow light is a lighthouse.

Tripod, unrecorded exposure on Velvia 50

While flying from the Rotorua on the North Island to Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand, I spotted this incredible looking combination of colors. The colors of the lakes and canal are impossibly cyan and blue due to the sediment suspended in the water carried by the melting glacier water. (Or at least that's what they tell me…)

Handheld, 1/1500 sec at f/4.8 on ISO 100, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Handheld, 1/90 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Ferns are beautiful plants both from a distance (where you can see the whole fern or many ferns as a group) and from close up. Ferns unlike most plants carry their reproductive centers in their leaves (called fronds). In this backlit shot of the fronds of a fern, you can see the spores.

Handheld, 1/90 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I spotted this tiny puppy being carried by a little girl at the Campbell Oktoberfest. (The festival - which claims to "aim to be among the most authentic around" - wasn't much different from other street fairs. It was more crowded than any other food festival we've been to, but I suspect it was because of the beer theme. Didn't really feel German though.) I really like how the puppy has its tiny paw resting on the girl's thumb.

Handheld, 1/1600 sec at f/5.0 on ISO 100, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Chef Christopher Kostow used to helm the kitchen of Mountain View's 2-Michelin star restaurant, Chez TJ. I had the pleasure of dining there just before my 30th birthday and had a great time working my way through a twelve course tasting menu. When Chef came out to chat briefly, I told him my food was delicious but I found the amuse bouche and the first couple courses a bit overly salted. (When I go out to a nice restaurant and someone asks me what I think of the food… well, I tell them.) I think he was a little taken aback that I would make such a comment (he soon excused himself) and Tina gave me a "look". (She still tells people that I made unfriendly comments about Chef's food to his face - I always defend myself saying that I praised the other aspects of the food as well!) In any case, most of the twelve courses were excellent and this beef tenderloin, slowly poached, and served with slices of Burgundy truffle, parsnips, and black trumpets was a real highlight. The meat was perfectly cooked - extremely tender and juicy - and the truffle's earthy tones complimented the beef perfectly.

Handheld, 1/40 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 250, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

The Texas Capitol is a beautiful building. Built in 1888, it was constructed of limestone (foundation), masonry, and cast iron (structural support). The exterior gets its wonderful color from granite quarried only fifty miles from the site. An interesting bit of trivia is that the construction was financed with land instead of money - three million acres that became the XIT Ranch (which operated famously from the late 1880's to the early 1910's). I took this photo from the side, capturing only the western wing and front entrance of the structure. I didn't quite realize how big the building was until I was inside. Turns out the Texas Capitol is the largest of the state capitols (in square footage).

Handheld, 1/250 sec at f/13 on ISO 200, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Denali (or Mount McKinley as the official maps call it) is the tallest mountain in the world from base to tip. Mount Everest's peak is higher above sea level, but no mountain comes close to the rise and vertical size that Denali has. On our more recent trip to Alaska, we stayed at the Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna within the heart of Denali National Park. On the evening of our arrival, there was clear weather around Denali - a rare event. Usually the mountain is shrouded in clouds and impossible to see. We went with a small party from the group that was staying in Kantishna that evening and was driven to the northern shore of Wonder Lake (in the foreground) for a clear view of Denali. I set up the tripod and took a few photos when the guide wanted to head back and asked us to return to the vehicle. I was a little upset - on my previous trips to Alaska I had never had the opportunity to see Denali and here it was! It was a bit past 10:00pm so I could understand why the guide wanted to return to camp, but we were only half an hour or an hour from the magic Golden Hour before sunset (which in Alaska in the summer lasts about 2 to 3 hours). Unfortunately, I didn't make a fuss about it and I missed it. The next day the mountain was completely obscured and it was the last we saw of Denali. You can see that the light has just started to change and produce that yellow glow that would have made this picture great. I still regret not making more of a point to stay.

Tripod, 1/350 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Living next to a major expressway means that every once in a while we'll hear a car accident or near miss (the screeching of tires as drivers swerve and brake). A couple years ago, there was a particularly loud crash and when we looked out the window there was an over turned vehicle. The paramedics arrived within a minute or two (I live about 300-400 yards from a Fire Station) and, as far as we could tell, the driver walked away from his vehicle. Since I almost always have at least one tripod setup with a camera in my home (usually for photographing food), I was able to take a couple pictures of the accident. The odd looking blocky crosses formed by the emergency lights are caused by photographing through a window screen.

Tripod, 1/8 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

I find photographing people to be a fairly difficult. It might be because I've spent so much time taking pictures of landscapes and food (both mostly non-moving scenes) that I just haven't had much practice taking pictures of moving people. Also, I've noticed that interesting people tend to be in poor lighting conditions and also have a tendency to have awkward facial expressions when their bodies are in a graceful pose or vice versa. I took this picture of a dancer at the Winter 2007 party thrown by the company that Tina works for.

Handheld, 1/125 sec at f/1.8 on ISO 800, 85mm f/1.8 lens