Here's a backlit shot of Christchurch Cathedral (in the heart of Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand). If your monitor's brightness and contrast are set properly, you'll be able to see the details of the church (including a man standing outside of the church yelling scripture at passersby).

Handheld, 1/125 sec at f/11 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I like the blur of this seagull's wings as it's in flight, but the sharpness of the rest of the animal.

Handheld, 1/90 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Last week, I was walking around the Lakeway City Park near Lake Travis, Texas when I saw this concrete walkway that went out in the middle of a grassy field and abruptly ended. What was more bizarre was this awkward zig-zagging that the path did. I couldn't figure out why it was built that way (and later I went down and walked the path and still couldn't figure out why it went back and forth like that - it wasn't all that weird to walk down though…)

Handheld, 1/400 sec at f/8 on ISO 200, 85mm f/1.8 lens

Hamburgers are good food. A patty of ground beef cooked until browned on the outside set inside a bun. My favorite is probably In-N-Out's Double-Double which is near perfect with the textural and flavor differences between the soft sponge bread bun, crisp fresh lettuce, crunchy nearly-raw onions, chewy meat patties, and moist sauce all in the same bite. Sometimes, I want a different burger that's a little more and for those days there's The Counter. The Counter is a new kind of burger joint where you build your own burger on paper from a large collection of possible choices and, when it's made for you, eat it while enjoying a nice glass of wine. When I go to The Counter, I usually end up with a burger that looks something like this.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8

I'll start off the New Year with one of my favorite photographs. I took this photograph right after it rained in Death Valley, California. The cloud was looming overhead and the wind was blowing sand into the air from the distant sand dunes. I shot this from a low vantage point with a 28mm lens onto Fuji Velvia 50. I chose the film for its nearly unparalleled resolution (pretty much only Provia 100 beats it in terms of sharpness and detail) and post-processed in photoshop to simulate a red filter over black and white film to emphasize the cloud by darkening the sky.

Tripod, unrecorded exposure on Velvia 50, 28mm lens

New Year's Eve - and what better way to ring in the new year with a photograph of a sunrise in a distant (to me) land. I took this from the shore of Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, New Zealand.

Handheld, 1/20 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

This was a new sign for me when I saw it strolling around town in Seward, Alaska. Good thing Seward is backed by Mount Marathon - a 3022 foot (921 meter) uprising that locals (and people from all over the world) come to race up and down its face every July 4th. Running a little ways up that should get you out of harms way.

Handheld, 1/250 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Here is a somewhat zen image of flowering tea. Tea leaves are tied together in such a way that when they are steeped they expand to form a large flower. It's sort of pretty and also sort of ugly. (Sometimes, I think the tea leaves open up and it looks like a weird sea monster or something. Other times, I think it's incredibly beautiful how the leaves unfurl and expand in the hot water.)

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I have a soft spot for sea otters. I think they are one of the cutest animals to watch play (and pretty much just go about their lives). Here's a cropped shot I managed to take of a sea otter and her pup (resting on her belly). I think I took it on a boat in the Prince William Sound (Alaska).

Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/9.5 on ISO 400, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with 2x teleconverter

More green… why? Because it was there.

Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens