This bumblebee is flying straight up from the flower. There is a popular misconception that given their wing size and speed bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly. Nearly 100 years ago it was said that air resistance made bumblebee flight impossible but that it didn’t obviously match reality.

  Here in the mountains of North Carolina the lush green of the forest peaks in early summer. All the leaves have just finished unfolding and insects haven’t yet chewed their way through this giant salad bar also known as a forest. A gentle breeze rippled the surface of this […]

The southern Appalachians are old mountains. They have eroded and are now mostly covered by trees. In a few spots boulders provide a view out to undulating ranges of green peaks. Here is part of the Black Mountain range with a small wildflower meadow in the foreground giving way to […]

This shot was taken at a moment of high bee drama. The bee on the flower has its front leg up as if to punch the intruder. The flying honeybee broke off its flight a millisecond after I took this shot, deciding to avoid a confrontation. There were plenty of […]

This is a very subtle waterfall known as a slide where the water runs directly over the bedrock. There isn’t any cascade but instead the water flows directly over a huge boulder covered with moss. It was lined on either side with flowering rhododendron.

  July heat brings flowers to the fields. They thrive in the hot sun. With them come the insects. In this picture daisies dot the background while Queen Anne’s lace blossoms blow gently in the breeze. I isolated the bloom in the upper right against the shadowed forest to show […]

This is from Madagascar. This mineral is iridescent. It has its own mineral term named for the shimmering blues and greens – labradorescence. This isn’t a reflection but instead light entering the specimen and reflecting from a twinning surface which can be observed as parallel color lines inside the stone.

While waiting for the fireworks to start I was struck by a thick layer of fog coming off the mountains. Just after the fireworks show started the fog and a huge cloud descended enveloping them. Most people left but for those of us who stayed an occasional break revealed this […]

This is Flat Creek which runs through the quaint mountain town of Montreat in the North Carolina mountains. This long exposure captures the reflection of rhododendrons lining the creek. The creek’s motion is slowed to cloud like white ripples. I shot this from a small tripod perched on a boulder […]