Gold Desert Flower and Caterpillar

Not only were the flowers spectacular in the Anza-Borrego desert, but so too were the caterpillars! Cleverly camouflaged against the gold flower was this spectacular caterpillar.

To see larger images of this photo depending on your internet connection, go to either the broadband desert flower gallery or the dial-up optimized desert flower gallery.

Blooming Cactus in Anza-Borrego Desert

Last weekend I went with a friend to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Southern California to see the spring blooming of wildflowers. The park has had about 4" of rain this past rainy season which is a good average for that region so there was a pretty good display of desert flowers this spring.

We spent most of our time in Plum Canyon and were well rewarded for our efforts as there were many flowers blooming and the start of some cactus blooms too.

This is a photo of one of the cactus blooms. This cactus seems to tend to grow along the ground rather than upright, and the entire crown of the cactus is covered with a circle of flowers. So beautiful!

You can see this and other desert flowers in my desert flower photo gallery. For visitors with slower internet access, you may prefer to visit this dial-up optimized desert flower photo gallery.

Polynesian Guy with Turtle Tattoo #2

This is an updated version of this photo of a Polynesian guy with a turtle tattoo on his shoulder. On his arms is a traditional shark-tooth pattern tattoo. The earlier version of this photo has proven to be the most popular photo on my website for some reason; I guess people must just love looking at guys with tattoos or are looking for ideas or traditional Polynesian tattoos to copy.

This image is also cropped for 8x10 printing since someone recently contacted me about buying an 8x10 print. If you are interested in prints, let me know. I can provide prints in a range of sizes and papers.

Larger versions of this photo can be viewed in either the broadband people and portraits gallery or for those with slower Internet connections, in the dial-up people and portraits gallery.

Here's an article that tells how traditional wood carving by Polynesian races evolved into the carving of the skin in what is now known as the tattooing: The Origins of Polynesian Tattooing.

Blue and Gold Macaw #2

This is the same photo as the previous posting, but with significant work done with it. Notably I have blurred and darkend the wing at the right front to provide a sense of depth of field. To draw attention to the bird's eye, I used Photoshop's "Lighting Effects" filter placing a soft omni spot on his eye and also a spot light running from the lower right to the top left across his face.

Working with this photo made me think about what it might be like to get a parrot. Luckily right about the same time I ran across this story from NPR called A Delightful, Awful Marriage, all about the joys, and drawbacks, of letting a parrot move in on your life. Quite funny! And quite a warning!

This and other photos I have taken of birds can be found in the bird photo galleries. There's one for broadband visitors, and one for dialup visitors. Here are the links to each:

Bird Photo Gallery - Broadband Flash Gallery

Bird Photo Gallery - Dial Up Optimized

Blue and Gold Macaw Parrot

This beautiful blue and gold Macaw lives with his buddy, a scarlet Macaw at the Sheraton Hotel in Kaanapali on Maui.

You can see this and other nature photos in the Bird Photography Gallery.

If you're interested in finding out more about Macaw parrots, visit the Wikipedia page about Macaws.

Bodyboarder #4

Fourth in a series of photos of a bodyboarder at the beach in Kaanapali, Maui. This photo along with others in the series can be seen in the action photography gallery.

Bodyboarder #3

Third action shot of this bodyboarder at the beach in front of the Westin Hotel at Kaanapali, Maui.

View this and more action shots in the action photo gallery.