Taken from the peak of Uetliberg, a Swiss mountain plateau next to Zurich, using a Vixen Polarie, a device that helps to even out the rotation of the Earth. Exposure time was about 90 seconds at ISO 50.

Adobe Photoshop CS6, Camera RAW 7.

Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.

Photo Settings: 15mm, f/2, 84 seconds, ISO 50.

Map: 47.3495, 8.4913

This was taken at a botanical garden in Kauai. It took a fair amount of patience, but the lighting and positioning finally worked out.

Adobe Lightroom 3, Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Nikon D700, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED.

Photo Settings: 70mm, f/2, 1/5000 second, ISO 1600.

Map: 21.9079, -159.5120

Here's a shot of the Pennybacker Bridge in Austin, Texas. I took this after midnight under a full moon on a warm Friday night late last summer. I had to wait a while to claim a good spot amongst all the young couples having a late-night "picnic." I shot this at f/8, ISO 200 for 30 seconds on a sturdy Manfrotto tripod. The wind was blowing harder than the photo suggests, so I had to hold down the tripod for the duration of the exposure to keep it steady, and it's a fairly heavy tripod. I wasn't planning on working out the old guns that night! I think by the time I took this particular shot my arms were shaking from all the work, so I do notice a bit more softness than I'd like in the image. Hopefully someone out there enjoys it...

Nikon D90, Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX AF 11-16mm f/2.8 shot at 16mm, f/8, ISO 200 for 30 seconds. DXO Optics Pro 6, Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Over a Thanksgiving holiday I was spending some solitary time at the rapids. The hike was full of colourful leaves and this bright red maple tree caught my attention.

This shot is a composite of an exposure lasting several minutes using my Lee Big Stopper to blur the water, and another series of photos combined using HDR to freeze the leaves.

Lee Big Stopper, Photoshop 6, Photomatix.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM.

Photo Settings: 21mm, f/11, ISO 100.

I took a trip to some of the Lord of the Rings locations in New Zealand and our guide explained to us that this area was chosen to be Ithilien in the movie.

Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED shot at f/5.0. Adobe Camera Raw.

Geirangerfjorden, Norway.

The series of waterfalls to the right is called "The Seven Sisters" and the hike to this view takes several hours and is pretty tough. I was hoping for better weather when we got there but I think the result came out fine nonetheless.

Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM.

The view from from the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM.

Photo Settings: 17mm, f/11, 10 seconds, ISO 100.

Map: 25.1970, 55.2736

Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake on the South Island of New Zealand. It is famous for its scenic beauty, so it surely doesn't hurt getting out of your car and taking a quick photo to remember the beauty of this unique scenery.

Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, f/11.0, Adobe Photoshop CS5.

I stayed over the night on the Hirschberg near Bad Hindelang, Bavaria, Germany. At midnight when I arrived but the sky was full of clouds. However, at the moment I woke up (at 3 a.m.) it was completely clear. It was cold so I couldn't sleep. Finally it was absolutely worth it to stay there :) I want to dedicate this to my friend Melli :) I hope you like it!

Canon EOS 550D, Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX AF 11-16mm f/2.8.

I took this shot during a balloon ride that my wife and I took during our anniversary. The morning sun was at our back as the pilot descended to skim over a cornfield. I thought that the shadow of our balloon was a nice contrast against the green of the cornfield. The natural color of the corn stalks was a little dull and so I adjusted the color and shadow levels with Picasa.

Nikon D3000, Google Picasa.

Location: 33.264821, -111.753353.