An exhaust cloud engulfs Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Endeavour lifts off into the night sky.

Launch of the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station was at 4:14 a.m. EST. This was the second launch attempt for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew and the final scheduled space shuttle night launch. The first attempt on February 7, 2010 was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather.

The primary payload for the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station is the Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency.

Kennedy Media Gallery: KSC-2010-1674

Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin 'Connell.

Castle Mountain is located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately half-way between Banff and Lake Louise. Visitors usually only pull over to take pictures of wild animals, so they were kind of distracted when they saw me kneeing in the middle of the road, aiming towards Castle Mountain. :-D

Maligne Lake is a lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is approximately 22.5 km (14 mi) long and 97 m (318 ft) at its deepest point. The name Maligne is French for "wicked" and was used by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet (1801-1873) to describe the treacherous river that flows from the lake. The name soon spread to the lake, canyon, pass, mountain and range.

Nikon D300, Sigma 10-20mm, Photoshop CS4.

52°40'11"N, 117°32'34"W

Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada. Glacially fed, taken before its peak. Two days after this the rock was nearly under water.

Most vicious animal ever.

Yet another beautiful sunset looking East over the Atlantic from the Nantucket shore.

I took this picture of the beautiful Victoria Falls on my recent visit in November 2009. The photo is taken from the Devil's cataract in direction of the Main Falls. The water at that time of the year is at it's lowest compared to the rest of the year. However the green vegetation around, the many thousands of litres of water storming down into the valley and the sound of twittering birds around you makes this a location worth visiting any time of the year.

Canon EOS 40D, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/125 sec., 17mm, f/10. Post-processing in Adobe Lightroom 2, finishing touches in Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Sunset in the most beautiful place on the planet. Tahiti. The island of Moorea.

Sony Alpha 100

This is a shot from a morning excursion to the beach. This 17-minute shot was taken at 4:50am before the sunrise in almost complete darkness. I brought a beach chair and relaxed while this picture was taken.

Nikon D90 with Sigma 10-20mm.