Unlike most visitors, I find Zion National Park most magical during low season in the winter. It rains . . . a lot, but the low hanging clouds against the bright orange rocks and abundant waterfalls make for the most incredible captures. I hope this shares a slice of what a truly special place Zion is.

Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM.

Map: 37.2750, -112.9445

I took this photo in the winter, north of Phoenix, Arizona. I didn't think it would turn out but you can see at least 24 stars which is nice. Obviously the entire Milky Way isn't visible that time of the year but there is a lot less chaos in the photo, as I personally prefer.

A tripod was used, as well as Adobe Lightroom.

Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM.

Photo Settings: 24mm, f/4, 15 seconds, ISO 3200.

We almost missed this sunset due to snow and clouds rolling in and creating a complete blanket of gray skies. However, we decided to wait, standing in the cold wind and snow flurries, just in case. After a couple hours of waiting, we were treated to one of the more vivid sunsets I have seen in quite some time. The sky exploded with a fiery glow as the winds calmed and the snow stopped.

Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom.

Nikon D810, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED.

Photo Settings: 19mm, f/16, 4 seconds, ISO 64.

This is the first time I visited Yosemite and thus obviously the first time I saw the famed Tunnel View vista. This is at sunrise, about 5:30 in the morning. The crowds were still thin, and many roads in the park had just been re-opened for the Spring/Summer. I have adjusted the RAW file for exposure and white balance in Photoshop and Light Room, with additional minor tweaks in Exposure X2.

Lightroom, Photoshop, Exposure X2. Sony a7rii, Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 lens.

Sony Alpha 7R, Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF).

Photo Settings: 17mm, f/5, 2.5 seconds, ISO 400.

Map: 37.7156, -119.6769

After a day with cloudy and rainy weather, we were lucky to get a great sunset on top of the Empire State Building. The colors of the sky and of the fading city were just great!

Canon EOS 5DS R, Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM

Map: 40.7483, -73.9855

Beautiful sunrise above Bohol flying from Cebu to Cagayan De Oro in the Philippines.

Adobe Lightroom.

, Sony FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T*.

It was a rainy, cool day in Northern California. I wanted to capture the mood of the forest.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop CC.

Nikon D600, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G.

The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194) appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust.

This sharpest-ever image of the Whirlpool Galaxy, taken in January 2005 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, illustrates a spiral galaxy's grand design, from its curving spiral arms, where young stars reside, to its yellowish central core, a home of older stars. The galaxy is nicknamed the Whirlpool because of its swirling structure.

The Whirlpool's most striking feature is its two curving arms, a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. Many spiral galaxies possess numerous, loosely shaped arms which make their spiral structure less pronounced. These arms serve an important purpose in spiral galaxies. They are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. In the Whirlpool, the assembly line begins with the dark clouds of gas on the inner edge, then moves to bright pink star-forming regions, and ends with the brilliant blue star clusters along the outer edge.

Some astronomers believe that the Whirlpool's arms are so prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the Whirlpool's arms. At first glance, the compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm. Hubble's clear view, however, shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind the Whirlpool. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years.

As NGC 5195 drifts by, its gravitational muscle pumps up waves within the Whirlpool's pancake-shaped disk. The waves are like ripples in a pond generated when a rock is thrown in the water. When the waves pass through orbiting gas clouds within the disk, they squeeze the gaseous material along each arm's inner edge. The dark dusty material looks like gathering storm clouds. These dense clouds collapse, creating a wake of star birth, as seen in the bright pink star-forming regions. The largest stars eventually sweep away the dusty cocoons with a torrent of radiation, hurricane-like stellar winds, and shock waves from supernova blasts. Bright blue star clusters emerge from the mayhem, illuminating the Whirlpool's arms like city streetlights.

The Whirlpool is one of astronomy's galactic darlings. Located 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs), the Whirlpool's beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy's structure and star-forming processes.

Object Names: Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, NGC 5194/5

Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

National park Sächsische Schweiz, Germany.

Adobe Lightroom CC.

Nikon D750.

Photo Settings: 24mm, f/8, 1/30 second, ISO 800.

This is a shot of famous baths Maria de Padilla in Seville, Spain. The baths are located in the magnificent Real Alcazar, one of the most beautiful places in Spain and a good example of typical mudéjar architecture found in southwest Europe.

Processed in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.

Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR.

Photo Settings: 16mm, f/9, 6 seconds, ISO 100.