Lake Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the Four Forested Settlements") is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.

I'm standing on top of the Fronalpstock, 1,921 metres (6,302 ft) above sea level, above the meadow of the Rütli, the traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation. Happy National Day Switzerland!

Adobe Lightroom CC.

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

Photo Settings: 24mm, f/6, 1/160 second, ISO 100.

Map: 46.9681, 8.6373

Ben Lomond (Bob's Peak) is a mountain in New Zealand which offers a great aerial scenic view over Queenstown, a resort town at Lake Wakatipu. A Skyline Gondola ascends Bob's Peak on Ben Lomond, making it easy to lift your 20 pound camera gear up to the 1,631m summit.

Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop CC.

45°0?25.2?S 168°36?56?E

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

Photo Settings: 14mm, f/4, 1.6 seconds, ISO 50.

Map: -45.0070, 168.6156

A nice sunset at Cape Arago on the Oregon Coast on the evening of February 2nd, 2014.

I had to dodge a few incoming waves at this mid-tide time. My wife stands watch to yell at me when a big incoming one makes me grab the tripod and run. Finally captured the reflections I wanted.

Adobe Lightroom 5.3, Adobe Photoshop Elements 11, Lee 0.9 ND Hard Grad filter.

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

Photo Settings: 17mm, f/11, 2 seconds, ISO 50.

Sunrise off the coast of Texas.

Adobe Lightroom 5.

Klöntalersee is a natural lake in the Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. Since 1908, it has been used as a reservoir for electricity production. The dam's construction substantially increased the lake's volume.

This is certainly one of my favorite lakes in Switzerland!

Adobe Photoshop CS, Nik Color Efex.

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

Photo Settings: 18mm, f/6, 1/160 second, ISO 50.

Map: 47.0256, 8.9806

View from Victoria Peak onto Hong Kong, Kowloon and the surrounding areas.

Taken with Canon EOS 5DS R and the Zeiss Milvus 18mm lens, the sharpness and the level of detail are absolutely insane. You will need some time to practice because there is no autofocus on those lenses but its so much fun (and results are so insane) once you got used to it.

Hong Kong, April 2017.

Canon EOS 5Ds R, Carl Zeiss Milvus 18mm f/2.8

Capture One Pro 10.

Photo Settings: 18mm, f/4, 1/800 second, ISO 100.

Landmannalaugar is located in the highlands in Iceland. This was taken during a 10km hike around this incredible place, quite difficult to get to regardless of conditions.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

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

Photo Settings: 70mm, f/8, 1/320 second, ISO 200.

Map: 63.9706, -19.0853

Shot in May 2013 near the city of Kashan in Iran.

Photo Settings: 29mm, f/4, 1/2500 second, ISO 200.

The Matterhorn, as seen from the Lauterbrunnen valley.

Adobe Photoshop CC, Nik Color Efex, Adobe Camera RAW.

Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II.

Photo Settings: 200mm, f/5, ISO 50.

Map: 46.6000, 7.9167

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)