Maldives. October 2014.

Tripod, ND filter, Adobe Lightroom 5.3.

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

Photo Settings: 17mm, f/8, 25 seconds, ISO 200.

Map: 5.1921, 73.1296

Massive aurora over Skaftafell, Iceland after an X5-Class flare reached Earth on February 27, 2014.

Pentax K-30, Samyang 14mm F2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical.

Photo Settings: 14mm, 8 seconds, ISO 800.

Map: 64.0167, -17.0000

Another scene captured from West Seattle looking at downtown Seattle at dusk. I used a 4-stop ND filter on this one for a longer shutter speed.

Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM.

Photo Settings: 16mm, f/8, 15 seconds, ISO 50.

The first falls encountered along the Emery Creek Trail, near Chatsworth, Georgia. The trail follows the creek (with about a dozen crossings) before coming to this falls, which is the first in a series of five major falls and numerous cascades. Spring is finally coming to the mountains, though the understory leaves have yet to appear for the most part (lots of leaves in the tree tops).

B+W Slimline Circular Polarizer, Hoya ND16 ND.

Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM.

Photo Settings: 17mm, f/13, 20 seconds, ISO 100.

A new street and bridge has been build in the near of my hometown. I grab the opportunity for an unofficially opening.

Adobe Lightroom 5.

Sony SLT-A55, Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC.

Photo Settings: 18mm, f/10, 30 seconds, ISO 200.

These are called "tea tree" or melaleuca or paperbark. The park after rain has vast pools, which is why the area is called a swamp, but the trees feel good in such environment.

Centennial Park, Randwick, NSW, Australia.

Nikon D7000, Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED.

Photo Settings: 52mm, f/16, 3 seconds, ISO 100.

This shot was taken at Kwun Tong Ferry Pier, Hong Kong. You can see new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with famous Victoria Harbour.

26th August, 2014

Adobe Lightroom 5.

Olympus Pen E-P5, Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm F3.5-5.6 ASPH. / Power O.I.S.

Photo Settings: f/9, 30 seconds, ISO 200.

Map: 22.3071, 114.2217

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)

Saw the storm system rolling in and went for a small hike to capture the storm rolling to our East. It was definitely worth it.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM.

Photo Settings: 24mm, f/4, 15 seconds, ISO 50.

Downtown Vancouver, as seen from up north in West Vancouver. Shot in October 2014.

Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS.

Samsung NX10.

Photo Settings: 100mm, f/5, 1 second, ISO 100.