Otter Point, Acadia National Park, Maine - Oct 1997

A: Ocean and the tallest mountains on the US Atlantic coast meet on Mount Desert Island, where old glaciers have created a rugged coastline of numerous inlets and coves enclircling domes and lakes.

B: As I got ready to photograph sunrise an hour too early, I sat on a granite slab, contemplating the dynamic meeting of the ocean with the tallest headland of the US Atlantic coast. Despite its relentless attack, the ocean had not yet managed to smooth out the jagged edges of this rocky sentinel. When the sun eventually rose, the first few rays to meet the continent highlighted for a brief moment the entire ragged coastline. The unique pink granite responded with a soft orange glows against the deep blue water.

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah - Nov 1996

A: Entrada and Navajo sandstone has been sculpted by erosion into a whimsical rock garden that includes the largest collection of natural arches on earth, as well as windows, pinnacles, spires, fins, balanced rocks, and pedestals.

B: What distinguishes Delicate Arch (chosen by the state of Utah to be its symbol) among the more than two thousand arches in the park is its graceful shape, curving above a slickrock basin, acting as a perfect natural frame for La Sal Mountains backdrop. On that frigid late November evening, other hikers took a quick look before heading back. As I stood in the bitting wind, the last light intensified the colors of the red entrada sandstone, contrasting it to the blue hues of the snow-covered slope. By the time I returned to the parking lot, everybody had left; the temperature had dropped to single digit; my car battery had died. I relied on my expedition-grade sleeping bag to keep me warm for the night.

Cedar Pass, Badlands National Park, South Dakota - Oct 1998

A: Layers of mud sediments in one of the largest protected section of the Great Plains prairie have been eroded into a strange terrain of countless gullies and walls that contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds.

B: As the light of dawn painted the sky a delicate pastel, I stepped gingerly over the cracked earth, not wanting to even leave footprints, although I knew that the bizarre erosion architecture surrounding me would soon succumb to the creative and destructive forces of water.

South Rim, Big Bend National Park, Texas - Nov 2000

A: Delimited by spectacular canyons of the great bend of the Rio Grande River, the Chisos, an entire contiguous mountain range, dominate a surprising desert often punctuated by resilient flowers, where the Basin region and the Chihuahuan meet.

B: After hiking up to the top of the Chisos, an entire mountain range protected by Big Bend National Park, I slept under a large pinyon pine. The next morning, I wandered along the South Rim, admiring the panoramic view of mountains below. I discovered with delight several beautiful giant agaves, typical plant of the Chihuahuan desert. The dusty blue leaves harmonized in the soft morning light, adding a lively focal point to this composition.

Elliott Key, Biscayne National Park, Florida - Feb 2002

A: Created by an accumul ation of coral thriving in the stunning northermost reef in North America, the Keys act as tropical barrier islands, allowing the sheltered bay to be lined up with the longest mangrove shoreline on the East coast.

B: Created by an accumulation of coral, the Keys act as tropical barrier islands, allowing the sheltered bay to be lined up with a long mangrove shoreline. As I walked on the soft sandy floor, towing behind me a small inflatable boat for my camera bag, I felt the pleasurable caress of the warm, waist deep water, the brilliant sun, the gentle breeze.The place gently embraced me like an idle lullaby.