"Empire o'lantern," New York, October 2009

Empire o'lantern

Every block seems to contain a symbol of New York, especially those that include a view of the Empire State Building.

"At the bottom of a glass," New York, November 2009

At the bottom of a glass

As much as I loved the theme "macro without bugs or flowers," I sometimes fall victim to the cliche myself. But even if the assignment had simply been "macro," I would've avoided the floral or insect options.

In any case, the distorted Blue Smoke coaster beneath the glass -- in this case beer, but it could easily be bourbon, among other choices -- is inviting. And tempting.

"Juniper light at Arches," Utah, March 2010

Juniper light

This became one of my favorite photos from out weeklong trip through northern Arizona and southeastern Utah. It was the end of a long day of hiking at Arches and we hoped to get one more loop in, out at the end of the park road near the big campground, hiking to Broken Arch and back to the car. But as we made our way along the path, we found ourselves alternating between dense sand and snow drifts up to our shins, even our knees. We grew tired quickly and decided to double back to the car, rather than finish the circuit.

But at least it got me this shot of the late-afternoon sunlight on the arches in the distance and the top of the tree in the foreground. If only I could drop everything now and go back out there ...

"Alone at Bass Harbor," Maine, May 2009

Alone at Bass Harbor

So many great places along the Maine coast, it's hard to decide which one -- or which locale -- to use. But Bass Harbor lighthouse is a gorgeous, remote, quiet spot I look forward to visiting whenever I'm on Mount Desert Island.

"Fisherman at sunset, Great Point," Nantucket, June 1991

Fisherman at sunset, Great Point

This was one of my longtime favorite images from my earliest days playing around with a camera. It's just one of those shots where you're looking at one thing -- the sunset over the water -- and it's an OK photo. But then you get that one element that makes it a better photo -- in this case, the fisherman silhouetted in the sunset.