Photo Contest: Hot Pics for June

— -- 6/2/08 Hot Pic: "Sunbeams at Old Man's Cave," by Kevin Bonham, Proctorville, Ohio

Kevin writes that he took this photo at Hocking Hills State Park, in Ohio. He says that he took the photo from the creek bed that runs along the Old Man's Cave Trail fairly early in the morning, when there was still some mist in the air to diffuse the sunlight.

John writes: "I took this photo of the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, which is in Lubec, Maine, on the coast at the Canadian border. It's the farthest eastern point in the United States. I took this at 5 a.m., with a 15-minute exposure to get the star trails you can see in the image. I used a Canon EOS-5D and an ultra-wide Sigma 12 to 24mm lens set at 15mm."

Jeff says that he photographed this tree frog near his house with a Canon 30D. "He was remarkably adept at turning to face away from me every time I tripped the shutter."

6/23/08 Hot Pic: "Up Close and Personal," by Jackie Pham, Savage, Minnesota

Jackie writes: "I love macro photography and the unexpected beauty and detail that comes with it. I took this photo with a Canon PowerShot SD400 and edited with Adobe Lightroom. I know it's tempting, but try not to blow on it...I have allergies!"

6/2/08 Runner-Up: "Lonely Tree," by Caroline Cormier, Reno, Nevada

Caroline says she captured this scene near her house with a Nikon 70D.

Mike used a Canon 30D to take this extreme close-up of an industrious ant.

6/16/08 Runner-Up: "There's a Moon in the House," by Jeff Gzyl, Lawrenceville, Georgia

Jeff writes: "I was taking shots of the Tybee Lighthouse with my Canon Digital Rebel, mounted on a tripod. I had a star effect filter connected to the end of lens. When I noticed the proximity of the moon, I recomposed the shot and got one of the light beams to point directly at the moon."

Joseph writes: "I'm a meteorology student at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. I saw an isolated thunderstorm coming towards us, so I headed to the top of the parking garage near my dorm. I was able to capture this photo with my Nikon D40 using a 6-second exposure.