Painted elephants carry tourists through the ancient compounds of Agra Fort and Palace. This one has a dot on its forehead – very Indian. I moved in close to stress the detail of its pores. When seen as a group, these pores create a texture that defines the elephant.

Bab Agnaou, a 900 year old archway in the walls of Marrakesh, is caved of sandstone. We can still see the rich red oxidation in it, melding with the graying blue stone. When we look at such detail as this, we take the subject out of its context. We see the intricate work of craftsmen long dead, still surviving after nearly a thousand years of enduring the Moroccan climate extremes. We see not the arch itself here. (You can see that by clicking on the thumbnail below.) Instead, this detail defines the nature of its builders.

This stone marker, which probably has marked the Idaho/Utah border since they became states in the 1890s, is very small – so small that it is easy to miss, particular when it appears within the shadows of the surrounding foliage. I thought it worth exploring in detail, so I took a much closer look with my camera, shooting it from a corner to show both states equally. The marker shows the wear of more than a century of seasons in its detail. The cracks, chips, and discoloration are equally shared by both states – their names boldly chiseled on calcified marble, as if on an old tomb. Since the marker apparently belongs to neither Utah nor Idaho, nobody takes responsibility to keep it looking like new. That’s why I found it so fascinating. It seems to lead a life of its own, one of the Old West’s hidden treasures.

A wooded garden in the heart of Florence overflows with these evergreen plants, ablaze in pink or white bell shaped blossoms. I moved in on a single pink blossom from directly overhead. Using my lense’s macro setting, I could get close enough to its petals to pick up detail not generally seen with the casual eye. I made this photograph at what must be the peak of the flower’s reproductive process – the blossom is laden with stamens – tiny filaments with pollen sacs on the ends of them. This detail helps us to see the flower as a mass of living detail – a work of both beauty and function.

The sign is new; the building is old – very old. The cigarette business is lucrative here. I noticed that smoking is still very common in China. There is a wealth of expressive detail in this image, but none more important than the English translation of the name of the store. The English words are not only whimsical, but also quite incongruous. Given the nature of everything else on this building, it was surprising to discover it.

Roads die. Route 66, once “America’s Main Street,” was bypassed and perished. And so do the cars that once drove upon them. This early morning sunlight may ease the winter chill in this Barstow junkyard, but it won't bring either the road or this rusty truck back to life. Both have been long since been replaced. I’ve tried to make that point in this image by stressing the detail on this vintage dashboard. The glass is nearly opaque and covered in dust. Rust is everywhere. The markings on the odometer have faded into obscurity. A wire cuts its face in two. We peer through a window frame and steering wheel to find no signs of life.