This 360° aerial panoramic of 'The Tower' was shot looking west on the UT campus. The 307-foot tall tower designed by Paul Cret of Philadelphia, was completed in 1937. Through the years, the Tower has served as the University's most distinguishing landmark and as a symbol of academic excellence and personal opportunity. It's infamous in that on August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, an architectural engineering student at the university, barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building with a scoped Remington 700 deer rifle and various other weapons. In a 96-minute standoff, Whitman killed 14 Austin residents and wounded many more. Police and armed citizens climbed up the Tower to the observation deck and shot Whitman to death.
A low-aerial capture of a hot air balloon in Steamboat Springs, CO.
Part of the Lost Pines Forest in Bastrop, TX, these loblolly pines are unique to the region and suffered a massive fire in late 2011 that scorched over 34,000 acres. Much of the underbrush has grown back but the pines remain stripped and scattered thoughout the forest floor.