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In one photo, the polar bear hovers underwater, ears pressed back, paws extended, bubbles escaping the glorious schnozz. In other pictures, the animal inspects the possibilities of a plastic emergency cone, or takes in the view above the blue-green expanse of its pool. Later, the camera catches the creature paddling off, flashing a glimpse of gargantuan paws.

Welcome to the zoo photography of Valerie Abbott. Through her extensive collection on Flickr, this amateur photographer has captivated viewers with her astonishing portraits of wild animals.

We first discovered Valerie, whose Flickr name is "ucumari," through her "Bears of the World" collection. But her ursine photographs are just the beginning. Elephants, giraffes, lions, gorillas, tigers, wolves, and parrots romp, run, swim, doze, and flap through these colorful, dignified sets.

When we wrote Valerie, she told us how she got started capturing the mugs of these incredible creatures—and what her "secret trick" is...

Hi there, Valerie. We know you volunteer at the North Carolina Zoo. We think they should hire you as a full-time photographer! What is your day job? And how much time do you devote to photography?

I would love to be a full-time photographer at a zoo or any place that has animals that are well cared for! My "day" job is really a night job... I work in the prepress department of our local newspaper, and no, I'm not a photographer there! Read the full profile...

When Stephanie and Mav embarked on their "year of mornings," they'd never worked together before. And they live 3,191 miles apart—one in Portland, Oregon; the other in Portland, Maine. Yet, these kindred spirits have bridged their continental divide with a daily project that's become one of the most quietly beautiful photoblogs on the Web.

Their joint endeavor, named "3191" after the driving distance between them, challenges the two artists to take a digital image each morning for a year and post it online. As displayed, the pair of daily photos belies the geographic space separating the women. Each image lies flush against the other, and the subjects bounce off each other in startling, lovely ways.

We checked in with Stephanie and Mav over email to see how they got started and how they capture such light-filled images...

On December 7, 2006, you each took a photo early in the day that was eerily similar, and the images inspired you to start 3191. Tell us more about how that came about.

Stephanie: To my memory, we both posted them on Flickr, and Mav emailed me a day or so later, pairing them together and proposing the idea for the photo blog. I admire Mav's spirit and aesthetic a ton, so I was totally thrilled to participate.

Mav: When I logged into Flickr and saw Stephanie's photo, I just kept looking at it over and over. It embodied everything I love about art and photography. In other words, I saw beauty in the everyday in her photograph. That inspired me... I emailed her and she was excited, so we proceeded with our idea.  Read the full profile...

Calling itself "the junkyard of art," this site displays blurry, unfocused, and bungled photos in another light. When we fixate on the perfect snapshot of our family, weddings, or vacations, we deny ourselves the strange beauty in a blunder. From an almost bicycle to a sporting crowd, from a restless waiter to a rainy airport, from an amusement park to a fat cat—the unintended effects of a botched attempt can have more life than those flawless pictures we frame (boring!). Some of them can even resemble gallery-worthy art. Don't be so lightning fast to delete that mistake. Send it in! Your photo "error" still has a chance to be appreciated.