CIOPhoto

- Can you guess who this is, what the situation was and where the picture was take? I'll give you a big hint - it's a picture of a picture. Good luck. iPhone 4, 1/20 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

- The hot temperatures and still air resulted in a thick early morning haze but all of that atmosphere helped to produce a really awesome sunrise. Canon G1X, 1/2000 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

- As Louis Armstrong would sing - "You like tomato and I like tomahto." The tomatoes or tomahtos, take your pick, are in season. Nothing like a fresh vine ripe tomato, or tomahto, for a taste of summer. Canon 7D, 1/40 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

- Robert lost his first tooth this week. It came loose while he was biting into an apple and then he pulled out himself. He's a tough guy. Of course he got a visit from the Tooth Fairy and got $5.00 for his tooth! Canon 7D, 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm.

- I guess you can call this my "signature" photo. I sign my name dozens of times everyday day at work - contracts, agreements, HR paperwork and even small dollar amount mileage reimbursements. It's kind of sad that the Director of Technology is stuck in an analog bureaucracy. My only joy is that if I have to do it, I'll do it in style with a fine fountain pen . Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 1600, 100mm macro with two LED litepanels.

- If you're a regular follower of this blog you know I'm a sucker for any pretty flower. I have photographed dozens of them for my daily blog posts over the last three and half years. This one caught my eye, although I have no idea what it is. Canon G1X, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200 in macro mode.

- Looking northwest at the Potomac River from the riverbank at the Red Rock Wilderness Overlook in Leesburg Virginia. The tip of land on the left side of the photo is Harrison Island. Everything you see in the photo is Maryland as the state line runs along the Virginia side of the Potomac. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/320 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 200.

- It was with mixed feelings that I saw the Space Shuttle Discovery up close today at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside of Dulles in Northern Virginia. It was exciting to be so close to the space craft that has flown more missions, 39, than any other. On the other hand it was sad to realize that our space program is a mere shadow of what it once was. As a kid going up in the 60's and 70's I lived through the glory age of NASA. I wish we could once again put forth the effort that created Apollo and the Space Shuttles. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/320 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600, 70mm focal length.

- The sun sets near Dulles Airport in Chantilly Virginia after a line of thunderstorms had moved through the area. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/100 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 105mm focal length.

- Even on a hot day the bees were busy with their work. Canon G1X, 1/320 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, in macro mode.

Mr. Sebastian Miller is now a TV celebrity! He was featured yesterday on the " Does it Work? Sticky Buddy " episode with Sandra Parker of WVEC News. Here he gets in touch with his serious side while he awaits a call from James Lipton . Canon G11, 1/20 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, macro focus mode.

- I wish I could jump to warp speed when traveling through the Midtown tunnel , the heaviest traveled two-lane road east of the Mississippi. This is the closest I'll get to that experience. Canon G11, 1/3 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

- There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, 100mm macro.

- The strawberry candy daylilies are in full bloom. Winner of the Stout Medal in 1998, the American Hemerocallis Society's most prestigious award. 4-5" strawberry pink with a rose-red eye and golden throat. Starts blooming in June, continues until July and repeats in August - September. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

- I caught this little green dragonfly taking a break from battling the wind this morning. The bright morning sun behind cast a sharp and defined shadow of the intricate structure of the wings. Canon 7D, 1/2000 sec @ f/11.0, 100mm macro.

- Late afternoon sun casts a sharp shadow of this hand rail onto the concrete ramp. iPhone 4 , 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Camera+ app, Pinhole camera effect applied.

- This lion overlooks the main entrance of the former James Madison Hotel in the 300 block of Norfolk Virginia's Granby Street. The building was recently converted to office space. Originally built as the Lynnhaven Hotel to accommodate visitors to the 1907 Jamestown Exposition it was renamed the Southland in the 1940's and then the Commodore Maury Hotel in the 1950's. It was one of Norfolk's premier luxury hotels when it opened. Renown American author and humorist Mark Twain stayed there on visits to Norfolk in 1907 and 1909. Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 200, 350mm focal length.

- Caught this little katydid hanging out on one of the spider daylily blooms this evening. Don't you just love mother nature's color palette? Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

- Sebastian giving me the "what, not another picture" look. Nothing worse than being hounded by the cat paparazzi. Canon G11, 1/15 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400.

- Cuauhtémoc was the last Aztec Emperor who was captured and executed by the Spanish in 1525. His name means "One That Has Descended Like an Eagle." Cuauhtémoc and the eagle are reflected in this figurehead on the Mexican Navy tall ship which bears his name. Illuminated by facing west into the setting sun, the gold plated figure glows with determination. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400.

Robert holding his nose and going under. I didn't think he was ever going to get out of the water. The boy just loves to play in or with water. The squirt guns were a mistake. Canon G10, 1/160 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400, Canon underwater housing .

- Sunset over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel . One of the many reasons I love living in Hampton Roads Virginia . Canon G1X, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400,

- Cisne Branco ("White Swan") a tall ship of the Brazilian Navy arrives in Norfolk Virginia during the parade of sail to start OpSail 2012 Virginia . Dozens of tall ships made their way from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay into Hampton Roads and down the Elizabeth River before docking at Norfolk's downtown waterfront. This picture was taken from Fort Norfolk . Canon 7D, 1/320 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 200, 100mm focal length.

- Echinacea purpurea a.k.a the Eastern purple coneflower or just Purple coneflower. Echinacea is believed by many people, including me, to stimulate the immune system. A 2007 study by the University of Connecticut combined findings from 14 previously reported trials examining Echinacea and concluded that Echinacea can cut the chances of catching a cold by more than half, and shorten the duration of a cold by an average of 1.4 days. Case closed. Canon 7D, 1/4000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200, zoom at 300mm.

- Cute shoe, cute toes. Canon G1X, 1/400 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 100.

- This little pink flower was in a bouquet that Cindy picked up at Trader Joe's yesterday. It's only about a half an inch across but up close it puts on quite a show. Canon 7D, 1/640 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 80, 100mm macro lens.

- The Annapolis Ice Cream Company encourages customers to decorate plastic spoons using a bucket of Sharpie markers. Thew result are thousand of spoons with all kinds of designs. We decorated spoons while we enjoyed their amazing ice cream. Mine - a Canon Camera complete with image on the LCD display. This is photo of just a few of the spoons on display in the store. I used a "pencil sketch" technique to give it a newspaper comic book effect. Canon G1X, 1/125 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, post process done in Lightroom 4.1 with the pencil sketch effect applied in Picasa 3.9.

- Took my first trip on a sailboat while we were in Annapolis this weekend. Had a spectacular day, good wind and beautiful skies. This is looking up at the mainsail as we sailed towards the Chesapeake Bay from the mouth of the Severn River on the Schooner Woodwind . If you're ever in Annapolis, I'd highly recommend you checkout a trip on the Woodwind. The crew was great and we had a wonderful time. Canon G1X, 1/400 sec @ F/11.0, ISO 100.

- The US Naval Academy Chapel dome at night from acros the Severn River. The Naval Academy Chapel was designed by Ernest Flagg. The cornerstone was laid in 1904 by Admiral George Dewey and the dedication of the Chapel was on May 28, 1908. Following a 1940 renovation the chapel can seat 2,500 people. The remains of John Paul Jones are interred in a crypt beneath the Chapel. Canon 5D Mark II, 13 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200. The camera was braced on a pilling and the photography was ankle deep in the Severn River for this shot.

- Say it isn't so, the Maryland Republican Party is for sale or lease. I bet you thought they sold-out years ago didn't you? Canon G1X, 1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400.