Ma Bell

- Although the Bell System has been gone for almost 30 years the name and logo can still be found. This is one of several manhole covers bearing the logo located along Monticello Avenue in Norfolk Virginia. Owned by AT&T, the Bell System had held a monopoly on telephone service across much of the U.S for almost 100 years until it was broken up in 1984 following a suit by the Justice Department. In Virginia, Bell System service was provided by the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, a.k.a C&P. Following divestiture C&P became part of Bell Atlantic which today is part of Verizon. Canon G11 1/230 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Panties in a Twist???

- The NORVA in Norfolk Virginia presents Hampton Roads fist ever all women's sketch comedy review, Panties in a Twist. I must admit, the marquee caught my eye today. Canon G11, 1/80 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Manhole

- I've been noticing the manhole covers as I walk the brick sidewalks in downtown Norfolk Virginia recently. Almost all are branded with the type of utility to be found underneath and the name of the foundry that cast the cover. This one struck me because of its lack of markings. Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, converted to black and white using Silver Efex 2.

Wet Tide

- It was a wet night for The Tide light rail arriving at the Civic Plaza station in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Canon G11, 0.6 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, camera sitting on the station handrail and fired using the 2 second delay timer to avoid camera shake.

Taillight

- Classic taillight from a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. I post processed this image using Google Picasa and new feature in version 3.9 called "Neon." With the Neon effect I used a brown color choice, faded the effect back to about 50% intensity. Then bumped the saturation a wee bit to pop the red on the taillight and applied a slight vignette to finish off the image. Canon G11, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400,

Still Shiny

- The Tide light rail has been running for six months now and I get to ride just about every weekday. I am proud of what a great job my old colleagues at HRT have done in operating and maintaining the trains. It is right on schedule and the railcars still gleam like they are new. Canon G11, 1/160 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 200.

Snow Camellia

- Went out early this morning to catch last night's dusting of snow before it disappeared. There wasn't much snow but the dusting on this camellia bloom caught my eye. Canon G11, 1/60 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400, macro mode and on-camera flash.

Winter Sunset

- While it has a mild winter so far in Southeast Virginia, the bare trees set the season for last evening's beautiful sunset. Canon G11, 1/40 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400

Somewhere

- On Super Bowl Sunday it's 5:00 everywhere. Canon G11, 1/25 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Cathedral of Commerce

- Built in 1907 the three-story, Beaux-Arts style Monticello Arcade forms a protected pedestrian passageway between City Hall Avenua and Plume Street in downtown Norfolk Virginia. Basically it's a 105 year old shopping mall. The recent economic conditions have reduced the tenants somewhat but the architecture alone is worth a walk through. Canon G11, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, "HDR-ish" effect applied in Picasa version 3.9.

Night at The Wells

The Wells Theatre in Norfolk Virginia, opened on August 27, 1913. The poured-in-place, steel-reinforced concrete structure was technologically advanced for the period. The Wells' ornate decoration made the theatre the flagship of Wells Amusement Enterprises, and continues today as a well preserved example of Beaux-Arts Classicism, a National Historic Landmark and home to the Virginia Stage Company. Canon G11, 1/10 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

T-Bird

- Parked next to a cool 1962 Ford Thunderbird this afternoon. Dad always liked and wanted a "T-Bird". This one wasn't restored but in very good original condition for a 50 year old car. Dad never got his T-Bird but we did have a more practical family car, a 1966 Ford Fairlane 4 door sedan with the same 390 cubic inch engine that was standard in the T-Bird. This was the car I learned to drive in and as a teenager driving that 335 horsepower "family" sedan was nothing but trouble waiting to happen. Canon G11, 1/40 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400.

Warming Lamps

- The warming lamps at Terrapin's restaurant in Virginia Beach awaiting the next masterpiece from Chef Rodney Einhorn. One of the top fine dining restaurants in Virginia was jammed tonight as we enjoyed dinner with our friends Susan and Duane. This is Virginia Beach "Restaurant Week" with special deals, next week begins Downtown Norfolk's "Restaurant Week", so much great food, so little time. Canon G11, 1/25 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2. verted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Tetraphobia

- Tetraphobia is an aversion to or fear of the number 4. It is a superstition most common in East Asia. In these countries, these floor numbers containing the number 4 are often skipped in buildings. In Hong Kong, some apartments such as Vision City and The Arch skipped all the floors from 40 to 49. Immediately above 39 is 50, leading many who are not aware of tetraphobia to believe that some floors are missing. - from Wikipedia. Canon G11, 1/8 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800 converted to black and white in Picasa using "highlight" color.

Tunnel Vision

- Robert peering down his make believe tunnel. Getting a 5 year old male child to hold still for a full half second exposure is just plain luck. It was pretty much the max of his attention span today. Well come to think of it, that's pretty the max of my attention span everyday. Canon G11, 0.6 seconds @ f/3.2, ISO 800.

Biker

This biker followed me on Virginia Beach Boulevard. I looked in my rear view mirror at a stoplight and he looked pretty cool illuminated by brake lights. Lucky for me the camera was sitting right there in passenger seat so I took this image looking into the rear view mirror. The low light image has lots of digital noise which is normally not desirable. However, I think it kind of adds to this surreal image. Canon G11, 1/5 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800.

Twilight Tree

- The bare tree says winter but today's temperature in Norfolk Virginia reached 68 degrees. Took this twilight photo from the car with the top down. Back to reality tomorrow, afternoon high around 42. Canon G11, 1/200 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

MLK Day

- The Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial early this morning in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. King visited Norfolk and southeastern Virginia many time and was scheduled to come back to Norfolk in early April 1968 but postponed the visit to go to Memphis to support the sanitation workers strike. He was assassinated there on April 4, 1968. Check out the audio version of The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (1998), ed. Clayborne Carson. I highly recommend this version read by LeVar Burton in a Grammy Award winning performance which also contains recordings of many speeches and famous oratory of Dr. King. A must listen for anyone who is a student of leadership. Canon G11, 1/800 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 200.

Bank Street

- I parked my car in the Bank Street garage in Norfolk Virginia and this view was straight in front of me. I saw this image in my mind and fortunately the capture delivered what I saw. I haven't thought of anything interesting or witty to say about the photo but there's something in it that I'm drawn to. I hope you like it. Canon G11, 1/200 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom 3.

Maui Readers

- Bifocal sunglasses, you bet. These are my Maui Readers and the reason why I will be a Maui Jim customer for life. I bought a pair of these sunglasses on Ocracoke Island in 2008. About a year later I dropped them when loading some stuff into my trunk and didn't realize it. I then backed over them with the car, leaving half the glasses pretty mangled. I had read about Maui Jim's legendary customer service so I thought I'd see if they could repair the sunglasses and replace the lens. I mailed them away with a service form and check for $10.00. A few weeks latter I received a package and letter from Maui Jim saying they weren't able to fix my old sunglasses but this one time they would provide me a replacement pair. How cool is that? I now own three pairs of Maui's, customer for life. Canon G11, 1/2000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200.