ODU @ Night

The brick entrance sign of my alma mater Old Dominion University at the southwest corner of West 49th Street and Hampton Boulevard in Norfolk, Virginia. ODU began in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of William and Mary, becoming an independent college in 1962 and attaining university status in 1969. Old Dominion University derives its name from one of Virginia's state nicknames, "The Old Dominion", given to the state by King Charles II of England for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War. Canon G15, 1/20 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, handheld and converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

NIT @ Night

Norfolk International Terminals (NIT) is the largest of the four facilities operated by the Virginia Port Authority. The terminal has fifty-foot-deep entrance channels at the north and south ends making it "New Panamax" ready. Here you can see some of the eleven Suez-class container cranes working away on a Sunday night. Canon G15, 1 second @ f/4.0, ISO 100 mounted on a tripod.

Berkley Cranes @ Twilight

The last remaining light silhouettes the tower cranes of the General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, formerly Metro Machine Corporation, shipyard in the Berkley section of Norfolk, Virginia. Berkley Virginia was incorporated as a town in 1890 and annexed by the City of Norfolk on January 1, 1906. Thanks to Pamela Marino for letting me use her 5th floor Norfolk City Hall office window to get this picture. Canon G15, 1/40 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 800.

FT @ Night

This is how I start my Monday, Wednesday and Friday early in the dark morning. I've been at it for three years years now and it has changed my life. Thanks to everyone at Fitness Together Norfolk. Canon G15, 1/20 sec @ f/2.2, ISO 800.

Scope @ Night

The Scope Arena in Norfolk Virginia is the world's largest concrete dome, which was designed by Italian architect/engineer Pier Luigi Nervi in conjunction with the Norfolk firm of Williams and Tazewell. The venue holds a bit of a political past. According to Wikipedia - After watching the 1960 Rome Olympics on television, Brad Tazewell and Jim Williams, the Norfolk architects who were eventually to partner with Nervi, solicited U.S. Sen. A. Willis Robertson, father of Christian Broadcasting Network founder and former candidate for President Pat Robertson, to build a sports complex in Norfolk. Subsequently, President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Robertson to support federal funding for a multimillion-dollar cultural center in Colorado and Robertson said he would if Johnson would support one in Norfolk. Scope was completed in 1971 at a cost of $35 million dollars with the federal government providing $23 million, almost 66% of the total cost. Canon G15, 0.8 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, converted to black and white using Google Picasa.

Wet Plate

I continue my "Norfolk at Night" month with a picture I took this morning before sunrise and in the rain. At the intersection of West Olney Road and Stockley Gardens in Norfolk Virginia, sits Christ and St. Luke's Church. The long narrow building of rough-faced random ashlar in the English Perpendicular Gothic Revival style was completed in 1910. It is a spectacular building with a congregation that traces its roots in Norfolk back to 1637.

It wasn't raining as I drove to the Ghent neighborhood to take the picture. Just about the time I got the tripod setup, down came the rain. I kept wiping the lens off and trying to shield it from the rain but when I got home tonight and downloaded the images, I found the one with the water spots to be the most interesting. I developed the photo in Lightroom 5 using the Analog Efex Pro plug-in from Google and chose a wet plate camera type to give it an old photo look. A few tweaks with the sliders and you get the image I wanted to share with you. I hope you like it. Canon G15, 4 second exposure @ f/8.0, ISO 80.

Winter Carnival

The Winter Carnival at Norfolk Virginia's MacArthur Center shopping mall. Canon G15, 1/8 sec @ f/8, ISO 1600.

Holiday Light Tower

The top of the Wells Fargo Center in Norfolk Virginia with it's holiday lights on. The Wells Fargo Center is a 22 story office, commercial and residential complex completed in 2010. Canon G15, 1 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100.

Explorer at Large Josh Bernstein

Had the pleasure of meeting Josh Bernstein explorer, author, survival expert, anthropologist, and TV host of the History Channel's hit show Digging for the Truth at the Commonwealth of Virginia's Information Technology Symposium today. Josh was the keynote speaker and did a great job of inspiring government I.T. workers with the amazing leadership exhibited by Sir Ernest Shackleton's during his 1916-17 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Leadership Lessons:
- Recuit/Hire the best
- Set audacious goals
- Champion morale
- Lead decisively
- Adapt constantly
- Never give up

Canon G15, 1/80 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Edison Filament Light Blub

This is a reproduction on an early 20th Century "squirrel cage" carbon filament light bulb built by Thomas Edison. In today's modern reproductions the filaments are made of tungsten, which burns three times brighter than the original carbon filament versions. They are really getting popular in vintage bare blub fixtures. This one was hanging over my table at Tarrant's Cafe, 1 W. Broad Street in Richmond Virginia.
Canon G15, 1/15 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, in macro mode.

Red Sky Tonight, Sailor's Delight

The old saying goes "Red sky tonight, sailor 's delight." When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow. - from the Library of Congress, Everyday Mysteries website. Canon G15, 1/80 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400.

Garden Glass

As a fan of both art glass and the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, it's really special when the two come together. The "Refections of Nature, Glass Sculpture Exhibit" runs through August 18th at the gardens. Canon G15, 1/500 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 200.

Footprints

These near perfect footprints in the sand were washed aways seconds after I took this picture. Canon G15, 1/40 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Fetch

Dogs love the beach and will fetch the ball from the water tirelessly. I never get tired of watching them. Canon G15, 1/2000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200.

Catch That Train

The morning train arrives at the Amtrak Virginia station in Norfolk. Taking the train to Washington D.C. today for a behind the scenes tour at the Newsuem. Canon G15, 1/80 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Save!

This is one of the 41 saves made tonight by Norfolk Admirals goalie Frederik Andersen against the Syracuse Crunch. He posted his third shutout of the season at the Norfolk Scope contributing to the Admirals third straight win against the Crunch. Canon G15, 1/1600 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, 148mm focal length (35mm equivalent).

Two Great Castles

A great hotel like the del Coronado deserves a great sandcastle. Canon Powershot G15, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, fill-in flash used.

Reflected

Construction of the new Consolidated Courthouse in Norfolk Virginia seen through reflections on the 125 St. Paul's Building. Canon G15, 1/640 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Sun and Shade

The Bank of America Center in Norfolk Virginia has long been one of my favorite local buildings. Designed by Skidmore, Owings And Merrill of Chicago with Williams, Tazewell & Associates of Norfolk it was the tallest building in the state of Virginia when completed in 1967 and retained that title until 1971 when Richmond's new City Hall took the crown. Today it is the second tallest building in Norfolk. The building started as the Virginia National Bank but beginning in the 1980's it went through a series of name changes resulting from bank acquisitions and mergers. It once carried the names of Sovran Bank in 1983, C&S/Sovran in 1991 and NationsBank in 1993 and finally Bank of America in 1998.
Canon G15, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Rearview

Too much is never enough
And too little to never enough
Full speed got me looking out my rear view
I can't go back

From "100 in a 55" as written by Dylan Allison Anthony Greve

Canon G15, 1/50 sec @ f/8, ISO 400.