A Sucker for Flowers

- 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.

Busy Bee

- 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.

Loving It

- 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,

Flip Flop

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

Spoons

- 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.

Full Sail Ahead

- 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.

Make Me An Offer

- 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.

Watching

- Robert watching for the next set of waves. Canon G1X, 1/250 sec @ f/10.0, ISO 100, 115mm equivalent focal length.

Guiding Angel

- Victorian Funerary Arts produced interesting and beautiful cemeteries during the 19th Century. Many of the customs of the day carried forward into the first half of the 20th century and some still influence how funerals are carried out today. The Victorian cemeteries of the 19th century were treated as parks are today with family outings and picnics often held on their carefully landscaped and maintained grounds. Norfolk has several historic cemeteries from this time period including Magnolia Cemetery in the Berkley neighborhood where this guiding angle can be found. The guiding angel points a finger heavenward to direct the deceased's soul. Canon G1x, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, converted to black and white in Lightroom 4 using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Self Portrait

- Thought I'd try a self portrait for today's photo. It was a nice evening to be riding around in the convertible so I took my photo at a stoplight. Canon G1X, 1/500 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200.

Anchors Aweigh

The massive port side anchor of the battleship USS Wisconsin. The ship's two anchors, port and starboard bow, each weigh 30,000 pounds. Canon G1X, 1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, converted to black & white in Lightroom 4 with Silver Efex Pro 2 plug-in.

Bug Boy

- My grandson Robert showing off his dragonfly outfit for insect day at preschool. Our cat Sherlock is not too sure what to make of a bug this big. Canon G1X, 1/30sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

The Tide Comes In

The Tide comes in to the Norfolk State Station. The Hampton Roads Transit light rail carried its one millionth passenger yesterday reaching that milestone five months ahead of projections. Canon G1X, 1/1250 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 200, converted to black and white using the Silver Efex Pro 2 plug-in in Lightroom 4.

Don't Eff It Up

- The sign say's it all. The bar at Hell's Kitchen in Norfolk Virginia. Canon G1X, 1/10sec @ f/5.8, ISO 800.

Lion Facade

- This lion's head is part of the facade of one of the Victorian era buildings in the 100 block of Norfolk Virginia's Granby Street. These buildings are collectively referred to as "heritage row" and represent some of the oldest of Norfolk's remaining commercial buildings from the late 1800's. Similar neighboring buildings fronting Main Street were torn down in 2007 to make way for a hotel/convention center that never came about leaving a vacant fenced in lot on the site. The lot now referred to as "The Plot" is being converted into a pop-up park using shipping containers. That's progress, I guess. Canon G1X, 1/125 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 200, 60mm focal length.

Rotating Force

- The "brushes" of a large elevator motor make contact against the "commutator" which rotates on the shaft. The commutator is essentially a switch which reverses the electrical current direction of the motor's armature creating a steady rotating force. This motor was very large, about waist high from the floor. Canon G1X, 1/13 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Gumby and Pokey Ride Again

- These rare vintage Gumby and Pokey Happy Trails game piece figures from 1968 were a free gift from a Foursquare check-in at GC5 Vintage & Gifts. I figured they would have to be part of the blog so look for them to show up in my photos occasionally. Canon G1X, 1/1600 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

Streamline Moderne

- This beautiful piece of history is a Revere 16mm Model 48 silent movie projector from the early 1950's. I saw it in an antique and vintage store. 16mm films were ones we used to watch in school back in the old days, pre-VCR. One of the things I love about old film gear is the way it was made, heavy and solid but also sleek and cool. Much of this look comes from the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne industrial design movement from the 1930's resulting from era of speed in transportation. Today we call it retro but you can see its roots clearly in the "technofuturistic curvedness" of Apple industrial design. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom 3.

Bradford Pear

- In the mid 1970's Virginia Beach, like many American cities, planted the Bradford Pear trees along main roads. At the time the tree was considered to be the perfect street tree, with beautiful early white blooms, a nice cone shape, and good fall color. Thirty years later many of trees weaknesses are now apparent including a relatively short life and the tendency to easily break in high winds and under the load of winter ice. These trees are located along Princess Anne Road just southeast of Newtown Road and while some show the effect of age and breakage, the early spring debut of white flowers is still a wonderful sight. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Cypher Lock

- Your basic push button cypher lock, non-ADA compliant. Canon G1X 1/30 sec @ f/5.8, ISO 400 converted to Black & White in Picasa 3 using a Holga Style effect. This is the first blog post with a picture from the new Canon G1X.