Paperwhites - Day 39

Hoop Trees - Day 23

Motherly Love - Day 131 #CY365

Me and my Mom, Jean Sullivan, celebrating Mother's Day at a family dinner tonight. iPhone 5s, Camera+ App.

Downtown North @ Twilight

Looking at the northern part of Norfolk Virginia's downtown during a lovely twilight evening. The Wells Fargo Tower catches the last of golden sunlight in its windows below the green and red holiday lighting of its penthouse. You can also see the Freemason Street Baptist Church's steeple - once the City's highest structure, Norfolk Scope, Chrysler Hall and MacArthur Center. Canon G15, 1/40 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 800.

Garden of Lights

Garden of Lights at the Norfolk Botanical Garden - We made our annual trip through the Garden of Lights tonight with our grandson Robert. Here are a few highlights from this year's display. Almost all of the displays are designed and custom crafted by Garden staff and volunteers. Canon 5D Mark II.

Norfolk @ Night

Continuing with my Norfolk at Night theme the dome of the General Douglas MacArthur Memorial is decorated with holiday lights and framed by the City's modern skyline. Built in 1850 this Classical Revival structure is the work of Norfolk architect William Singleton consulting with Thomas U. Walter, famed architect of the central dome of the U.S. Capitol building. Canon 7D, 1/3 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Winter Carnival

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

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

A fresh baked strawberry rhubarb pie in honor of National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day. Canon 7D, 1/10 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens with an assist from image stabilization.

This Year's Memory

The mouse is everywhere even on our Christmas Tree. This was a souvenir from our first ever trip to Disney World back in October. Our Christmas Tree has unique ornaments from the places we've visited over the years. Putting up the tree brings back all of those great memories from past vacations. Canon 7D, 1/13 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Holiday Arcade

The Monticello Arcade in Norfolk Virginia decked out and celebrating its 105th Christmas holiday season. That a pretty good run. iPhone 5, 1/15 sec @ f/2.4, ISO 800, Camera+ App.

Holiday Trappings

Holiday trappings everywhere you look. I love the colors and sights of the season. iPhone 5, Camera+ app.

Holiday Lights

More of the holiday lights at Norfolk's Botanical Gardens. Canon 7D, 1/20 sec @ f/3.5 ISO 800.

Frosty the Sandman

Of course any self respecting snowman in Virginia Beach Virginia is going to the beach. Canon 7D, 1/8 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day had its beginnings back in 1919 when President Wilson proclaimed November 11th as the first commemoration of Armistice Day marking the one year anniversary of the cessation of hostilities generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.” In 1954 President Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" and the date become the Veterans Day holiday. A law was passed in 1968 to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. President Ford signed a new law in 1975 changing Veterans Day back to November 11th. Since 1978 when the new law took effect Veterans Day has been observed on November 11th, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. Canon G10, 1/320 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200.

Remembering

- Since it was Memorial Day I thought I'd share some memories from Cindy's family during WW II. Cindy's great grandmother Della Bray recieved these two War Department telegrams about her youngest child, SSgt. Vernon C. Bray who was serving in the US Army Air Corps, 93rd Bombardment Group, 330th Squadron.

On December 7, 1942 his squadron along with the 328th and 409th squadrons left their base at Alconbury, England on a long flight that would end at Tafarouri Aerodrome, a former French airfield outside Oran in Algeria. The 93rd was sent for temporay duty to supplement the newly formed Twelfth Air Force, which had been recently activated in North Africa under the command of General James "Jimmy" Doolittle. Vernon's crew flying a B-24D Liberator named the Blastin' Bastard was lost when their airplane crashed into a mountain while attempting to land at Tafaroui. Personnel at the base had not been alerted that the B-24s were coming in and no plans had been made to light up the runway. Gasoline flares were then lit and the rest of the group landed safely on the muddy airfield.

Lost with Vernon were 2Lt. Iceal W. Alford, Jr. (IN), TSgt. James E. Davis (TN), 1Lt. Leo A. Donze (MO), MSgt. Harold J. Hanna (IL), 1Lt. Robert A. (Ox) Johnson (KS), 2Lt. Robert L. Lynch (ND), TSgt. Samuel McNeeley (TN), SSgt. William J. Nagle (NJ), MSgt. Oscar S. Olsen (IL), Sgt. Kenneth R. Pastrof (NJ), SSgt. Jack E. Pinion (TN), SSgt. Samuel F. Powell (UT), and Capt. Richard S. Scott (NY). The crew is buried at the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage Tunis, Tunisia. Names and stories are important, let's remember all who serve and especially those who gave their lives.

The Big Ones

- Robert went for the big eggs at the Eater egg hunt at Kempsville Baptist Church in Virginia Beach today. They told him he could only get 12 eggs, so he figured the bigger the better. Thant's Grandpa's boy! Canon 5D Mark II, 1/2500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 70-200 zoom at 180mm focal length.

For My Valentine

- Nothing says "Be My Valentine" like a red rose. Red roses are the traditional symbol for love and romance. In Greek and Roman mythology the red rose was closely tied to the goddess of love. The red rose says you have my love and fidelity. Happy Valentine Day to my love.
Canon 7D, 1/200 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro, tungsten hand held video light for illumination.

Guilty

- Yes we are guilty of having holiday salt and pepper shakers. Not one set mind you, but two. So here's the dilemma of the day, which one to hold salt and which to hold pepper. In each set one shaker has two holes and one has three. So I did what any right-minded web surfer would do, I asked Google. Well the jury is still out on this question. Seems there are strong camps on both sides, more holes for salt and more hole holes for pepper. I like lots of pepper so the three hole shaker got the ground pepper while the two hole shaker ended up with salt. Now there's one more opinion out on the web but mine has the cutest photograph. Canon G11, 1/320 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400, in macro mode, two LED litpanels and nine overhead ceiling spot lights.

Happy Holidays

- The sign says it all. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Canon 7D, 1/20 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 50mm prime lens.

Fisheye Santa

- Bringing the olloclip fisheye lens on my iPhone 4 to Santa and the Christmas tree. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 640, Camera+, Clarity Scene, Square Crop, Thin White Border.