Visiting - Day 47

"Luminous beings are we" - Yoda from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). My PEZ limited edition Crystal Head Yoda spotlighted by two LED flashlight beams while visiting the kitchen counter tonight. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Geared Up - Day 46 #CY365

Day 46 - Geared Up. This large bevel gear is most likely from a Voith gearbox or wheel set for a transit bus. It is about eight inches and diameter and weighs about 24 pounds with the attached bearing assembly. It makes an excellent door stop. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Conversation - Day 44 #CY365

Used some of my vast PEZ collection for today's photo. The PEZ Valentine's Day dispensers mimic the popular conversation candy hearts. I really struggled with this topic today. Not that happy with the results. Canon 7D, 1/15 sec @ f/18, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Old School - Day 38 #CY365

Old School - This is my Sterling model No. 594 Decimal Trig Multi-Log slide rule ©1965. I acquired this slide rule in 1972 from the Tidewater Community College bookstore at the old Camp Pendleton Virginia Beach Campus. I still have the original 10 inch long belt holster - a symbol of geek cool. This pretty much makes it "old school" and believe it or not I still know how to use it. The slide rule would be obsolete within 5 years, replaced by cheap electronic calculators. Today these elegant mechanical analog computers are relegated to collector's items. Canon 7D, 1/200 sec @ f/18, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

From The Top - Day 36 #CY365

From the Top, a compact fluorescent light bulb. The delicate swirls remind me of a soft serve ice cream cone. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/20, ISO 100, 100mm macro lens, converted to black and white.

Soft - Day 34 #CY365

Soft - Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

Focusing - Day 30 #CY365

Our late blooming Christmas Cactus is the subject of my "Focusing" photo for today. Using a macro lens for an extreme close-up results in a very shallow depth of field allowing the photographer to to draw the viewer into a certain part the photo which is in sharpest focus. In this case the purple stigma and the pollen covered stamen are the focal point. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/125 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 1600, one LED Litepanel held below the flower and just barely out of the frame.

RJ-45 - Day 28 #CY365

A super close-up of the lifeblood RJ-45 network connector for most of our computers. Without the wired ethernet network there would be no Internet, no WiFi and probably no Google, Amazon, Facebook, . . . you get the picture. Technically RJ-45 is short for Registered Jack-45, an eight-wire connector used commonly to connect computers onto a local-area network. I personally think it an object of beautiful functionality.

Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 1600, 100mm macro lens captured at 1:1 or life size on the camera's image sensor.

Caring - Day 25 #CY365

Caring - “There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” - Jane Austen from Emma.
"There is nothing to be compared to it. Warmth and tenderness of heart, with an affectionate, open manner, will beat all the clearness of head in the world . . . "

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/3200 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 1600, 100mm macro lens, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro II.

Umbrellas - Day 23 #CY365

Umbrellas - Day 23 of 365. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/1000 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens, backlit with LED litepanel.

Eight - Day 22 #CY365

Today's challenge was "Eight" so we have eight - eights from old computer keyboards. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/320 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens and 3 LED litepnaels, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2.

In Good Hands - Day 11 #CY365

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/80 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens, two LED Litepanels.

Unique - Day 6 #CY365

Winter left a few dried blossoms clinging to the leafless hydrangeas. Backlight from the low angle winter sun brings out the unique details of each blossom. Canon G15, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200 in macro mode.

Nest - Day 3 #CY365

Winter arrived today with our first temperatures down in the mid 20's. I know that doesn't seem cold to many but for temperate southeastern Virginia, it's cold. This abandoned Mockingbird's nest in a bare tree pretty much captures the feeling of a gray, cold and windy day for me.

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/320 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

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.

Repairing the Web

I've been keeping an eye on this beautiful garden spider I spotted among the daylilies back in June. When I first saw her she was only about a half an inch long now she's easily approaching and inch and half. She was busy rebuilding the "sewing machine" zig-zag part of the web. I had never seen one actually doing this, so I thought I would share. Canon EOS 300D, 1/500 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Dragonfly

It has been a long time since I posted a picture on my blog. Especially after 1461 straight days - four years of 365 project extreme. I miss it - so - I am thinking about starting another 365 project for 2014. What do you say about something like "365 Prime" or "Prime All The Time" and just using fixed focal length prime lenses for each day's photo? No zoom lenses - "zoom with your feet," doing it old school.

Today's photo is one I did for SnapChick's First Sunday Challenge. On the first Sunday of each month you take your an old digital camera and forget about the technology and focus on composition and creativity. This dragonfly was captured using my 2003 vintage Canon EOS 300D a.k.a the Digital Rebel. I used a 100mm macro lens and converted to black and white in Lightroom with the Silver Efex Pro plug-in. ISO 800, 1/400 sec @ f/11.0.

More Sunflowers

Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens, two LED Litepanels.

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.

Tournesol

I can certainly see why Van Gogh was so captivated by the Sunflower that he painted a series of sunflowers (tournesols in French) hoping to welcome and impress his friend and fellow painter Paul Gauguin. You can see a black and white version of this photo at The World in Black and White blog. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.