West Wing

No it's not "that" West Wing, this is the West Wing of the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. Each of the four compass point corridors at the MOA have different architectural stylings. I like this one the best because of the way the ceiling and structure is exposed. It reminds me of an old style warehouse or arena. Canon G11, 1/25 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400 converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin with Lightroom 3.0.

SOM Handywork

This photo was taken inside the Virginia Beach Convention Center designed by the renown architectural design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago. You know their work, the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Tower in Chicago, the Air Force Academy Chapel, and the new Liberty Tower, aka World Trade Center One in New York City. Canon G11, 1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Daniel Fire-Cloud

- I have long had an interest in old cemeteries and for the past five years I've been fulfilling photo requests for the Find a Grave website. Today I had occasion to stop by the small cemetery on the campus of Hampton University for a photo request but I was unable to locate the grave I was looking for. I did however spend some time walking among the graves of Native Americans who were students at what was then Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. The "Indian School" existed from1878 through 1923 and many young Native American men and women from western tribes attended the school. Some like Daniel Fire-Cloud a Sioux from South Dakota died while attending school. His grave is marked by a traditional stone and a more fitting massive cedar tree. Canon G11, 1/125 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 200, converted to black and white in Lightroom 3 using the Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin.

Curves

- Today's photo is of some smooth stainless steel curves on on lamp in our house. Post processed with Silver Efex Pro 2 to have a Holga like effect. Canon 40D, 1/320 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800.

Cooking With Gas

- I had an opportunity recently to photograph a house that is coming to market soon. I tried to capture some interesting details to go along with the interior views. This Thermador Professional gas range was one of those shots. This is some high end cooking! Canon 40D, 1/13 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro 2.

QWERTY

- Got a cool new backlit keyboard for my PC from Deck. It's really a gaming keyboard but has the old style tactile feedback keys that I like. Each key is backlit by an individual LED and has a switch that produces the famous "IBM" keyboard feel and click. The key switches are rated for about 50 million key strokes - it should last me for a few years. Best of all, it comes with a skull key cap to place as you want. Canon 40D, 1/30 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, converted to black and white in Silver Efex Pro 2.

1937

- A 1937 vintage Pontiac automobile in basic black calls for a blank and white photo. Canon G11, 1/125sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200 converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

Knock - Knock

- Knock if you dare. This door knocker is at the Norfolk Historical Society offices at the corner of W. Freemason Street and Duke Street in Norfolk Virginia. It's big bold and intimidating. Symbolically, the lion's head acted as guardian, representing protection as well as pride. Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 200mm focal length, converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro.

Dial Me a Number

- It's not everyday that one gets an opportunity to photo a rare and unusual object. This is an antique Tiffany silver phone dialer engraved with the date of 5-17-57. My friend Andrea showed me this piece which belonged to her grandmother. It was an anniversary gift on the engraved date. In the days of rotary dial phones a woman who had a fine manicure didn't want to risk breaking a nail placing a call, so in comes the silver dialer with a fine felt tip for dialing in those important calls. This make's today's litany of fashionable iPhone accessories seem somewhat trivial and trite. I doubt any of those will be a cherished family heirloom in 50+ years. Canon G11, 1/40 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, converted to black and white in Lightroom 3 with Silver Efex Pro.

The Fork

- A simple piece of kitchenware and a shadow make for a simple photograph. Canon 40D, 1/200 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro converted to black and white in Lightroom 3 with Silver Efex Pro.

On the Grid

- The power grid is something most of us rarely give much thought to. Right now it is a major topic in Japan following the 9.0 earthquake. It was the failure of the electric power grid coupled with flooding of backup generators by the devastating tsunami that resulted in loss of cooling for the Fukushima nuclear plant. Once the second failsafe - backup batteries were drained there was no way to power the pumps that deliver cooling to the reactors. The gird powers almost everything and while it has been very reliable this complex creation can fail on a very large scale. Next time you look up at those lines and transformers give some thought to modern world they enable. Canon G11, 1/40 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200 converted to black and white in Silver Efex Pro.

Parachutes

- This dandelion parachute ball has opened into a full sphere. The parachutes will soon carry the seeds on the wind. Those that land on disturbed soil will take hold continuing the cycle. Early European settlers brought the dandelion to the new world as a food plant and its prolific nature has spread the plant throughout North America. Canon 40D, 1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro, LED litepanel and converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

Rain Tree

- A pine tree photographed through my rain splattered windshield. Converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro using negative profile. Canon G11, 1/20 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

204 - Elm Leaf

From 365 Project

This is a closeup of a leaf from a large old American Elm that dominates the side of my yard. Between too frequent power line trimmings and the Dutch Elm disease that killed my other elms 15 to 20 years ago, it is amazing that it has survived to be so grand. The leaf was backlit while on the branch with an off camera strobe set at 1/32 power. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 400, 70mm macro and converted to back and white using Silver Efex Pro plug-in in Photoshop Elements.

174 - Chrome

From 365 Project

The weather today was just perfect. Not too warm, blue sky with lots of big fluffy clouds. The chrome on this shined up Harley caught my eye and I captured the sky's reflection in it. Canon 40D, 1/3200 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400 (oops - should have had this set to ISO 100 in the bright sun), 55mm focal length. Converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro in Photoshop Elements.

145 - Spider Mum

From 365 Project

Macro photo of a white spider mum converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro. Canon 40D, 50mm compact macro lens with life size converter, 1/250sec @ f/6.3, ISO 640.

117 - Shadow People

From 365 Project

No this not one of those mysterious sightings of shadow people that have become a hot topic of conversion in paranormal chat rooms, message boards and websites. It's just our shadows in the late evening sun on parking lot asphalt. Thanks to Cindy for idea! Canon G10, 1/125 of second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 32mm equivalent focal length post processed into B&W using Photoshop Elements and the Silver Efex Pro plug-in.

106 - Peeling Paint

From 365 Project

The random nature of the paint peeling against the symmetrical pattern created by the underlying bricks caught my eye. This brick wall is over 100 years old and has obviously had more than a few coats of paint. But it will have no more paint as the building is scheduled for demolition later this year. Canon G10, 1/20sec at f/3.5, ISO 400. Converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

92 - Lost Spokes

From 365 Project

A row of unclaimed bicycles await their fate near my parking space at work. Many bikes are left on bus racks each week. If you left your bike recently on a Hampton Roads Transit bus, it may be one of these. Lost and found procedures can be found here. Canon G10, 1/60s at f/6.0, ISO 400, 11mm effective focal length. Converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro in Photoshop Elements 6.0.

86 - Sleeping Lions

From 365 Project

One of a pair of sleeping lions guarding a tomb in Norfolk's Elmwood Cemetery. In Victorian funerary arts the lion symbolizes the power of God and guards the tomb against evil spirits. Like other guardians, the lion's watch is as eternal as the stone of which it is depicted. The lion also recalls the courage and determination of the souls which they guard, they manifest the spirit of the departed. Canon G10 1/250s at f/8.0, ISO 200, 44mm equivalent focal length. Image converted to B&W in Photoshop Elements using Silver Effects Pro.