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.

A Beneficial Weed

- Is there such thing as a beneficial weed? Well think of the dandelion. According to Wikipedia it has a wide range of uses, and is even a good companion plant for gardening. Its taproot will bring up nutrients for shallower-rooting plants, and add minerals and nitrogen to soil. It is also known to attract pollinating insects and release ethylene gas which helps fruit to ripen not to mention they are just great to photograph. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro, back lighting provided by the sun.

Overhead

- The stained glass skylights overhead at Norfolk's MacArthur Center. iPhone 4, 1/1000 @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Olloclip Fisheye lens.

Blue Sky Days

- Just spent six days in New York City and didn't have a single blue sky day for photography. Back in Norfolk for two days and complete cloudless blue skies both days. When there's a sky like this, you get the sun to your back and find something to take a picture of, in this case Norfolk's iconic Scope. iPhone 4, 1/340 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Camera+ App, Olloclip wide angle lens.

Red & Green

- Brand new red and green leaves on the same Japanese Maple. iPhone 4, 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Camera+ App.

The Big House

- Actor Hugh Laurie plays the bigger than life character Dr. Gregory House on the hit TV series House. In Times Square where everything is big and bright, House is really bigger than life. This billboard is at the NE corner of 46th Street and 7th Avenue. Canon G11.

Resurgence

- One World Trade Center under construction in lower Manhattan as reflected in the glass of the the Millennium Hilton Hotel on Church Street. The building in the left of the refection is the new 7 World Trade Center completed in 2006. The building with the green dome on top is Two World Financial Center which survived the 9/11 attacks. The original World Trade Center one, the north tower, would have blocked the view of this building from this vantage point on Church Street. When complete in 2013, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet. Canon 5D Mark II.

Cobblestones

- I saw this group of cobblestones in Central Park West just after we exited the trail around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir near the W 90th Street entrance to the park. The patterns, textures and the little touch a green from the grass growing between the stones caught my eye. Canon 5D Mark II.

Temple of the Spirit

- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the cylindrical museum building, wider at the top than the bottom, was conceived as a "temple of the spirit" and is one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks. From the street, the building looks like a white ribbon curled into a cylindrical stack. Its appearance is in sharp contrast to typically rectangular Manhattan buildings that surround it, a fact relished by Wright, who claimed that his museum would make the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art "look like a Protestant barn." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/25 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, 24mm focal length converted to black & white in Lightroom 3.

Grand Central Terminal

- This is the Main Concourse in the center of Grand Central Terminal. The space is cavernous being almost as large as a football field. In the elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling the sky is backwards, and the stars are slightly displaced. It is said that when the Vanderbilt family learned the ceiling was painted backwards, they maintained that the ceiling reflected God's view of the sky. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/20 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400, 8mm circular fisheye lens.

Big Yellow Taxi

- There are over 13,000 yellow taxicabs in New York City and they seemed to always being moving creating a constant yellow blur on city streets. The other common vehicle seen around new York streets are the NYPD's RMPs (Radio Motor Patrol) or police cars to everyone else. Canon G11, 1/4 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Light Painting

- Some long exposure camera blur from inside Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Canon 5D Mark II, 1 second @ f/13.0, ISO 400, 50mm focal length.

iRobot

- Meet Norfolk's very own iRobot 510 PackBot for EOD. This little guy can fit in lots of tight spaces like narrow hallways and bus, train and plane isles. All designed to keep first responders safe. And yes he is made by the same company that brings you Roomba along with pool cleaning and gutter cleaning robots. I guess both products lines are designed to help us clean up a mess. Canon G11, 1/250 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400, in macro mode.

Spring Show

- Robert and his preschool class preforming at the Kempsville Presbyterian Church Preschool's Spring show entitled "Jammin' for JESUS!" There's just pure joy in watching ten classes of 4 and 5 year olds sing and dance. Preschool teacher's and assistance are truly God's angels on earth. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, 70-200 zoom at 200mm.

A Good Egg

- According to Robespierre, "Omelets are not made without breaking eggs." But according to the more authoritative source Stephen Colbert, "You CAN make an omelet without breaking eggs. It's just a really bad omelet." Canon 7D, 1/1250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day

>Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is an international event created to promote and celebrate the art of pinhole photography. Photographers are encouraged to take some time off from the increasingly technological world we live in and to participate in the simple act of making a pinhole photograph. I hope you like the unusual beauty of this historical photographic process. Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is held each year on the last Sunday in April.

This is a picture of our house in the Carolanne Farms neighborhood in Virginia Beach, VA, USA. Exposure time 4 seconds, ISO 100, estimate pinhole at ~f/64. Canon 5D Mark II with homemade pinhole using a plastic camera body cap.

Coca-Cola Freestyle

- The Coca-Cola Freestyle machine features over 100 different Coca-Cola drink products and custom flavors. The machine allows users to select from mixtures of flavors of Coca-Cola branded products which are then individually dispensed. The cabinetry was designed by the Italian automotive design firm Pininfarina whose current automobile designs includes the amazing Ferrari 458 Italia. So I guess you could call this the "Ferrari" of drink machines. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 125, Camera+ app.

Support Your Local Book Store

- Made a visit today to one of our favorite local bookstores, AFK Books Music & Movies. They sell mostly "like new" books, CDs, DVD,s and an amazing collection of vinyl records. They also buy your old books, tunes and movies. You don't get a lot for them but every bit helps in paying for the new stack we haul back home. Canon Powershot SD870 IS, 1/40 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200.

Deuteragonist

- My latest PEZ dispenser acquisition is Ferb Fletcher. Ferb and his step brother Phineas Flynn are the stars of the animated series Phineas and Ferb. Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh worked together on the 1990's Nickelodeon classic series Rocko's Modern Life. As I was working on this post, my son Mike pointed out some rather significant trivia related to Phineas and Ferb. The boy's father, Lawrence Fletcher, is voiced by Richard O'Brien who wrote the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and appeared in the film as the character Riff Raff. Of course Ferb is the deuteragonist, from the Greek deuteragonistes meaning second actor or typically the second most important character. Canon 7D, 1/2500 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens, and two LED litepanels.

Total

- A total tower of "Total" at today's promotion event at the MacArthur Station in downtown Norfolk. iPhone 4, f2.8, ISO 80.

Harmony

- Definition: "a feeling that you are happy and your mind and emotions are well balanced" Macmillan Dictionary. This is the end result of this little miracle. I bought my first Harmony remote back in 2003 to control with one button a myriad of home entertainment devices. It brought harmony back to our household and replaced pages of instructions on how to watch programming from different sources. No more set the TV to Input 1, the receiver to audio input 2, A/V switch to position B; so on and so forth. I now have two of these babies and could not live without them. Canon 7D, 1/50 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600, 100mm macro.

In The Sun

- The Tide pulls into the Civic Plaza Station in Norfolk Virginia during a brief period of afternoon sunshine. iPhone 4, f2.8, ISO 80, with Olloclip fisheye lens, Camera+ app.

Waiting to Serve

- Sparkling clear wines glasses await their turn to hold your favorite vintage. Canon G10, 1/30 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400.

Daisy, Daisy

Daisy Daisy,
Give me your answer do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle built for two !

By Harry Dacre, 1892
iPhone 4, 1/200 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Gabriel's Horn

Inside the new chapel at Norfolk's Freemason Street Baptist Church is this stained glass window featuring Gabriel's Horn in the center. The bright gold horn is also found atop the church's steeple which was the tallest point in the City in the later half of the 19th century. Gabriel's Horn refers to the tradition identifying the Archangel Gabriel as the angel who blows the horn to announce Judgment Day. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 50mm prime lens.

It's a Knockout

- In the past few days the Knockout roses have exploded with new blooms. It's pretty hard to beat the beauty of a single red rose. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/500 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 105mm, light from a single LED Litepanel.

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.

To The Rescue

- Modern antibiotics come to rescue me from a sinus infection. In my case it was the old standby 500mg of Amoxicillin made by West-Ward Pharmaceuticals of Eatontown, New Jersey. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

best-sleep-you-ever-got-with-a-cold

"The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, best-sleep-you-ever-got-with-a-cold medicine" or so goes the original slogan for NyQuil. I feel like *$(% but I still got a photo for today. Hopefully I can get a good night's sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow. I have always been a fan of NyQuil although its not as good after they took out the pseudoephedrine in 2006. You can still get the "good stuff" called NyQuil D but it is behind the counter at the pharmacy. Canon 7D, 1/40 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm and one LED Litepanel that the bottle is sitting on.

Jacks

Any body up for a game of onesies, twosies, threesies, foursies, fivesies? Today jacks come in these soft neon rubber variety rather than the painted metal ones I remember as a kid. Canon 7D, 1/200 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

Neon Dash

- The trademark orange dash lights of BMW with a neon outline effect added through Google's Picasa. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1000.

Night Iris

light a night bloomer
behold magnificence of spring
yellow and purple

My first haiku seemed appropriate for this lovely iris. Canon 7D, 1/1600 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 1600, 100mm macro, two LED Litepanels, one below and one to the left.

Strawberry Bloom

- The patio strawberries are in full bloom. This variety is "June-bearing" and I should see some ripe berries by late May. Take a close look at this small bloom just to the left of center and notice the small unwelcome pest already at work. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/14.0, ISO 1600, 100mm macro lens taken at night with two LED Litepanels for illumination.

What a Set of Pipes

- Now that's what I call a great set of pipes. The pipe organ at Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/8 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 50mm prime lens.

Pizza!

- Another Lytro light field camera photo this time type a slice of veggie pizza from Granby Street Pizza in Norfolk Virginia. Change the focal point by clicking on the line of condiments. Lytro, 1/60 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 1600, 62mm focal length in creative mode.

Living Picture

- My first Lytro "Living Picture" for the blog. I took a picture of these spring flowers at the McDonald Garden Center in downtown Norfolk. Check out the variable focus by clicking on different areas of the picture to move the focus point around. Lytro, 1/125 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 200, 45mm focal length, in creative mode.

Lady Bug Style

- The Lady Bug is always in style. Canon G11, 1/60 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

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.

Atrium

- Looking up in the atrium in the brand new Lyman Beecher Brooks Library at Norfolk State University. The new libray opened this past January and is an amazing addition to the NSU campus. The architecture, technology and collection are all very impressive. I toured the facility with members of the City of Norfolk's Slover Memorial Library project just now getting underway. When it opens in late 2014, the Slover will bring state of the art library services back to downtown Norfolk. It's an exciting project to be a part of. iPhone 4, Olliclip fisheye lens withe Camera+ app.

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.

Abstract

- This photo of the Battleship Wisconsin as reflected in the Suntrust building in downtown Norfolk has an almost abstract look after applying a little HDR effect. Still not sure if I like it but thought it was a different view of an often photographed Hampton Roads landmark. Canon G11, 1/320 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

DE in B&W

A rainy morning turned into a beautiful sunny day. I looked up while walking down Plume Street in Norfolk Virginia at the Dominion Enterprises tower lit by the bright sun. The light stone against the dark blue sky dotted with clouds screamed "take this picture." So I did using my iPhone 4. Taken with Camera+ with the Clarity and "Ansel" B&W effects applied in the app.

First Sunday

- This is my first "First Sunday" project. A soon to open Iris bud stands among the tall green foliage. Snapchick issued a challenge on the first Sunday of each month to focus on composition and creativity rather than high tech camera gear. The challenge was to use your oldest digital camera, set it on a high ISO and a low resolution. The idea is to show what the photographer can do rather than what the camera can do. This photo was taken with my first DSLR a vintage 2003 Canon Digital Rebel aka 300D, 1/2000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1600 (the camera's highest setting) using a 50mm prime lens.

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.

Ripples

- Ripples by Athena Tacha. This 1979 public art located at the corner of Granby Street and City Hall Avenue in Norfolk Virginia is the only redeeming element of the Norfolk Federal Building. In my humble opinion the building itself is totally out of place and has no architectural significance whatsoever. It replaced the magnificent old Monticello Hotel in the late 1970's. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/6400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm.

Wall Fly

- This little dragon fly sought refuge from the windy street by resting on the wall at the entrance foyer of my building. Thanks to Anita who mentioned him to me as I was headed out for a lunch time walk with my camera. I doubt I would have noticed him and thus missed this picture opportunity. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Chrome Shroom

- A mushroom lamp illuminating a crop of fake flowers. I often walk by this standard shopping mall decor when short cutting to get to my next meeting. Canon G11, 1/40sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400.

My First Lytro

- This is the first picture I've shared from my new Lytro camera. The Lytro changes almost everything for digital photography as its new and innovative design allows you to refocus the picture after you take it. This birthday bouquet does not have a lot of depth of field so the effect isn't that noticeable. Look for new pics in the future after I develop some skill in actually using this camera. You can play with a "living" version of the photo on my Facebook timeline page. Just click on the image to refocus on that spot. Lytro, 1/80 sec @ f/2.0, two LED Litepanels for illumination.

Tacky Night Lights

- Today's bright sunlight charged up the garden solar lights. So the oh so real blue sunflower is backed up by the orange globe. The sunflower is a real tacky LED marvel of modern science as it changes in color from red to purple to blue to green before repeating the sequence. Odd as it is, there is no yellow. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600, 70mm focal length.