Asymmetrical - Day 69 #CY365

Asymmetrical - my Transformer cufflinks a gift from my grandson Robert were the perfect solution for today's photo prompt. I love asymmetrical cufflinks and have several pair from Würkin Stiffs and a few others. The first time I wore these to work last year I was sitting in a meeting and the guy sitting to my right asked me if that was an "Autobot" on my cufflink. I said yes, then showed him the "Decepticon" on the left cuff and he laughed out loud. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/1000 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Emerging - Day 68 #CY365

The cold winter has made all the flowers emerge later this year. These daffodils are just getting ready to open up. With warmer temperature forecast for this week, I expect flowers will be opening up everywhere. Canon 5D Mark II 1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro with LED ring light.

Drive - Day 67 #CY365

Night drive heading to dinner. I don't get to back seat drive much, so I took the opportunity to take some photos. Canon G15, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Frustrated - Day 66 #CY365

We still have a copper POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line at our house. I know, I know - dinosaurs are we. We a few weeks back Verizon called us and wanted to shift us over to the fiber optic network. We scheduled an appointment for this Saturday to have the work done. So we think we'll all set. But Nooooo! Earlier this week the confirmation calls started. Automated calls requesting us to confirm the appointment, again and again and again. I guess most people stand them up for appointments. Each call was a pleasant recorded female voice asking to confirm our appointment and then quickly rattling off an 866 number to call and a 10 digit confirmation code. The code number is not repeated and its required when you call back. You would think they could track this by your home phone number but not so. No confirmation code and no where else to go on the automated menu. So I was popping through the caller ID and decided this was prefect for today's 365 prompt. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/50 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1600, first use of my new LED macro ring light and post-processed in Picasa using the Lomo-ish effect.

Muse - Day 65 #CY365

I had to find my muse on the Capture Your 365 project gallery today. It was easy because I have been admiring the work of contributor Pam Scott since joining the project in January. She has a great closeup eye for photos. I choose her Day 49 "In the Front Yard" photo of a pink camellia as my inspiration. Here's my pink camellia completely desaturated and presented in black and white. I was looking to capture the same texture and feel as Pam did but with my own view. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro.

A Story in Three - Day 64 #CY365

Today's challenge was to tell a story with three pictures. This has been a cold and gray winter making me long for the beach and warm weather. I created this story in three with the beach in mind from photos I made last year. The first photo is a Florida coast sunrise with a lone shore bird in the surf, the second is my grandson Robert enjoying the mid afternoon sunshine in Virginia Beach, and the final shot is a sunset of shore birds at the Boneyards in Encinitas California. This weekend's forecast is for sun and temperatures in the 60's, so I think a walk on the beach is just what the doctor ordered.

Party! - Day 63 #CY365

Well it not exactly a party per se, it's lunch at the Chartreuse Bistro in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. It's one of my favorite places to eat. The food is wonderful, the tableware and decor are inspiring and the whole team make it a wonderful place for a relaxing break in the middle of the day. Chartreuse is locally owned by husband and wife team - general manager Karine Varga and executive chef Christopher Corrie. Just in case you're interested today's lunch was fish stew; a kale salad with goat cheese dressing, almonds, apricot, and onion; and an amazing mushroom & fontina focaccia. The menu is different everyday, you must try when in Norfolk.

iPhone 5 - with a newly cracked screen, Camera+ app.