Garden of the Gods

When visiting this area of sandstone formations in 1859 Rufus Cable, exclaimed, "Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble." Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of the Burlington Railroad, purchased the area in 1879 and opened it to the public. After his death in 1907 his family conveyed the four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs. It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods "where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 100, 28mm focal length.

Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway

Spent my birthday driving from Vail to Manitou Springs, crossing the Continental Divide at Hossier's Pass, and then taking the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway to the summit of Pike's Peak. Here the cog wheel trains await at 14,110 feet above sea level while we spend time exploring the summit. All in all, a pretty cool birthday. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/400 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, 35mm focal length.

Barney

The is Barney, a Belgian draft horse who along with his partner Fred pulled our wagon for a twilight ride at the 4 Eagle Ranch. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/3 sec # f/4.0, ISO 3200.

Piney Lake

Piney Lake is the highest elevation lake you can drive to in Colorado at 9,350 feet. The journey is just a spectacular as the view from the lake. You drive 10 miles on a dirt road full of switchbacks and white knuckle, right on the edge turns. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/14.0, ISO 200, zoom at 88mm focal length.

Aspen Glow

The aspen trees just glow in the fall afternoon light near Vail Colorado. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/100 sec @ f/22.0, ISO 400, 65mm focal length.

Home on the Range

The Colorado range at twilight. We visited the 4 Eagle Ranch for dinner and a night sitting around the campfire. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 105mm focal length.

Sawatch Range

The Sawatch Range in central Colorado taken from atop Vail Mountain. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/200 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 200, zoom at 70mm focal length.

Remembering

"This is not what our soldiers die 4" A memorial to the victims at the Century Cinema shooting in Aurora Colorado. A very emotional site honoring the victims of a senseless act of hostility. Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Little Lilly

Canon 7D, 1/500 SEC @ F/13.0, ISO 200, 100mm macro.

Hanging On

This dragonfly is hanging on to save energy on a windy day. Canon 7D, 1/200 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, zoom at 400mm focal length.

Dwarf Fountain Grass

Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln' - Dwarf Fountain Grass. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 200, 100mm macro.

Sage

This is Berggarten Sage a beautiful sage plant with the same flavor as common sage but bred not to flower so that leaf production will not stop. This perennial has beautiful large rounded green-gray leaves and is often used as an ornamental planting at the corners of beds and along walkways. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/200 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 100mm macro, one LED light panel.

The Grandcat

This is my son's cat - Haz Mat. He's a great cat with a cool laid back disposition that's required when you share the house with a five-year old boy and a 95 pound black lab.

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/15 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600. This was a low light photo with no flash that demonstrates the Canon 5D Mark II's high ISO low noise capability along with Canon lens based image stabilization.

The Well-Behaved Liriope

My liriope muscari is full of tall purple blooms this year. Often refered to as the well-behaved liriope because it is the “clumping” kind that does not spread by runners and basically stays where you put it. It shares all the good qualities of the spreading kind — incredible toughness and adaptability — without the invasive behavior. My green-and-white variegated variety of this plant brightens up the borders in my shady backyard. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/125 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 100mm macro, one LED Litepanel for illumination.

Beach Boy

What's better than a handful of wet sand? Two handfuls! — Robert at Sandbridge Beach on a glorious late afternoon in September. Canon G1X, 1/1250 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 100.

Jefferson "Beak" Howell

Lieutenant General Jefferson "Beak" Howell addressed the 2012 Commonwealth of Virginia's Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS), the state's forum for collaboration and participation in government technology. His topic, Lessons in Leadership, is taken from his long career in the United States Marines and as director of NASA's Johnson Space Center. He had only been on the job at NASA seven months when the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during a return to earth.
Hosted by Jack Mortimer, National Conference Director Government Technology magazine General Howell discussed he leadership lessons from his long career and shared what has become known as “Beak's Rules of Leadership”:

1. Never stereotype your subordinates; give them the attention and respect they rate as individuals.
2. People normally live up to your expectations of them.
3. Never underestimate the effect that you as a leader have on your subordinates.
4. Let your people do their job.
5. To be a good leader, you must be an effective manager.
6. Where you sit determines what you see.
7. Things are never as good or as bad as first reported.
8. Don't argue with an idiot.

Canon G11, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Steel Curtain

This steel curtain is simply a decorative treatment in the elevator at the Hilton Hotel at Short Pump in Richmond, Virginia. Canon G11, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800

Night Insulator

An electric power line insulator backlit by the full moon. Canon 7D, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 560mm focal length.

Watermelon

As summer winds down the watermelons are still coming in strong. Watermelons are believed to have originated in southern Africa but evidence shows they were cultivated in China as early as the 10th century. Today China is the world's single largest watermelon producer. A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight and is a good source of vitamin C. Canon T2i, 1/200 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 40mm prime "pancake" lens.

Let the Sleeping Dog Lie

As the old saying goes, it's best to a let a sleeping dog lie. This is my "granddog" Cinder sleeping off the excitement from a visit by Grammy and Grandpa to his house today. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/10 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600.

Paris

The next best thing to being there, a little, made in China, plastic knick-knackery, with an Eiffel Tower of course. iPhone 4, 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80, Camera+ app.

Letter Box

This antique mail chute is still in use in the Royster Building. The 13 story "skyscraper" was Norfolk's tallest building when it was completed in 1912. This mail chute was provided by Cutler Mail Chute Company. James Goold Cutler received a patent on September 11, 1883 for the mail chute. The first one was installed in 1884 in the Elwood Building in Rochester, New York. Cutler ultimately received thirty patents for variations of his invention. The original approved patent No. 284,951 design stated that it must "be of metal, distinctly marked U.S. Letter Box. . ." iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1000.

Blue Moon

According to the font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, a blue moon is the appearance of the third full moon in a season with four full moons. The term has also been used to refer to the second full moon in a month. Tonight's blue moon is the first since December 31, 2009 and the next one won't be until July 2015.

Today was Neil Armstrong's memorial service and his family said one way we could remember him was to "Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink." So step outside and behold the rare blue moon and give Neil a wink.

Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f8.0, ISO 400, 560mm focal length. Converted to black and white in Lightroom 4 using the Silver Efex Pro 2 plugin and added a little blue tint using Google's Picasa. The real blue moon is not actually blue at all.

Tipsy Repeat

For the next two weeks this picture entitled “Tipsy” will be on display at Richmond Camera's store on 21st Street in Norfolk Virginia. It was made on New Year’s Eve as the last photo for my first 365 project. Glass can be hard to photograph because of the reflections it picks up. I found a how to blog post on the digital-photography-school.com by Ronan Palliser using martini glasses and colored water.

As he said “The secret to lighting glass is to not light the glass.” This photo was setup on an ironing board in my kitchen. A single off-camera flash is placed below the setup and bounced off the background to light the subject indirectly. Two pieces of black cardboard were placed on either side of the glasses just out side of the frame. The black gets reflected by the edges of glasses giving them definition. Executing the tilted colored water gives the photo its “surprise” element. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 50mm prime lens and one off-camera strobe.

Worker Bee

The bees were mighty busy at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center off Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach. The demonstration garden here is one of Hampton Roads best kept secrets. Need some tine to think or unwind, stop by for a walk in the gardens. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 100mm macro lens.

YNot

YNot Pizza has been making great hand-tossed pizzas in Hampton Roads Virginia for 19 years. This is our regular location in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach. Our favorite pizza - red sauce cheese pizza with tomatos, spinach and feta cheese. The name YNot comes from the reverse spelling of owner Tony DiSilvestro's first name. iPhone 4 using the Camera+ app and the Olloclip fisheye lens.

Quid Pro Quo

The Scope Plaza in Norfolk Virginia leads up to the world's largest concrete dome, which was designed by Italian architect/engineer Pier Luigi Nervi in conjunction with the Norfolk firm of Williams and Tazewell. The venue holds a bit of a political past. According to Wikipedia - After watching the 1960 Rome Olympics on television, Brad Tazewell and Jim Williams, the Norfolk architects who were eventually to partner with Nervi, solicited U.S. Sen. A. Willis Robertson, father of Christian Broadcasting Network founder and former candidate for President Pat Robertson, to build a sports complex in Norfolk. Subsequently, President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Robertson to support federal funding for a multimillion-dollar cultural center in Colorado and Robertson said he would if Johnson would support one in Norfolk. Scope was completed in 1971 at a cost of $35 million dollars with the federal government providing $23 million, almost 66% of the total cost. Canon G11, 1/250sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2 and Lightroom 4.

Empty Beach

We headed out to Sandbridge Beach late this afternoon. With stormy weather moving in we found an almost empty beach. It was really relaxing with the wind, surf and rapidly changing sky. We stayed for about 30 minutes before lifeguards closed the beach because of the threat of lightning. iPhone 4 with the Olloclip fisheye lens.

Yankee Clipper

Neil Armstrong the first man to step on the moon died today. We boomers grew up during the "space race" and his passing brings back many memories. I took this photo of the Apollo 12 space capsule, nicknamed the "Yankee Clipper" at the Virginia Air & Space Museum a while back. Armstrong's first assignment in the Apollo program came as the commander of the back-up crew of the Apollo 8 mission, though he had been originally scheduled to back-up the Apollo 9 mission. Had he remained as the Apollo 9 back-up commander he would have been slated to Command Apollo 12, not Apollo 11. Thanks for taking that one giant leap for mankind. Canon 40D, 1/40 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400, 17mm focal length.

Decaf

An evening cup of decaf coffee. Canon 5D MarkII, 1/60 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 50mm prime lens, converted to black and white in Google Picasa using the Holga-ish special effect.

Going Down

Heading down the escalator at MacArthur Mall in downtown Norfolk Virginia. iPhone 4, 1/24 sec @ f/2.8. ISO 100, Camera + App.

Light Painting

Normally light painting involves mounting the camera on a tripod, setting a long exposure and then moving a light in front of the camera to create shapes and patterns. For this picture I did just the opposite, the five green LED lights are stationary and I moved the camera during the exposure to create the looping effect. Canon G10, 2 seconds @ f/8.0, ISO 80.

HOH

The Harrison Opera House in Norfolk Virginia. Often just reffered to as the "HOH". Canon 40D, 1/100sec @ f/13.0, ISO 200 converted to black and white.

Mauies

I love my Maui Jim sunglasses so couldn't help but taking a picture of these on display. Canon G10, 1/125 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

Say Hello to Mr. Chakra

The concept of chakra features in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Chakra are believed to be centers of the body from which a person can collect energy. They are connected to major organs or glands that govern other body parts. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning". Mr. Chakra is a wooden sculpture found in Aveda stores. iPhone 4, Camera+ App.

Happy Birthday to The Tide

On year ago today The Tide light rail opened to the public. It's been a great first year and I'm looking forward to voting in November to bring The Tide to Virginia Beach. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 200.

Rising Steel

The steel framework for the new Norfolk Virginia Courthouse is rising quickly. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 200.

Playing to an Empty Theatre

Like the talented trumpeter who toots his own horn, I wound up playing to an empty theatre. Norfolk's Chrysler Hall and it's fairly rare "Continental" seating layout with isles only on the sides. Canon ELPH 110 HS, 1/13 sec @ f/2.7, ISO 160.

Wisconsin Sunset

The battleship Wisconsin silhouetted by the setting sun. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/250 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 400, 100mm focal length.

Like Links

Wore my new "Like" links to work today. A few people noticed and commented. I got snickers and smirks around the dinner table at home tonight. Not everyone appreciates geek humor. They are very versatile, if your feeling good - wear them in the thumbs up position, if the day is not going well or you're stuck in a boring meeting, just twist around to the thumbs down position. Simple binary messaging. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/125 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens and little extra light from an LED Litepanel.

Sleepy Buddy

One nice thing about having a pet is that they are always happy to see you. After a stressful day Sherlock was napping on my lap. He was just what the doctor ordered, bringing my blood pressure down nicely. You can catch his sister Sasha napping on the chair in the background. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1000.

Sunset

A family fishing and crabbing at suset in the Chesapeake Bay near the Lynnhaven inlet. iPhone 4, 1/100 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Sunrise

Always love catching the sunrise even when the setting is just a parking lot. That bird like shape in the lower center is actually a reflection from a car windshield and hood. iPhone 4, 1/1000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Lincoln Logs

Lighting up the Lincoln Logs with Robert. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Parachute Ball

The dandelion in its parachute ball stage. Remember as a kid the pastime of blowing the parachutes off the stalk? Canon 7D, 1/20 sec @ f/10.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Brief Appearance

The sun makes a brief appearance at sunrise before hiding behind a cieling of clouds. Canon G11, 1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Back Seat Photographer

The view from the back seat of a new 2013 Ford Explorer Limited and its Microsoft Sync system. I must admit I was pretty impressed with the design, fit and finish and the technology in this Ford. Canon G11, 1/6sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Reach for the Sky!

The Well Fargo building in downtown Norfolk seems to reach for the sky in this morning photograph. iPhone 4, 1/382 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 80.

Mille Colori

Mille Colori is an art glass chandelier by famed artist Dale Chihuly. It is a permanent installation at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Virginia Beach. Mille Colori is Italian and means "one thousand colors” and is estimated to weigh 2,200 to 2,500 pounds. This piece was originally entitled Isola di San Giacomo in Palude Chandelier and was installed on the beach of a small Venetian island involved in the 1996 Chihuly Over Venice project. The Rodriguez Pavilion at the MOCA was built specifically to house the renamed Mille Colori. Canon G11, 1/250 sec @ f4.0, ISO 800

Fashion Scene

Is it a crime scene? No, it's a fashion scene. This old body outline can be found on the third floor of the new Urban Outfitters store in Norfolk, Virginia. Left over from a previous music store tenant it was retained with many other unquie features in the old Adams Building on Granby Street. iPhone 4, 1/17 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 125, Camera+ app.