Winter Walk Off

- I accepted a challenge from Les and his A Tidewater Gardner blog to walk around the neighborhood and photograph the signs that winter is almost over. Besides the fact that today's high temperature was 78ºF (26ºC), I didn't have to go far to find a beautiful sign of the season. These violet crocuses are in my next door neighbor's yard. She has dozens of them and every year they are one of the first signs that spring will soon be here. Check out Les's blog and accept the challenge. He has prizes! Canon 40D, 1/200 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens, handheld LED light for illumination.

The Red Carpet

- Walked the "red carpet" tonight at an Oscar party as my cousin's house in Norfolk. It was great to see everyone dressed up like a star. Canon G11, 1/6 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Slinky Colors

- A rainbow plastic Slinky illuminated from behind. Canon 40D, 1250 sec @ f/40.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Lego Time

- My grandson Robert was spending the night with us so he and I built a skyscraper from Lego Duplo blocks that was taller than him. He was pretty happy with the creation. Maybe there's budding young architect in there. Only time will tell. Canon 40D, 1/100 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

PCBA

The PCBA or printed circuit board assembly is in every product made today that has some sort of electronics. Cheap and reliable these mass produced boards have evolved to contain entire computers. This one is embedded in acrylic in a pen that my brother Mark made for me recently. It's the perfect fashion accessory for the geek turned manager. Canon 40D, 1/30 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro with Canon Lifesize Adapter. The lighting comes from two LED light panels.

Wireless

- Wireless infrastructure is critical to making all of our treasured mobile devices work. Some say it's not very pretty to look at and while I agree it doesn't contribute much to most landscapes, most of us couldn't live without it. I see beauty in the technology. This tower is laden with 24 cellar antennas, 4 microwave relays dishes, a few plain old radio antennas and most importantly one osprey nest. A cable runs to each antenna from the ground, some inside the monopole other strapped along the outside. Each of these cables are about one inch in diameter and heavy as lead. Pay close attention the next time you're near one of these towers in our area and I bet you will see that a bird of prey has made it a home. This one was on I64 near Mason Creek in Norfolk, Virginia. I was stopped for almost two hours today on I64 while the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel was shutdown which afforded me and my camera some quality time together. Canon G11, 1/2000 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200.

A Ray of Sunshine

- Caught this ray of sunshine cutting through a fountain spay. Water and sunlight are always a great combination in a photo. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/2.5, ISO 800, 50mm prime lens.

Waning Winter

- The past week of spring-like temperatures has caused the trees to begin budding out. I hope the that winter is truly behind us because if we have an extended cold spell now it will be hard on the trees and other plants that are starting to wakeup. Canon G11, 1/125 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 100.

Just Sayin'

- This ominous sign greeted us as we entered the Virginia Beach Convention Center this afternoon to attend the Greenberg's Train & Toy Show with my grandson Robert. The Convention Center was packed due to a most odd collection of events - the train show, a gun show, a bridal show, a gymnastics event and a coin show. Little boys in train engineer hats and little girls in leotards along with sidearm wearing gun enthusiasts; it was all so surreal. Only in Virginia where they take the "right to keep and bear arms" pretty darn literally could one see such sites. BTW - the sign and policy is probably not within Virginia law which allows you to take a loaded firearm into most public buildings, libraries and parks. Canon 7D, 1/8000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Waning Gibbous

- The moon has been pretty spectacular the last few nights. This is the Waning Gibbous phase, one day past a full moon at 96% full. Converted to B&W. Canon 7D, 1/20 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 100, 400mm.

Signs of Spring

- It was 74°F today and the signs that Spring is coming were everywhere. Robins looking for worms, trees full of new buds and this hyacinth which began to emerge a few weeks ago will soon be in bloom. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 100, 100mm macro lens.

Back Off!

- Yikes! Back off man! This isn't what you want to see in your rearview mirror during a traffic jam on the interstate highway. Canon G11, 1/640 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Fiber Sunrise

- Nice sunrise this morning, This photo shilouttes the fiber optic, legacy copper phone, and power lines that serve my house. My Internet comes in from the pole in the photograph on a hybrid fiber-coax network provided by Cox Communications. As you can tell, I can't resist sunrise and sunset photos and I appreciate your allowing me to subject you to a pretty steady stream of them on this blog. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

A Slice of Sunshine

- A little slice of sunshine for your winter day. An orange contains 45 mg of Vitamin C or about 75% of the recommended daily amount. This a "Navel Orange" a mutation that dates back almost 200 years. Because these oranges have no seeds and are therefore sterile they must be propagated through grafting. Thus all navel oranges are genetically identical clones and can be considered as the fruit the original tree from 200 years ago. Thanks to my wife Cindy for photo idea for tonight - it takes a village. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro with two LED lights, one front and one back light.

Valentine Rose

- Roses are incredible flowers and I always photograph them when we have them in the house or in the garden. This white rose was close to a pink rose which cast its color into the picture. Certainly red roses are the Valentine's Day tradition, but the white and pink together were extra special for my Valentine. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro, LED light source.

Conversation Hearts

- I liked it better when Conversation Hearts actually had conversation on them. These are the Brach's version of the classic candy. A few years ago they decided to go with non-romantic text style messages, yuk. I had a box of the more traditional version made by the New England Confectionery Co. aka Necco, but I ate them before I could make this picture. The Necco sweetheart candies originated from the same formula used in Necco Wafers, a product that has been made continuously since 1847 by Necco and it's predecessor companies. Canon 7d, 1/160 sec @ f/4.0, 100mm macro.

Frosty Beamer

- Awoke to a heavy frost this morning. Went out to get the paper and decided it was worth a picture of the frosty emblem on Cindy's BMW. While it was cold this morning with snow still on the ground, today's high of 55ºF and tomorrow's forecast for lows 60's will make it seem as if Spring is here. Canon G11, 1/100 @ f/3.2, ISO 200, in macro mode.

Did you see it?

- Did you see the incredible sunset tonight? A front came through just in time to open the skies for the setting sun in the west to illuminate the clouds retreating to the east. Five minutes after I took this photo at 5:43 the sky was completely gray. Canon G11, 1/640 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, taken looking through my windshield.

More Snow

- So tell me again about this global warming thing? More snow today but it was a good snow, pretty in the morning and gone by afternoon. Canon G11, 1/640 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400.

Southgate Terminal

- These waterfront condominiums were created from the old Southgate Forwarding and Storage Company Warehouse adjacent to Norfolk Virginia's historic Freemason neighborhood. The pier-warehouse was served by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. The shipping business in this area declined rapidly after World War II and the piers and warehouses were largely abandoned by the 1960's. Today most have been converted into residential condominiums. Canon G11, 1/250 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 200.

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.

The Red, Pink & Blue

- A bright blue sky and a red and pink Valentine's Day flag make for a cheery seasonal morning. Don't forget your Valentine next Monday! This year let's all try to do something original from the heart for your love rather than just contributing to the greeting card, candy and flower concessionaires. Write a love letter, yes with pen & paper - no emails or Facebook posts, make a card or fix a special homemade meal or desert. Just break the mold and be your romantic self. Canon G11, 1/1600 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 100.

Ceiling Geometry

- One should alway look up. In this I was rewarded with some interesting geometric shapes in the ceiling of the MacArthur Mall in Norfolk, Virginia. Canon G11, 1/2000 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 200.

Damage at the Pump

- Had to fill 'er up today - damage $41.00. Canon G11, 1/100 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200, in macro mode.

Slinky

- The Slinky photo that I was trying to get last night when the cats were helping. It's old hat now so I can photograph it without curious kitties getting in the photos. The colorful plastic spring offers many photographic opportunities. You might just see it again soon. Canon 40D, 1/2500sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Slinky Sasha

- I was trying to make some cool Slinky photos tonight but I had a lot of help from my two assistants who were fascinated with the new colorful plastic spring toy. Being cats they naturally assumed something new to the house was there only for their amusement. So I went with the flow and captured this really nice image of Sasha checking out the Slinky. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm macro, LED light source under the spring.

Other Times

- On the way out to work this morning the car was wet from an earlier rain, so the beads of water caught my eye. But when I looked at the preview screen of the camera the tree reflected on the roof jumped out. The camera often records light and images much differently than our eyes see them. Sometimes this is very frustrating to the photographer who's trying to accurately capture a scene, other times it's just cool. This was one of the other times. Canon G11, 1/10 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200.

Untamed Love Mix

- This is Hot Tamales's valentine candy mix. The "Untamed Love Mix" contains "Passionate Pink", "Wild for You White" and "Romantic Red" candies. They all taste the same just like "America's favorite Cinnamon Candy". Canon 40D, 1/500 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.