Repairing the Web

I've been keeping an eye on this beautiful garden spider I spotted among the daylilies back in June. When I first saw her she was only about a half an inch long now she's easily approaching and inch and half. She was busy rebuilding the "sewing machine" zig-zag part of the web. I had never seen one actually doing this, so I thought I would share. Canon EOS 300D, 1/500 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Dragonfly

It has been a long time since I posted a picture on my blog. Especially after 1461 straight days - four years of 365 project extreme. I miss it - so - I am thinking about starting another 365 project for 2014. What do you say about something like "365 Prime" or "Prime All The Time" and just using fixed focal length prime lenses for each day's photo? No zoom lenses - "zoom with your feet," doing it old school.

Today's photo is one I did for SnapChick's First Sunday Challenge. On the first Sunday of each month you take your an old digital camera and forget about the technology and focus on composition and creativity. This dragonfly was captured using my 2003 vintage Canon EOS 300D a.k.a the Digital Rebel. I used a 100mm macro lens and converted to black and white in Lightroom with the Silver Efex Pro plug-in. ISO 800, 1/400 sec @ f/11.0.

Iris

Inspired by a classic Paul Strand photograph from 1928. Canon Digital Rebel 1/25 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro in Lightroom.

First Tomato

First of this season's tomatoes. A few more weeks to go. Canon Digital Rebel, 1/400 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens/

Night Sleeper

- The leaves of the tree widely known in the U.S.A. as the Mimosa tree but more correct is the name albizia julibrissin or Persian silk flower. Its leaves slowly close during the night and during periods of rain, the leaflets bowing downward: its modern Persian name shabkhosb (شب‌خسب) means "night sleeper". In Japan its common names are nemunoki, nemurinoki and nenenoki which all mean "sleeping tree". Source Wikipedia. Canon Digital Rebel, 1/320 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

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.

Glass Dome

From 2010 Blog

- Looking up at the glass Dome at Isle of Wight County Museum in Smithfield Virginia. The museum is housed in the old Bank of Smithfield building. Canon Digital Rebel, 1/160 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 200, 40mm focal length.

The Lesson Bench

From 2010 Blog

Took this photo of the "lesson bench" at Boston Common in 2006. This bench was the site of one of the more memorable scenes from the movie "Good Will Hunting" when Robin William's character deals out a dose of life's realities to young Will Hunting played by Matt Damon. Canon Digital Rebel, 1/60 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 200, zoom at 29mm.

Harbor of Hospitality

From Elizabeth City

Storm clouds advance on the "Harbor of Hospitality". The Elizabeth City North Carolina harbor is on the Pasquotank River, which connects to the Albemarle Sound and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. This photo is from a June 2006 visit. Canon Digital Rebel, 1/200 sec @ f/9.0, ISO 200, 18mm focal length.