On His Terms - Day 81 #CY365

Our grandson Robert is spending the weekend with us. We spent the afternoon decorating a 'Bunny House' for Easter. He was more than happy to pose with his masterpiece. iPhone 5s, Camera+ App.

Pose - Day 18 #CY365

Miss Piggy strikes a pose and says "Moi has always possessed a charm that is lethal to men." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Christmas Train

Robert playing with the LGB "Big Train" on Christmas Eve. He would rather push the train on the tracks than run it with the transformer. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, ceiling bounced flash with a little direct light from a reflector.

Serious Business

My grandson Robert pays close attention to instructions for making his own hand blown glass Christmas ornament at the Chrysler Museum of Art Glass Studio. When he finished, he proud;y pronounced his as the best in the class. I have to agree with him. Canon G15, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

The Thinker

This young man asked me to take his picture at the park the other day and struck this pose. Normally portraits are taken in the vertical portrait orientation but I thought this worked well in horizontal or landscape mode. See more of my black and white work at the World in Black and White Blog.

Canon 5D Mark II, 1/1250 sec @ f/4, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro in Lightroom 4.

Missing Tooth

- Robert lost his first tooth this week. It came loose while he was biting into an apple and then he pulled out himself. He's a tough guy. Of course he got a visit from the Tooth Fairy and got $5.00 for his tooth! Canon 7D, 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm.

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.

Almost Famous

- My grandson Robert looks like a celebrity behind these sunglasses. Given how much he ends up in pictures taken by Grandpa, I guess he qualifies. Canon G11, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200.

Contre-jour

- French for 'against daylight', refers to photographs taken when the camera is pointing directly toward a source of light. Contre-jour produces backlighting of the subject. This effect usually hides details, causes a stronger contrast between light and dark, creates silhouettes and emphasizes lines and shapes. The sun, or other light source, is often seen as either a bright spot or as a strong glare behind the subject. Source - Wikipedia. Canon G11, 1/125 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400.

Holiday Sasha

- Miss Sasha is enjoying the holiday decorations. Canon 40D, 1/40 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

The B-Day Boy

- Another picture of Robert on his birthday. He's Grandpa's favorite model. Canon 7D, 1/30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

Laid Back

- My grandson Robert was laid back before his birthday party today. Canon 7D, 1/25 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

RED

- DISCLAIMER - I did not make this photo but I liked it so much that I wanted to share it on the blog. This is a photo of me taken this past Saturday at the Stockley Gardens Art Festival in Norfolk Virginia by Paint the Town Red - Norfolk. Paint the town Red - Norfolk is a promotion of the Virginia Stage Company's production of the play RED about Russian born American painter Mark Rothko and the Chrysler's Museum's exhibit "Mark Rothko: Perceptions of Being".

Ghostly Greeter

- We added some Halloween "greeters" to foyer for my grandson Robert. This is the ghostly greeter. This might end up being my Facebook profile photo later in October. Canon 40D, 1/30 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm.

Inspired

- I was inspired by fellow photographer Cait Wade's doggy portraits from her blog. So not having a dog, I enlisted the help of my good buddy Sherlock. He's always willing to get a little attention even if it means modeling for a few minutes. He has pretty dramatic blue eyes so those are the focus of this portrait. Canon 40D, 1/30 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 100mm lens.

Meet Crew

- This is "Crew" he is a four month old golden retriever destined to be a guide dog for the blind. We spent yesterday in historic Leesburg Virginia with Crew and his puppy raiser Irene Esch. Crew was wearing his guide dog in training vest while visiting many shops with us and even joined us for lunch in a small restaurant with live music. I was amazed at how focused he was and how good he behaved the entire day. Navigating in tight crowed antique shops and resisting the attention everyone was wanting to give him. He won't begin his official guide dog training until he is at least one year old, but we could tell he's going to make someone a great guide dog. Canon G11, 1/640 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 400.

Armed and Dangerous

- Making an exception today and posting a photo that I didn't take. This picture was captured by my brother-in-law Larry Garrett of my grandson Robert in the hot tub today. We were having a Father's Day water gun battle between my son Brian, Robert and I when Robert decided to turn the gun on photographer Uncle "Warry". Larry is pretty darn good with a camera and is responsible for getting me back into photography and onto to shooting digital when he gave me his used Canon Digital Rebel in 2006. I hope you agree that this is a pretty fabulous picture. It is tack sharp, has great action and expression, perfect light and composition, and cool depth of field. Canon 7D, 1/320 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 640, 115mm focal length on a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom.

Looking Pretty

- Miss Sasha was looking mighty pretty starring out the window so I just had to take a picture of her. She's quite the little diva at our house and wins the hearts of everyone she meets. My wife says I do too many cat pictures for the blog but I just can't resist. I hope you don't mind indulging my pet photography. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 100mm.

Ol' Blue Eyes

- Well he's not that old actually. This is Sherlock our eight month old Tonkinese cat. Yes he is named after the famous fictional detective because of his insatiable curiosity. He goes by many names around our house, Lock, Lockmeister, Lockinator, Trouble with a capital "T" and assorted other names when his curiosity is out of control. All that said he is a great cat and never sees a stranger. Canon 40D, 160th @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 100mm lens.

My Little Buddy

- Sherlock was busy attacking the feathers on stick toy this morning when I called his name and he turned his head for this picture. I know Susan, Teresa and other members of his fan club will appreciate this shot. Canon Rebel T2i, 1/13 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 1600, 85mm prime lens.