186 - American Lotus

From 365 Project

The American Lotus is an aquatic plant native to North and Central America. It's large blossoms can be be over ten inches in diameter. This picture was taken at the Lotus Garden Park in Virginia Beach Virginia. The park is located near the intersection of Sandbridge and Colchester Roads. In the 1980's upstream pollution wiped out the native Lotus plants here. Twenty years later with more attention paid to water quality, the plants are returning to their former glory. Canon 40D, 1/600 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 180mm focal length.

185 - Fish Dinner

From 365 Project

This Great Egret has just caught his dinner. He was fishing in a body of water in Norfolk Virginia known as the Hague near Mobray Arch and Olney Road. The Hague and Mobray Arch are part of Norfolk's historic Ghent neighborhood. Canon 40D, 1/400 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400. 400mm focal length.

184 - Daylily Twirl

From 365 Project

Feeling a little artsy today. These are my Jersey Spider and Alabama Jubilee daylilies on a long exposure with the camera twirled during the shot. I used a Vari-ND (neutral density) filter to achieve the extra long exposure necessary to have the blurred motion effect in bright sunlight. Canon 40D, 6/10 sec @ f/20.0, ISO 200, 24mm focal length.

183 - The Boathouse

From 365 Project

The Boathouse, once a rockin' place for concerts is rapidly rotting away. It was a popular Norfolk Virginia concert venue in the 80's and 90's. With its low ceiling and packed crowds it was a favorite venue for bands and concert goers alike. Converted from an old riverfront warehouse, the building is now condemned and appears to be sinking into the river. While it is missed by many it has been adequately replaced by the NorVa. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/20.0, ISO 200 with a polarizer.

182 - HOH

From 365 Project

It was a spectacular summer day so I stopped to take this photo of the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk Virginia on the way back from lunch. Usually mid-day photos are kind of washed out but this building was radiant in the bright sun. Originally a WWII era theater known as the Center Theater, it was renovated in 1993 and is home to the Virginia Opera. Canon 40D, 1/100 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 70mm focal length with a two-stop polarizer.

181 - Don't take my Kodachrome away

From 365 Project

They didn't listen to Paul Simon! Last week Kodak announced it was ending the production of Kodachrome transparency (slide) film after 74 years. Remember all of those great National Geographic photos you loved - Kodachrome. I have hundreds of slides I took using this great film and my trusty Olympus OM2 which I got 32 years ago. So I picked some of the last Kodachrome and will be shooting it with the OM2 over the next few months. I'm sure some photos will make it to the blog, although somewhat delayed since it takes about a month to send it away to only processor left. Canon G10, 1/60 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200, macro mode with a three light setup, two strobes and a Litepanel Micro.

180 - White Wings

From 365 Project

This young great egret was testing his wings in a large nesting colony located in the Campostella Heights neighborhood in Norfolk Virginia. There were hundreds of egrets in nests high up in the pine trees. While beautiful to watch, the nesting colony can make a real mess. Some residents appear to have cut down or severely trimmed tress to rid themselves of the messy birds. Canon 40D, 1/500 @ f/9.0, ISO 400, zoom at 400mm with a 1.4x extender.