233 - Scared Lotus

From 365 Project

Last month I posted a photo of an American Lotus with its butter cream yellow color. This time it's the Asian Scared Lotus in wonderful pale pink. Buddhist symbolism suggests, because they emerge from slime and corruption, then grow up through the purifying water to emerge into the sunlight, they are seen as metaphors for the development of the individual being towards enlightenment.* This one is at Pagoda & Oriental Garden in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Canon 40D, 1/320 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 100mm focal length.

232 - Smart!

From 365 Project

This is simple shot of the Smart car logo from a cool looking black model displayed in the MacArthur Center mall in Norfolk Virginia. The camera was pulled slightly downward during the exposure to create the three dimensional effect. Canon 40D. 1/4 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 200. Converted to black and white in Photoshop Elements using the Hidden Power Infrared and Custom B&W plugin.

231 - World Photography Day!

From 365 Project

Today is World Photography Day, yea! Thanks to @Pleyades for the heads-up tweet this morning. Photographer's love their gear and I'm a real gear geek. So I took this photo of my favorite rig, the Canon 40D with an 85mm, F1.8 prime lens. Even though we love our gear, a photographer's #1 pet peeve is when someone looks at one of their pictures and says, "wow that's a great photo, you must have a really nice camera." While gear is important, a good photographer can make a great picture with a cell phone camera. Canon Rebel XTi (400D) 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 50mm macro lens. The subject was in a light tent and illuminated with two strobes.

230 - Fisheye Myrtle

From 365 Project

I know some photographers don't like those "silly circular" fisheye lenses. I don't use mine every much but it can produce some unusual results. This is the old crepe myrtle in my side yard at dusk. I used the camera's pop-up flash to light the tree and of course it falls off rapidly towards the edges of the extreme wide angle producing an even more pronounced circular framing. Canon Rebel XTi (400D), 1/60 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 8mm focal length.

229 - Beetle

From 365 Project

Back in June I chased a little beetle around with the macro lens for about an hour and never got a tack sharp image. This little guy didn't move at all so it was pretty easy to get a nice clear macro shot. The macro lens has an extremely short depth of field so capturing the sharpness at the point of interest can be challenging. Canon 40D, 1/400 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 50mm macro lens.

228 - Casa del Gato

From 365 Project

Casa del Gato is home to the Lambert's Point feral cat colony. One cat seems to be checking the mailbox. The cat house is located on Orapax Street adjacent to the Lambert's Point docks and cargo terminal in Norfolk Virginia. Directly across the street is Tortilla West who's staff feed and keep an eye on the colony. The cats were spayed in 2008 in an effort to help control the colony's growth. Canon G10, 1/60 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 200, 54mm equivalent focal length.

227 - Buckeye Butterfly

From 365 Project

Caught this Buckeye Butterfly in the butterfly garden at Virginia Tech's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, a.k.a. HRAREC, in Virginia Beach. The Center has some amazing gardens, thanks to Duane and Les for suggesting this as a place for photos. Canon 40D, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 200mm focal length.