343 - Capillary Action

From 365 Project

In 953, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of Egypt, commissioned the construction of the pen instructing: 'We wish to construct a pen which can be used for writing without having recourse to an ink-holder and whose ink will be contained inside it. . .’ It would take 900 years for his wish to come true when the first practical fountain pens emerged in the 1850's. The key is a combination of gravity and the magic of capillary action. Once the ink starts to flow through the nib, capillary action keeps the flow going by drawing in more ink from the reservoir. This is a closeup photo of an 18k gold nib on an Omas 360 fountain pen. Canon Rebel XTi, 8/10 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 400, 65mm macro lens.

342 - Wheels & Tires

From 365 Project

A set of wheels and tires from a 15 passenger van await their fate in the early morning sunshine. The tire sitting partially under the one in the foreground is most certainly headed to the recycler since the tread has completely separated from the tire. The others will likely head back out on the road after a good balancing. It's all part of routine "PM" (preventive maintenance). Canon G10, 1/5 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 200 converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro in Photoshop Elements..

341 - QWERTY

From 365 Project

The QWERTY is the standard layout for English keyboards. The layout comes from the 1870's and was devised using a study of letter-pair frequency to position the letters to avoid type bar jams that plagued early typewriters. Originally the letter "R" and the period "." were reversed on the keyboard. They were switched into the current positions so a typewriter salesman could impress customers by quickly typing out "TYPEWRITER" using only the top row of letters. The photo is my Logitech illuminated keyboard, a fine device for working late at night. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/20s @ f/3.2, ISO 800, 50mm macro.

340 - Spectral Highlights

From 365 Project

The technical definition of a spectral highlight is "A bright reflection from a light source containing little or no detail. " Essentially this portion of light is too bright for the digital camera's sensor to capture, so you end up with a white spot or streak in your picture. Reflections often cause this as does shooting towards the sun or other light source. However when using the Lensbaby with a star shaped aperture insert, those out of focus spectral highlights take on the shape of a star. This is our Christmas tree with its white lights. Canon 7D, 1/8 sec @ ~f/2.8, ISO 200 with the Lensbaby.

339 - Star Light, Star Bright

From 365 Project

Star light, star bright,
May I take your picture tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Take a great picture tonight.
Canon XTi, 1/100 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 50mm macro.

338 - Cylinder Head

From 365 Project

Close up of a cylinder head and its values stems and springs. This one is from a diesel engine used on a transit bus. The cylinder head sits above the cylinders and consists of a platform containing part of the combustion chamber and the location of the valves and spark plugs. Canon 7D, 1/8 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 50mm focal length.

337 - Nose Job

From 365 Project

The bow of the USS Wisconsin at its pier in Norfolk Virginia. This is not the original bow. In May 1956 she collided with destroyer USS Eaton in a heavy fog off Virginia. The Wisconsin's bow suffered heavy damage, the Eaton fared much worse. A 120-ton 68-foot long section of the bow of the uncompleted battleship Kentucky was used to replace Wisconsin's damaged bow resulting in the largest "nose job" in history. The Wisconsin's nickname "WisKy" comes from shorted versions of Wisconsin and Kentucky. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 27mm equivalent focal length.