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Saturday, December 12, 2009

346 - Richardsonian Romanesque

From 365 Project
The Romanesque steeple of the Epworth United Methodist Church in Norfolk Virginia is back lit by a late afternoon sun burning through a thin cloud covering. Said to be inspired Henry H. Richardson's Trinity Church in Boston, this building is the only significant Romanesque style structure in the city. Built in 1894, the steeple was extended in height years later when it was said the new tall buildings in downtown were blocking the sounds of church bells. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Canon G10, 1/320 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 200.

Friday, December 11, 2009

345 - Bug Eye

From 365 Project
A friend at work owns this cherry restored 1953 Volkswagen Beetle. He usually drives it on Fridays so I took advantage of it and captured today's photo. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, Lensbaby Composer with wide angle adapter.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

344 - Chim Chiminey

From 365 Project
The red chimney and the stark primary colors of the sky and the house invoked memories of seeing the movie Mary Poppins many years ago. The bright yellow house is at the corner of Colley and Boissevain Avenues in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood. Canon 7D, 1/800 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

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.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

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..

Monday, December 7, 2009

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.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

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.