Yellow

- Photographed these tiny yellow flowers a few weeks back at the Hunter Savage Colonial Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden. I'm not sure what they are called but each small yellow blossom is about the size of a pencil eraser. Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

Bridges Up

- During our recent trip to Chicago I got to see the draw bridges go up along the Chicago River. Each fall the Chicago Department of Transportation schedules bridge lifts so sailboats from Lake Michigan can return to storage. Bridge tenders raise each lift bridge for approximately 10 minutes at a time to allow the boats to pass. This photo was taken from the N. Dearborn Street bridge looking east towards the N. State Street bridge in the foreground and the N. Wabash Avenue bridge in the background. Canon G11, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Killer

- Our five month old kitten Sherlock prepares for the "kill". Ears flattened for protection, down low for the pounce that's coming and those crossed blue eyes intently focused on the "prey". In this case the prey was a feather toy on a stick that my son Brian had. I never knew cats growled until this little "killer" joined our family. He's one bad a-- Tonkinese. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 200mm focal length

The Force

- The Force is strong with this one, but he's not a photo knight yet. Last Easter I gave Robert his own camera. He took to it immediately and loves taking pictures. You had better have it fully charged and big empty memory card when he gets his hands on it, because he shoots what he sees. It is great watching his creatively grow since he is completely unencumbered with digital. I starting taking pictures when I was 15 using Kodak Instamatic 110 and 126 cameras. But the cost of film and processing was a limiting factor. I can't wait to see what the all digital generation produces. Canon 7D, 1/50 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800.

Stone Bridge

- The Stone Bridge at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. The cloudy day created a giant "softbox" in the sky allowing the light colored bridge to photograph well with the surrounding fall landscape. On a sunny day it is difficult to get the bridge without blowing out the highlights or leaving too many dark shadows. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 400, with a tripod.

Mediterranean Feel

Yesterday was an unusually warm day for late October with highs in the low 90's. During our visit to Homearama in Norfolk's East Beach neighborhood there was one house that took the bold design step of bucking the modern beach cottage theme embraced by the other homes. The St. Mary house designed by Duff Kliewer of Cox, Kliewer & Co has a very Mediterranean feel with its enclosed courtyards and exterior plaster. This is the rear courtyard under the arbor which made me think of a sunny Mediterranean day. Canon G11, 1/2000 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 200, converted to sepia tone.

Homearama @ Night

- We volunteered as hosts tonight at the Fall 2010 Homearama held at East Beach in Norfolk, Virginia. This is the Armed Forces House, house #1 and our assignment. It was a great house with amazing cherry floors with cool inlays and a kitchen to just die for. The view from the second floor porch includes glimpses of the Chesapeake Bay. We had a great time. Thanks Becky for asking us to help out. Canon G11, 1/6 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 800, camera hand held.