Rose Garden

- Went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens today with Cindy and our friend Margaret. It was cool and windy but we still enjoyed our walk through the thousands of roses at the Bicentennial Rose Garden, It's November and the roses still look spectacular, tonight's forecast with a low in the 30's might change that. Canon G11, 1/2000 @ f/3.2, ISO 200 in macro mode.

Lego Logo

- Robert was over tonight and we built Legos for a while. After he went to bed I pulled out this crystal blue Lego Duplo block, applied some bottom light and took this macro photo. These are two of the eight the Lego logos on the block. After all of these years, two sons and one grandson, I can still enjoy time with these great plastic blocks. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 1600, Litepanel LED light and 100mm macro lens with the life size adapter.

The Chicago Hot Dog

- I had my first Chicago hot dog during our visit to Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood last month. We went to George's Hot Dogs a family owned business operating since 1948. So what makes a an official Chicago-style hot dog? First the Vienna Beef frankfurter, still made in Chicago and a steamed bun. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The completed Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" because of the unique combination of toppings. Legend has it this unique set of seven toppings originated in the 1930's as street vendors starting adding toppings to one up their competitors. By the 1950's, the current recipe was tradition. Never ask a Chicago hot dog vendor for ketchup, that's sacrilege. Canon G11, 1/500 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 400.

Faux Asia

- The new Asia exhibit at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. Expected to open in 2011, the exhibit will features the zoo's tigers. Canon 7D, 1/1250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, converted to black & white using Silver Efex Pro.

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