Gumby and Pokey Ride Again

- These rare vintage Gumby and Pokey Happy Trails game piece figures from 1968 were a free gift from a Foursquare check-in at GC5 Vintage & Gifts. I figured they would have to be part of the blog so look for them to show up in my photos occasionally. Canon G1X, 1/1600 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400.

Perpendicular Gothic

- The Freemason Street Baptist Church is one of three buildings in Norfolk Virginia designed by Thomas U. Walter who was famous for his design of the dome for the U.S. Capital Building. The church was completed in May 1850 in a revival of the style known as "Perpendicular Gothic." This Victorian period revival style was characterized by its reliance on decoration and ornamentation rather than structure. I made my first visit to the interior of the church today and was struck by its beauty. This photo shows the side aisle under the overhead gallery with the east facing stained glass windows. The large Gothic windows with the simple single colors is really unusual for a church of this period. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 50mm prime lens.

Streamline Moderne

- This beautiful piece of history is a Revere 16mm Model 48 silent movie projector from the early 1950's. I saw it in an antique and vintage store. 16mm films were ones we used to watch in school back in the old days, pre-VCR. One of the things I love about old film gear is the way it was made, heavy and solid but also sleek and cool. Much of this look comes from the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne industrial design movement from the 1930's resulting from era of speed in transportation. Today we call it retro but you can see its roots clearly in the "technofuturistic curvedness" of Apple industrial design. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom 3.

Wake Forest

- The historic downtown of Wake Forest North Carolina. This is the 200 block of South White Street. Cindy and I paid a quick visit on our way home from a weekend in Raleigh. Canon G1X, 1/500 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 400.

Fat Tire

- The Fat Tire neon sign at Mellow Mushroom Pizza in downtown Raleigh North Carolina. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/5.8, ISO 400.

Big Fish

- This fish was in a large aquarium at the Virginia Wesleyan student center and the front glass reflection makes it look like the fish swallowed a whole line of people. The people were lined up at the 14th Annual Empty Bowls Charity Dinner. iPhone 4, 1/15 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1000.

Bradford Pear

- In the mid 1970's Virginia Beach, like many American cities, planted the Bradford Pear trees along main roads. At the time the tree was considered to be the perfect street tree, with beautiful early white blooms, a nice cone shape, and good fall color. Thirty years later many of trees weaknesses are now apparent including a relatively short life and the tendency to easily break in high winds and under the load of winter ice. These trees are located along Princess Anne Road just southeast of Newtown Road and while some show the effect of age and breakage, the early spring debut of white flowers is still a wonderful sight. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.