Swimming on Glass

The water in the Hague in Norfolk Virginia was smooth as glass until a small group of Canada geese swam by. Canon 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 200mm focal length.

Patiently Waiting

This big lady is patiently waiting for her next victim. She built a large web just outside the window of my home office. I took this photo through the glass window, so I was able to get pretty close. Hope it doesn't creep you out too much. Canon 7D. 1/80 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm with one LED Litepanel for illumination.

Vail Mountain

Still sharing some of my Colorado pictures on the blog. This is the view from the top of Vail Mountain looking down into the "bowl." You can see a grove of aspen trees, and then bands of thick green pines and the cleared sky run areas. I was at about 10,500 feet for this shot. Canon 5D, Mark II, 1/100 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 200, 105mm focal length.

Morning Welcome

This bright yellow daisy provides a nice morning welcome. Canon G11, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100, in macro mode.

Reach for the Sky

These aspen trees reach for the sky with their bright yellow fall leaves and white bark contrasting nicely with the blue sky. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/320 sec @ f/14.0, ISO 200, 24mm focal length.

Garden of the Gods

When visiting this area of sandstone formations in 1859 Rufus Cable, exclaimed, "Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble." Charles Elliott Perkins, the head of the Burlington Railroad, purchased the area in 1879 and opened it to the public. After his death in 1907 his family conveyed the four-hundred eighty acres to the City of Colorado Springs. It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods "where it shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park." Canon 5D Mark II, 1/160 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 100, 28mm focal length.

Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway

Spent my birthday driving from Vail to Manitou Springs, crossing the Continental Divide at Hossier's Pass, and then taking the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway to the summit of Pike's Peak. Here the cog wheel trains await at 14,110 feet above sea level while we spend time exploring the summit. All in all, a pretty cool birthday. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/400 sec @ f/11, ISO 400, 35mm focal length.