Long Awaited Return

After 36 years passenger rail service returns to Norfolk Virginia. The Governor's "Whistle Stop" train arrived in Norfolk this afternoon. Regular daily rail service provided by Amtrak Virginia from Norfolk to Washington D.C., New York and Boston starts tomorrow morning. This locomotive #156 carries the Amtrak 40th Anniversary "Phase I" paint scheme known as the "Bloody Nose." This was the first paint scheme widely used by Amtrak when it began service in 1971. Canon G15, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800.

Morning Skyline

The Norfolk Virginia eastern skyline shortly after sunrise on a cloudy but unseasonably warm Monday morning. Freemason Street Baptist Church in the center foreground, the Basilica of Saint Mary just to the right, the eastern branch of the Elizabeth River with the railroad bridges raised to the far right, and Virginia Beach's Westin Town Center in the distant left background seen between the two NSU dormitory towers. Canon G15, 1 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 100.

Holiday Trappings

Holiday trappings everywhere you look. I love the colors and sights of the season. iPhone 5, Camera+ app.

Holiday Lights

More of the holiday lights at Norfolk's Botanical Gardens. Canon 7D, 1/20 sec @ f/3.5 ISO 800.

Two Crows

"One crow means sorrow,
two crows mean joy,
three crows a wedding,
four crows a boy,
five crows mean silver,
six crows mean gold,
seven crows a secret that's never been told."

Canon G15, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, converted to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Schlumbergera

Schlumbergera, a.k.a. the Christmas Cactus. These cacti are species found in the coastal mountains of south-eastern Brazil. Plants grow on trees or rocks in habitats which are generally shady with high humidity and can be quite different in appearance from their desert-dwelling cousins. Hybrids like this one are popular house plants.Canon 7D, 1/80 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens, two LED Litepanels used for illumination.

Too Much Email

Opened my Gmail account today and what do you know, my unopened email counter was sitting at exactly 10,000. Many of these are email lists, ads, automatic notifications and such. I had this down to zero this past summer. So if I took 5 seconds each to delete these emails it would take 14 hours of continuos deleting to get rid of them all. If I actually took a minute to look at each one, that would take 21 - 8 hour work days or a little more than one man month. And this is just my personal email account, my work account has much more volume. Canon 7D, 1/40 sec @ f/16.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro, photographed directly off my computer screen.