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.

HDR Gardens

This is a simulated high dynamic range (HRD) photo of the Hunter Savage Colonial Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. This was a cloudy overcast day which made it ideal for capturing details, I just had to avoid the blah sky. This image is a blending of three exposures, one taken at the camera's meter reading, one two stops under exposed and one two stops over exposed. I did the blending with Photomatix Pro. This allowed me to avoid blowing out the highlights on the white gazebo and fence while capturing details in the shadows. Not a great picture but an interesting lesson for me in HDR. Canon 7D, 1/6 sec @ f/14.0, (metered exposure) ISO 400, 70mm focal length, mounted on a tripod.

Rethink Your Lash Look

- Check out those eyelashes on Astro one of the kangaroo mob at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk Virginia. I know many women would spend a fortune to get lashes that long and thick and these are wasted on a male kangaroo who doesn't even have a female roo to bat those lashes at. You see the mob at the zoo are all males, apparently its the only way to keep the peace. Canon 7D, 1/2500 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200, zoom at 170mm focal length.

Emu Watching You

- Shelia the emu at the Virginia Zoo was real interested in our visit with the kangaroos yesterday. She followed us around the whole time and keep a close eye on all of the activity. I think she was really interested in my camera. They are know for their keen eyesight and hearing and for their curiosity. Canon 7D, 1/1600 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200, 200mm focal length.