Orchids

- White orchids illuminated by indirect window light and a small lamp which adds the gold highlights. Canon G11, 1/10 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 400.

Decoration Day

- Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, which was first observed by Freedmen in Charleston, South Carolina in 1865 to remember the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. Today Memorial Day is a time for us to remember and honor all of those who have fallen in the service of our freedom. Hampton National Cemetery was created in 1862 by the Union Army to bury Civil War dead. While most were Union casualties there are several hundred Confederate dead buried there as well. Today almost 30,000 veterans rest here from all conflicts of the past 150 years. The cemetery also holds the graves of 29 German sailors killed during the sinking of the U-85 just off Oregon Inlet North Carolina in April 1942. Canon 40D, 1/1600 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 200mm focal length.

Glass Block

- Glass blocks have returned as an architectural detail. This block is picking up red from the brick wall opposite with green from trees located off to the right. The colors change as the light and your angle of view changes. The shapes and colors create a wonderful and always different view. Canon 40D, 1/1600 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Tea Geeks

- Our son Michael is home this week and since he's a tea geek we visited the new Teavana store at MacArthur Center in Norfolk Virginia. This is a 50/50 blend of Jasmine Pearls & Strawberry Lemonade basically green tea and herbal tea. It makes a great summer iced tea which I'm enjoying while I do this blog post. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens with LED litepanel.

Mixed Messages

Mixed messages on the doorway of this flower shop in Virginia Beach Virginia. Open - closed, Roses 12.99/doz - no soliciting. Droid X camera phone, 1/520 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, no flash.

Distortion

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This image is looking out a window through a piece of hand blown art glass. I like the way the glass distorts the colors and lines. Canon G11, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

The Tide 406

The Tide 406 awaits service in the new Rail Operations Faculty near I-264 and Brambleton Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia. This service track contains a pit for under car access and a mezzanine for accessing the top of the light rail car where most of the systems are located. The Tide has nine Siemens S70 rail cars similar to those in use in Charlotte NC and Houston TX. Canon G11, 1/160 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800.