VA Beach Sandsculpting 2010

September 27, 2014 by anyonecantakeapicture

One of the big attractions at the Neptune Festival every year is the Sandsculpting Championship. It’s amazing what people can do with sand and water!

Virginia Aquarium

September 27, 2014 by anyonecantakeapicture

I’ve been to many, many aquariums. I’m pretty sure I’ve said it before, but I stop at every aquarium in every city that I visit. The VA Aquarium is one of the larger ones I’ve been to, but the exotic-ness of the exhibits are a little bit lacking. Nevertheless, I’ve been twice so far, once in 2010 and again this year.

2010

Yes, that’s me in the bubble.

The aquarium consists of two buildings and there is a nice trail through the marshes connecting them.

I have no idea what this is but I love his face!

The sea lion exhibit near the entrance is a big attraction.

2014

I have a better camera than I did the last time so I have more photos to share!

Still trying to get a good shot of an octopus.

Clownfish looking at its reflection.

The sharks were hard to shoot; reflections, not enough light, people getting in the way, etc. I usually wait for people to move so I can get a shot without them, but they actually added to the scene so I didn’t mind them this time.

The way this shot turned out reminded me of a scene in Jaws 2.

The sting ray tank was probably one of the best ones I’ve seen. The water was clear and the glass was clean enough to actually see them clearly.

So clear I actually got a shot of its mouth! I’ve never actually seen one open and close its mouth.

You could see part of the sea turtle tank from the sting ray exhibit.

The other viewing side was amazing! I probably sat and watched them swim for at least 15 minutes.

Like the shark tank, I purposefully took some shots with people in them. The father and son were fun to watch. I think the dad was just as mesmerized by the sea turtles as his son was.

There was an art exhibit on display called Washed Ashore where all of the pieces were made from trash found in the ocean. It was meant to educate and create awareness of ocean debris and plastic pollution and its effect on marine life.

Walkway through the marshes between the two buildings.

They added an adventure ropes course which looked extremely fun! I would have tried it if I had had more time. Maybe next time :)

I tried to get some shots of the otters swimming in the water, but they are fast!

Puffer fish, frogs and alligators

Sea lions

And finally, me!

Getting to know Virginia – Alexandria (Old Town)

October 9, 2013 by anyonecantakeapicture

I love Old Town. We’ve been visiting Alexandria for the last several years. It’s right on the water, upper King Street has a lot of the commercial retail shops, but lower down are the unique little boutiques and restaurants.

We also love going to the King Street Art Festival in September. We usually see the same artists and vendors year after year, but Alexandria is just such a nice town to visit! Traffic and parking can be a little bit of a nightmare, but we’ve been successful at finding close, free parking the last couple of years so we’ll continue to go back!

Doesn’t hurt that a Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant is 10 minutes away…double the fun!

This year we parked a few blocks away and I shot these to/from the festival. Just a little snippet of what the town has to offer. This will be a work in progress and I’ll continue to add pictures as I take them.

September 2013

Random deer on the facade? No, actually it is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. I have never heard of an Elk Lodge…Moose Lodge sure, but never an Elk. So I had to research what the BPOE stood for…

September 2014

It was a rainy King Street Art Festival this year, but always worth the trip!

Flowers…and watermarks

March 22, 2013 by anyonecantakeapicture

I really, really like flowers. I would love to have a fresh bouquet of flowers in the house every day. But alas, I have cats. Who would either naow, naow, naow on them (that’s the chomping/licking sound a cat makes when they eat flowers), or would straight up knock them off the table, spilling water and scattering broken glass every where.

So instead I take lots of pictures of flowers and enjoy them on my computer desktop. Also much cheaper this way ;-) Anyhoo, below are some of my favorites. Some might be repeaters, but I’m posting nonetheless.

I’m also testing out my new mark/watermark/stamp. I’ve been working on it for years. Well, I started it in college, when it was a mandatory assignment. It more or less was a copycat of the 3M mark – 2M. Yup, pretty boring and not thoughtful at all. I panicked, OK!

I forgot about it for several years, then would pick it up and work on it for a couple of weeks, then would get frustrated with it and give up. It is really hard to come up with a logo that encapsulates you as an (aspiring) artist/designer/photographer. I won’t bore with the whys and the hows of how I got here, but I think I’m finally happy with this one. I gave myself room to have different variations, or to just use the McM sort of chevron-looking thingy if I didn’t want to use my whole name.

I have mixed feelings about watermarks on photographs. Most of the time, I’m against them. I see the point, of course, of crediting yourself with the photograph. But when the subject is something that millions of other people have shot a pic of, the Leaning Tower of Pisa for example, I don’t really see the point in watermarking or stamping it. But if your composition is unique, or you’re lucky enough to get a “this is a once in a lifetime moment,” a hail mary at the Superbowl, by all means, please.

These flowers are not Superbowl special…everyone has a picture of a rose. But the first one of the chrysanthemum I think is pretty unique, therefore deserving ;-) But I’ve been wanting to post flowers for a while, and I literally just finished the mark, so why not do a combo and test the waters while smelling the imaginary roses all at the same time?

If it looks small or too light in some cases, that was done intentionally. I don’t want people to be distracted, or to destroy the integrity of the photograph, by making it huge and in your face. Thoughts, comments, criticisms and critiques are always welcome ;-)

Chrysanthemum in a bouquet in the office on Valentine’s Day 2013