Something a little different than my usual shots of The Big Guy.
I almost want to photoshop some white earbuds on it, but so far I’ve resisted the urge.
With the exception of my beloved seagulls, Neptune (and his little bro on the Eastern Shore in Cape Charles) is by far the thing I’ve captured the most. I have a feeling I won’t be done with him for a while.
It’s more about the canvas than the painting with him.
Two good doggos with a very talkative owner that wanted me to take a picture of the dogs, while I was setting up a shot of Neptune. I missed the shot of Neptune I wanted, and I probably have to wait a year to get another shot at it.
There’s a sense of adventure here of conquering a pile of rocks (that probably shouldn’t have been conquered, but no harm done)
What you only get a hint of in this photo is the giggles and absolute glee of this kid has he stamped over this pile of rocks to get to where you see him. Absolutely delightful.
This was a little bit of a chore trying to get this shot even, the horizon was the only thing level in this shot. The bridge is definitely NOT level. I like these low angle shots that have leading lines, like the rails in this picture. Kim had decided to walk ahead of me to get some shots of the beach (on this day, we went down pre-Elsa to see what the waves looked like—they were not optimal).
Due to the obvious weather concerns, we were the only ones on the beach. I honestly could have stayed all day, even with the rain.
A happy little discovery on the volleyball net pole. It demanded to be shot. I obliged.
I was going to post a very long impression of a guy who takes movies too seriously, but I’m fairly sure I would have had my fanatical love of Pink Floyd served back to me, so touche’.
We took a trip in the opposite direction on this day, because I had wanted to drive the Colonial Parkway, something I’ve never seen. We went in the direction of Jamestown, but as we arrived we realized we didn’t have as much time as we thought we did. There’s a lot more Parkway to see, so you’ll be seeing more in the coming months. However, we noticed a few pull off areas as we traveled, so we investigated a few. There a few nice little beach areas along this route, like this one. Off we went, cameras in hand. The next few posts will be of this trip.
This fisherman, if nothing else, was focused. There were two photographers, a family with a little kid, and a big. honking. dog down there all playing it up and this guy was just on point.
The first thing you need to know about Chase is that he is a very good boy. Chase ran up to me barking as I came down onto the beach, because Chase was protecting his family. I said Hi and made sure Chase knew I wasn’t here to cause trouble, and Chase decided I was ok and went back to the stick he’d been working on.
Chase was not amused when I took this shot, as you can see from the “Why is the paparazzi here?” look on his face.
I thanked Chase and his family, and made my way back up the slope, while Chase’s dad got on him about barking at people. I told Chase’s dad it was all good.
The dark outline of the end of the tunnel caught my eye, and I thought this might be nice. Not much else to this story other than I thought is had a Detective Eddie Valiant driving to ToonTown vibe to it.
Yes, I’m old. Why?
There is an alternate photo of this with the green of the trees left in that makes it even more Toonish, but I prefer posting black and white photos here.
Under the Lesner Bridge, on the beach access deck.
Taken with the iPhone 12, ISO 25 1.55mm f2.4 1/2000
This storm was just offshore, crossing over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and stayed just north of Shore Drive. I took my iPhone 12 and held it on the deck and slanted the camera lens up towards the sky. There’s so much definition in the clouds that were brought out even further when I made it a black and white photo. I feel like this could be someone’s desktop.
One of my bucket list shots has been to get the skull at the Haunted Mansion on 20th Street and Atlantic in Virginia Beach with a thunderstorm rolling in behind it. The shelf cloud didn’t have as much definition as I would have liked, and I may try this again soon, but I really like the way this came out.
A funny little note about the Mansion: I’ve never been inside. I don’t do scary stuff. However, the little skeleton in the window? That’s French Fry, and as I was wandering around taking shots, he told me I needed to put this on my Instagram. I’m not kidding. There was a recording that went in rotation full of funny scary related jokes, but I think the guy who did the voice actually got on a mic to say that because I never heard it again and I was down there for an hour.
I consider it an honor to get roasted by the little guy.
Clearly, someone melted this mirror into a Yin Yang sign, and it was just irresistible.
More memorable was the fact that this was the first cold day of the Fall. The cold temps come late in the year around here, which is fine with me. As a boy who spent a couple years in San Diego, three years in Hawaii, and two-and-a-half years in Cuba, people wonder how a kid from Maine hates the cold. Because Maine was a stop between Navy transfers for my Dad. Then we ended up in Virginia Beach, and while the winters aren’t usually bad here, I would prefer not to see a day under 70 if I can help it.
As Virginia Beach weather goes, this was a fine, sunny day in the 70s. I came across this person between 1st and 10th streets on the Boardwalk and had to take a picture. This is part of the side of Virginia Beach the tourists don’t often see. In season, by the time the sun is up, the homeless are either shooed away from the beach, or they know the game well enough to know where to go during the day. This person is a seasoned homeless person. Look at all the gear. The umbrella to protect from not only the sun, but protecting their identity, their dignity. They even chose a bench where they wouldn’t have to fight over territory, or they brought that tape themselves to cover the adjacent bench.
I took this picture because I want people to see this. Sometimes I believe we think we’ve solved the homeless problem in this city—and this country—by ignoring it completely. it hasn’t gone away. At the lowest point in my life I slept on one of these benches, and I’m here to tell you that each of us is no more than few bad days away from having Atlantic Avenue as your temporary address.
Think about who this could be. Could this be a vet? Could this be a survivor of abuse? Could this be someone who hit rock bottom? Once you fill in that blank, ask yourself if this person is worth redemption.
Your answer will say more about you than about this homeless person.
I’m amazed this one came out as well as it did. There’s a very narrow dock at Lesner, and with the camera on the deck and almost to the rail, I couldn’t twist the multi-angle display to a position where I could see it. I had to contort myself into a position where I could see the screen. So, I’m doing a handstand against the rail, and completely ignoring the general advice one receives at my age, which is not to put yourself in a position where your backside is higher than your head. I had a few onlookers during this process, so I’m glad I could be the afternoon entertainment for all the boaters down there that day.
I love the texture of the tie-down here. It’s been there a while so you can see the weathering.
Day or night, standing under this bridge and seeing the lights and the symmetry is just amazing. If you look at the pillars at the bottom of the picture, you’ll see the curved lines in the pillars. They light those up at night, and it’s stunning. On this day I was more interested in the symmetry and the almost futuristic look of them. Behind the bridge in the background were some rainclouds, which adds some fantastic texture to the shot.
I fought myself for a long time about whether or not to remove Cape Henry Towers (or whatever they call it now) from the bottom of the picture, but I decided to leave it. If you’re standing here, there’s just no way to not see it, and to remove it would be disingenuous to any other photographers who come down here looking for the same thing.
I was a little worried for this guy when I took the shot, since there were storm clouds coming in front of him. He was going to be rowing into a thunderstorm. I thought there might have been people telling him maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, but here we are. He was ready to go, save for the moments he hung around wondering what this crazy guy was doing contorting himself into weird positions on the dock to take a picture. He stayed long enough to get a laugh, then made his way on into the inlet, presumably to get drenched in the downpour that happened a short time later.
I think only one other seagull has allowed me to get this close to him. I was at a focal length of 55mm according to the EXIF data on this photo, but I think I was within 10 feet of him. That tells me that he’s very used to people. Very glad to have met him.
Seagulls and I have a very close connection. I consider one particular seagull to be the greatest teacher I’ve ever had, and I love to photograph them. Seagulls are fighters, and they are survivors. I’ve loved them for most of my life. You can bet if there’s one around I’m going to be talking to him and trying to get a picture.
Fun fact: I’ve got a tattoo of a seagull on my right shoulder.
On the stage there are some other people, and this one lone figure standing in from of the stage, made me wonder what this story was. I had originally taken this photo because of the clouds behind the stage, and was focused on that at the time. It wasn’t until I went to edit this photo I even noticed I had anyone in shot. Happy accident, as they say.
As is often the case, I go searching for storm clouds or sunsets at Trashmore, and end up with something completely different.
Also, notice his little friend to his left. Good doggo keeping him company.
July 21st is our wedding anniversary, and so this day we got in the car and went all over the place looking for things to shoot. My friend Pete Feds had a shot like this, and I was curious to see how he got down here to take this shot. It’s surprisingly easy, as there’s an apartment complex directly behind me.
That noise, though. In season it’s got to be nearly unbearable.
All Photos taken with Canon Rebel T5i w/18-135mm Lens
I suspect that along with the Great Seal on Mount Trashmore, this has got to be one of the most photographed things in the city. I’ve certainly taken more photos of this guy than should be considered normal, and there’s a good reason for it. He takes on a different quality depending on the angle, the weather, the light, the background, and his age. He’s been there since 2005, and I swear he gets better as time goes on.
When I was a younger man, this piece of land Neptune stands on was originally the site of Seaside Amusement Park until it got knocked down. It was going to be a hotel until the citizens said no. My Senior year of High School we staged a walkout and walked to 31st Street to ‘Save Our Sun’. If they had put a hotel here, it would have completely closed off the view all along Atlantic Avenue. Cooler heads prevailed, and it became a park alongside the Hotel that ended up being built next to it.
I think he’s beautiful, and I love to sit on the benches across from him and be quiet for a while and watch him age gracefully through the salt, sand, and spray.
