Seasons Change at the Chicago Botanic Garden

One of the best things about taking photos all year round at familiar locations is that I get to see how the seasons change the landscape, and how certain things come to the forefront of the scene depending on the time of year, changing the entire feel of the moment. Take these two shots from the Chicago Botanic Garden, for example.

This was taken June 26, 2006:



This was taken exactly seven months later on January 26, 2007:



A few more shots of the Garden this winter are in the Chicago Botanic Garden set. You may also want to check out the Pairs set to see some other like sets.

Go Bears II!

If you look closely (or at the larger size image), you can see the Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park is lit up in Bears Blue, too.

More skyline shots are available in the Lakefront set at Flickr. I will have to go back and try again later this week, when perhaps it won't be as cold and blustery; most of the shots I took had to be tossed because both the camera and I were being shaken by the wind -- even when I used my tripod! Yikes.

Fin with Tail Light

Yesterday was spent at the World of Wheels car show at McCormick Place conference center downtown. Expect a lot more car shots in the coming weeks, but for now there's a new World of Wheels set at Flickr. There were some great old cars, with incredible detail like this fin.

They really just don't make cars like this anymore. What a shame, because these were beauties.

Go Bears!

One week from today, and even the suburbs are supporting the team! This is the Jackman Park Bear fountain in Glenview, just blocks from my house. Downtown Chicago has even more Bears pride visible on its most famous landmarks; I have a couple of trips planned down there this week to capture as much as I can before the big game.

Go Bears!

Cactus and Flowers

Not a sight I expected to see in Chicago in January! But the Chicago Botanic Garden offers up many surprises all year long; today's shots are from the Arid Greenhouse that I visited yesterday.

There are more unusual (to me!) cactus shots available in the Chicago Botanic Garden set.

Self-Portrait on Frozen Beach

My apologies for the late posting; I spent my morning out at the Wilmette beach (yes, again! It looks all different again!) and at the Chicago Botanic Garden, snapping away. Today's shot is a self-portrait, of sorts. Look at how big the ice shelf has grown on the beach!

Bahai House of Worship

The Bahai House of Worship is a stunning landmark located in Wilmette, IL. Its white marble, dazzling in the sun, makes it visible for miles from high in the sky, or out sailing on Lake Michigan.

Information about it on the web can be found here. More photos of the building in summer and winter are in my Bahai Temple set on Flickr, including this shot in largest size so you can see some of the intricate details.

Red Snowsuit

A little snow and cold doesn't keep a child from enjoying the winter afternoon. This is what snowsuits are for, aren't they?

Best viewed in its largest size. There are also a few more winter shots in the Winter Lakefront set.

Echinacea, close up

Too many freezing cold photos lately, so here's a blast of summer. Pink and purple coneflowers, or echinacea as they are also called, are predominant in the prairies and parks all over here in the summer. I look forward to them blooming every year.

5 Days Later

What a difference a week makes! After a week of freezing temperatures, I went back to Wilmette Harbor during a mild snowfall, and was stunned by how much the landscape had changed along with the temperatures. The entire set is definitely worth viewing over at Flickr, but these two are the most dramatic, I think.

Taken January 16, 2007:



Taken January 21, 2007:



Wow. Even the jetty from a couple of days ago is completely different now.

Snowy Boats

Taken January 16, 2007, at Wilmette Harbor, although with the steady snow we are getting this morning I could probably go back today and get another picture of the boats buried deeper.

The last of the snowy harbor shots are all available in the Winter Lakefront set at Flickr.

Cows in Love

Adorable, aren't they? There are a few more shots of them nuzzling (which is what they were doing, for quite a long time) over in the Midwest Rural set at Flickr.

Frozen Jetty and Wave Crash

I'm still going through my photos from Wilmette Beach, this time focusing on the two jetties in the water. I liked this shot because of the repetition of the jagged pattern on the jetty, once for the frozen icicles on the end, and again for the ragged wooden spikes along the side. Also, the muddiness of the water is more visible here than in other shots; winter waves churn up the sand on the bottom much more than summer waves. I have no idea why. (You can see more detail in the larger version here.)

I've added a bonus photo today, only because I liked how the black-and-white version turned out, and I'm just about out of beach shots to select.



You can see the color version of this one, and a few more icy jetty/wave shots, in the Winter Lakefront set at Flickr.

Beach Grasses in Winter

More from my morning at Wilmette Harbor Beach. In looking through the entire roll's worth of shots, it's amazing to me how much variance there was in the color of the sky and light; the clouds were rolling in, but it also changed minute by minute as the sun rose, and as I moved around the beach so I was in and out of shadows and if the sun was at my front or my back.

More shots are available in the Winter Lakefront set at Flickr.

Up with the roosters

Wagner Farm is a farm owned and "preserved" by the Glenview Park District. It does have chickens and cows and horses, although I don't think they grow acres of crops anymore, just enough to show the kids and visitors to the farm. I was able to wander around it yesterday and take pictures, and while the roosters started cawing loudly in protest, one of them posed for some great shots.



You can see more photos of the barn and the grounds in the Midwest Rural set at Flickr. The cows will be another day! (Also, the first shot is worth viewing in large size, too, just to get all the details.)

Snowy Rocks at Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan, Wilmette Harbor, 8:40am this morning.

Best viewed in largest size.

Pink Bleeding Hearts

Here's hoping spring comes early this year! It's only January 15th and I'm tired of the grey and the cold, aren't you?

LaSalle Street

Click picture to see details more clearly. This was taken as I rode around the Loop on the El on Friday.

Speaking of downtown, I think I'm going to head down there now, and see how many Bears fans are out and about -- and who couldn't get into Soldier Field to watch. The streets and stores around my town are empty right now, as we're heading into halftime of the game.

Checking out the girls

I rode the El yesterday downtown, trying to ignore the grey and the rain and capture some good city shots. I didn't get much, but I did like this one. Seems like people-watching isn't just the work of the photographer in the crowd, is it?


A few more shots are available at the Chicago El set at Flickr. You should also click this photo to see it in better detail.

Sachem butterfly

Now that we're at the end of a cold and wet week, I thought a throwback to the summer might be needed. I have no idea what kind of moth or butterfly this is, but I loved it against the bright green of the leaf. (Update: a little investigation on Flickr and Google has informed me that this is a Sachem Skipper.)

In related news, my photos have been getting selected for use on a couple of Chicago blogs! Yesterday, I was published on The Chicagoist, and the day before that, I was selected for the daily Rearview on Gaper's Block. Yay, I'm starting to get some notice!

Joe Ma Ma!

Possibly the best store name in the city. Taken January 6, 2007, on the north side of Chicago.

(Click the photo to see better as a larger version.)

Korean Vegetables

Taken at the Super H Mart, a new enormous Korean grocery store in Skokie, IL. Aloe is on the far left, banana roots are the red ones in the middle, and I don't know what the third tan vegetable is. I love shopping in this store, although many of the foods and cuts of meat are unfamiliar to me, and most of the packaged foods are written entirely in Korean. There's just so much energy in the store, all the time, and the variety of fresh foods makes me want to learn how to cook it properly.

Except the squid. I'm okay not eating that.

A few more shots of the store are in the Chicago Neighborhoods set.

Graknitti!

After seeing a tip about these on The Chicagoist, I decided to wander back to our old neighborhood this weekend and see if the knitted "tree cozies" were still up. They were, and so I took a bunch of photos of them available here. Apparently this was a bit of performance art/knitting workshop done by some local residents. Very clever, and cute!

While we were out enjoying our old neighborhood and checking out the South Loop, my husband and I decided we want to continue exploring different Chicago neighborhoods on the weekends. So you can expect to see more like this after our "Sunday morning drives" each week.

Okay, maybe not exactly like this, but other unusual or Chicago-iconic neighborhood shots. It should be fun!

Agora Iron Sculpture

This art piece is located on the south end of Grant Park in downtown Chicago. It is made up of 106 cast iron headless body sculptures, all of which were created in Poland in the Srem Factory from 2003 to 2006. It was unveiled in Chicago a couple of months ago.

More photos of the piece is available in the Agora set at Flickr.

Overlooking icons

Taken at St. Adabert's Cemetery, a large Polish cemetery located on the north side of Chicago, on January 6, 2007.

Our Lady of the Underpass

An image of the Virgin Mary was alleged to have been found under the 90/94 underpass at Fullerton in the spring of 2005. I came upon it on April 23, and took some pictures of the event/pilgrimage. The area was cordoned off a few weeks later, preventing anyone from getting this close again, and within a couple of months it was gone entirely.

More pictures are available at the Lady of the Underpass set at Flickr.

Catholic School Hockey

Taken December 27, 2006. I hadn't been to a high school hockey game in many years, and never to a Catholic school game. So it was striking to me when the players gathered at the end and said a quick prayer.

For the record, they won, 8-1.

(Also, I selected this one so I remember to send my cousin the rest of the pictures of her son playing center. Hope the reminder works!)

Farmhouse

Taken in northern Illinois, November 2006. Moments after I snapped the shot, someone stuck their head out of the haystack by the pond in front and waved.

Click the photo to see in better proportion. More photos can be found in the Midwest Rural set.

From the archives

Taken in 2005 with my old Kodak point-and-shoot, this is still one of my favorite photos. I think it's the contrast in colors, and how cool and minty the green makes the scene feel.

All the 2005 photos that I recently uploaded are available here. It's a much smaller set than 2006, that's for sure!

Modern, Classic and Ancient Art

Taken at the Chicago Art Institute, November 9, 2006.

Hmmm, I think I am due for another trip downtown to a different museum soon...

Happy New Year!

Streamers in the Sky celebrate the holiday in Detroit.

May 2007 bring you all health, happiness and humor.