Browns Lake boat dock

There is just something about this photo that is quintessential Natchez Trace to me. Maybe it's the torn-up roof, or the air of 'help yourself' honor-system hospitality; if you want to fish here or borrow a jonboat, you can just fill in the envelope and put whatever money in you feel is appropriate, and help yourself to what you need. This particular lake is tucked away on the other side of the park, where the tourists (such as they are) don't often go.

You can sign up for a turkey hunt, too! They had (rusty) clipboards inside the booth and everything!

Prize-winning...

Peppers


Pickling


Tomatoes


Quick Breads


Quilts


All taken at the Sandwich Fair, September 2008.

Blue-Ribbon Corn

I went to the Sandwich Fair today. I had a corndog, mini-donuts, an elephant ear, and lemon mix-up. I saw quilts and jams and pigs and rabbits. I snickered at the My Bank Pen collection, and was sad when we couldn't find the World's Tallest Man carnival exhibit. It rained hard the whole day.

I had a great time. My stomach still hurts.

Northern Illinois Farm

Taken in November 2006. I think it's best viewed in large.

I'm looking through these older shots this week as I start to put together my annual photography calendar. All of my family and many of my friends will already be recieving one as their traditional Christmas gift (hope I didn't ruin the surprise, haha), but if anyone else is interested in purchasing one, send me an email at kristen@kudzuplanet.com and I'll add you to the order list!

Midway games

Some games will always be found on a carnival midway, especially in a small town. Taken at the Romeo Peach Festival, Labor Day weekend 2007.

Unfinished Mural Couple

Sorry for the delay in posting! Like the woman in the shot, I am a work in progress, and these days the emphasis has been more on "work" than "progress". But I have a list of photos I intend to post in the next couple of weeks, so expect to see more regular entries here!

This was taken in Ottawa, Illinois, as part of a large Lincoln-Douglas Debate mural in the middle of downtown. Ottawa, once upon a time, was the site of the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. It's one of the major claims to fame of Ottawa, and so I have many shots of the murals and statues and parks they have put up to commemorate the moment. (It may be summer, but you can still learn things at Kudzuplanet!)

Ice Fishing Safety

People who live in the far northern suburbs know how to keep busy during the winter months, moreso than most of us closer to the city who just bundle up, stay inside and complain about the cold. On my journey yesterday up around Illinois Beach State Park, I saw several groups of ice fisherman, some runners (yikes!), and even a group of bird-watchers checking out the gulls in Winthrop Harbor. (Those shots will be posted tomorrow.)

The one thing I almost never see are skiers, but then I remember there aren't any mountains around here! Whoops.

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.

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.)

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.

Top 10 of 2006

As my last post of the year, I decided to select my Top 10 photos of the year. To quote Bluejake, "There are three major skills in photography: shooting, editing, and processing. Editing is by far the most difficult. " To determine which photos to select, I first sorted through the nearly 7000 shots I took this year, and uploaded over 600 of them on Flickr. (200+ new ones were added today. Phew.) Then I winnowed it down to a set called "Best of 2006", and deselected any photos I used in the 2007 calendar. That still left me with over 60 images, so I then made my choices for those which could best show the growth of my skills or my interests, or were once-in-a-lifetime shots. I also alternated the selections so half were urban and half were rural/nature. Interestingly, I had to rethink several choices in order to get some flower shots in there; in looking at the entire year's worth of photos, I realized I didn't have many flowers shots and the ones I did have weren't the standouts I'd hoped they'd be. Part of that is due to the fact I took a photography class in the late fall, and so I had a greater proportion of better photos later in the year, but I also think I simply took more pictures at the end of the year. I am still very interested in flower photography, but this year I definitely found some new areas to shoot.

I hope you enjoy the look back, and feel free to go to the Best of 2006 set and comment if you think I should have selected something else!

Not Your Expected Holiday Shots

But these are red and green!





That's a red zinnia and a green lotus. I think.

A Little Whimsy

My two favorite signs of 2006.

Taken up in McHenry County, summer 2006. Just a hour outside of Chicago, this is serious farm country. Great corn in the area, too.


Taken on a hike in Natchez Trace State Park, Tennessee, October 2006. I swear we did not pose this shot! Heh.