CFFC – Lights, Camera, Action!

When I saw the subject for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Any Type Of Light Fixture, this week, I thought ‘perfect!’ When I went to visit the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington recently, one of the things I paid particular attention to was all the beautiful lamps, chandeliers and lighting fixtures that seemed to fill the house, even on the stained glass ceiling of the ornate elevator. Needless to say, the camera got a good workout.

In keeping with the Sanfilippo’s fabulous music collection, some of the lamps incorporate record turntables. No wonder they call it the Place de la Musique!

In the Music Room, where we were treated to a thrilling theater organ recital including an accompaniment to the silent movie A Christmas Carol produced by the Thomas Edison studios, the brilliant lighting matched the magnificent surroundings.

These splendid lamps and chandeliers made me want to run out and replace all my tatty light fixtures. Of course you need the grand rooms to carry it off, so maybe not.

It would be remiss of me not to say a big ‘Thank you” to the Sanfilippo family for graciously allowing us into their gorgeous home and making everyone feel so welcome. I hope you will join me here on Getting The Picture for part three of my visit to the Place de la Musique.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Sand or Dirt

This week, Cee is featuring Sand or Dirt in her Fun Foto Challenge. What could be more fun than playing in the sand? It’s the simple things in life that bring us the most joy.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Yellow

Some Yellow beauties from the Chicago Botanic Garden and Volo Auto Museum for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Orange

Here are two recent images from the photo files that really caught my eye and which I thought would work well for the theme of Orange in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week. Captured in our garden and at Volo Auto Museum.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge- Dark Red

With limited travel and photo opportunities, it’s been quite a challenge to come up with recent pictures rather than dipping too far back into the photo archives, but here are a few shots, taken in the past few weeks, that I thought would fit in with Cee’s theme of Dark Red for her Fun Foto Challenge.

The last of the roses at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The barn at Volkening Heritage Farm in Schaumburg.

Two places of interest in the historic shopping district of Long Grove.

And lastly, a leftover guest from our Family Fall Festival.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Pick A Topic

This week, Cee has asked us to choose a topic from the picture she has kindly provided, for her Fun Foto Challenge. Right away, the vintage car caught my eye. As you may be aware, if you read my previous post, I’m a big fan of Volo Auto Museum and since it was one of the last places we were able to visit before everything started closing down, this challenge provided a good opportunity for me to share a few more images that I captured while I was there. Thanks, Cee!

 

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Books and Paper

This week, Cee has chosen Books and Paper as the subject for her Fun Foto Challenge.  I love old books and the second-hand book stores that sell them!  Some of my favorite places to visit in London were those shops that sold used classics and hard-to-find books. Now, when we visit historic houses and museums, I’m always interested to see just which books they have in their displays, from places like the Stephenson County Historical Museum and the Williamson County Jail Museum in Illinois to the grand library at the Biltmore Mansion in North Carolina.

Pictured above is an ornate photo album on display at the Historical Museum in Marion, Illinois. Below are books that are an important part of my own family history. Both are prayer books and each has an interesting story attached to it. The book on the left was given to my father in 1912 by his uncle who was serving on HMS Black Prince at the time. Shortly after this, he transferred to HMS Indefatigable. Both ships were destroyed by enemy fire during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 with heavy casualties. Uncle William was one of those who died. The book on the right was given to my grandfather by a young girl while he was serving with the Royal Field Artillery as he was riding through a village in Belgium during WWI. She ran out of the crowd and pressed the prayer book into his hand. My mother always thought of her as an angel who had given him a gift that protected him through the worst times of the war and brought him safely back home.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Black & White

This week, Cee has chosen Black & White as the colors for her Fun Foto Challenge. These days it’s relatively easy to convert images to black & white provided you have the right picture. Finding pictures of things that are primarily black & white without doing any kind of manipulation was rather more difficult but here are some random shots that seemed to fit the bill.  I took several pictures of the young man playing the xylophone but although this one wasn’t necessarily the best, I chose it because I noticed that the woman crossing the street behind him was also wearing a black & white shirt.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Black and White

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Colorful Monotones

This week, Cee has chosen Colorful Monotones as the subject for her Fun Foto Challenge. I don’t know if the ceilings in the Minnesota State Capitol Building are strictly monotone but the golden glow seems to give them that overall appearance.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, go to Colorful Monotones (one single color).

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – On Mackinac Island

This week, Cee is looking for places people live for her Fun Foto Challenge and, browsing through the photo files, I’ve opted to go with some shots that I took on Mackinac Island a few years ago.  The island, located on Lake Huron in Michigan, is primarily a resort area and relies heavily on its picturesque houses and hotels to draw tourists to its shores. While I’m sure many of the residents take off for warmer climes during the winter months, there are still a good few people who live here year-round.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Places People Live.