A Watery Day

Despite discouraging weather predictions, I decided to head downtown on Saturday to see the Chicago Air & Water Show. As usual, I took the Metra train to Ogilvie Transportation Center and strolled down Wacker to the Riverwalk. Looking back at the River Point building I should have been warned by the cloud reflections that things were going to get rather wet but, ever the optimist, I continued on.  I’d brought a light raincoat with me and now I was there I was determined to make the most of the day.

I walked east, past the floating gardens that are designed to attract butterflies and was pleased to see that, despite the gloomy skies, they seemed to be serving their purpose.

There was a good deal of traffic on the river including a flotilla of kayakers, water taxis, and sightseeing boats as well as all the private craft that were bobbing up and down and skimming along the waterway.

By the time I got to the Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain and Water Arc, it had started raining so I took shelter under the fountain which gave me an interesting perspective of the waterfall and, as luck would have it, I was there in time to see the water shoot across the river, causing a tour boat to wait prudently until it had subsided.

I retraced my steps back to Michigan Avenue and walked down towards Oak Street Beach but by the time I got to Water Tower Place the rain had increased and I was feeling rather peckish so I decided to duck in there and get something to eat.  I was met by the sight of hundreds of screaming teenagers (and some considerably older) flocking in to see someone called Jeffree Star.  I had no idea who he was so I whipped out the phone and Googled the name.  Apparently he is a You Tube personality and has made a fortune out of promoting his life-style on the internet.  He was visiting Chicago to open one of his cosmetic stores and the fans were going crazy! Seven floors of yelling devotees chanting “Jeffree! Jeffree!” I’m always looking for a good photo opportunity so I abandoned the idea of getting lunch and went up to the third floor where most of the action was taking place. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out what was going on, the crowd was already about 5 deep all around the balconies, there was no way I could squeeze in and security was extremely tight regarding where you could stand. When Jeffree finally put in an appearance and the screaming reached a crescendo, I could only glimpse the top of his head. He stepped out and waved to the crowd, cut the ribbon and disappeared inside the store. It was all over in a matter of minutes.  That’s one of the reasons I love coming to the city! You never know what you’re going to see!

It was still raining when I left Water Tower Place so I went a few doors down to The Cheesecake Factory for some pizza. By the time I emerged into the daylight again, the rain had eased off so I continued on until I reached Oak Street Beach just in time to see a trail of colored smoke left behind by a team of jet planes.  It was already late afternoon and there was nowhere dry to sit so I took up a position on the path and waited to see what, if anything, would fly by.  Eventually three stunt planes came into sight, diving and soaring and doing loops.  But somehow the clouds seemed to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm and when the rain started up again I joined a stream of people heading back to Michigan Avenue.

My last shot was of the Old Water Tower with the John Hancock Center beside it.  Despite the miserable weather it was an interesting, if watery, day.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Cooling

Cooling off under the fountains at Millennium Park in Chicago on a hot summer’s evening.  Now that’s the way to do it!

 

Thanks to Leya for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. For more on this challenge go to Cooling

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Fountains

This week, Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge calls for fountains.  There are plenty of these in the photo files but here are just three, captured at the Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis and a park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Fountains

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – City of Chicago

This week’s Alphabet With A Twist, part of Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, is any C word with 4 or more letters.  Rather than finding a bunch of random things that begin with the letter C, I thought I would post a bunch of random things under the single heading City of Chicago.

 

When my daughter and I first emigrated to the USA back in the early 70’s I missed my home, family, friends and country.  I was born and raised in London and even after we moved out to the suburbs I would still spend a lot of my time in town so when we came to Chicago I clung to the city like a drowning man clings to a straw. It was the only thing with which I could identify.  Admittedly there wasn’t the history but there were large buildings (very large buildings,) shops, a river and the people.

Just as I had spent many hours walking around the City of London, so I’ve trekked many miles through the City of Chicago over the past forty or more years, only these days with a camera.  It has become a home, of sorts, never completely replacing dear old London but a place where I feel as close to home as I ever will, now.

These images are just some of my favorite shots; the pictures that show what Chicago means to me now that I have had a chance to get to know it. The buildings, the river and the people.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: C – The C word needs to be at least 4 letters in length

Weekly Photo Challenge – Wish

“If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”  It’s certainly true that not everything we wish for will come true but it doesn’t stop us from trying.  And there are so many opportunities for making wishes.

A wishing tree at a Chinese Lantern Festival in the Missouri Botanic Gardens, St. Louis.

Blow out the candles on a birthday cake and make a wish, but don’t tell what it is or it will never come true.

A fancy substitute at the Cuneo Mansion in Vernon Hills; I’ve seen this described as a wishing well, although I’m sure it was never intended for that purpose.

How many times have you thrown a coin into a fountain or stood inside a fairy ring of mushrooms and made a wish?  Shown above; Buckingham Fountain in Chicago and an interesting find at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post, set for us this week by Jen H, go to https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/wish/

 

Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: Leading Lines

Right from my early years as a member of a local camera club I became accustomed to look for leading lines when composing images.  The habit has stayed with me and my photo files are filled with pictures emphasizing leading lines which came in very useful for Cee’s current Compose Yourself Photo Challenge. The picture shown above was taken on the Esplanade at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  The image below shows tram lines leading back down the mountain to the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah.

Some of these leading lines have distinct destinations such as the pool on the roof of the Visitor’s Center in Temple Square, Salt Lake City while others disappear somewhere along the way, leading us to wonder just where they are taking us, as in the image of a bridge at the Morton Arboretum leading us into the trees and on to whatever’s beyond.

Some leading lines are strong and straight, while others may have a curve or two along the way like this gravel path taking us to the farm at Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, a brick path drawing us to a gazebo at the Green Bay Botanic Gardens in Wisconsin, or one of the many bridges in the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Finally, leading lines in triplicate. A view of the canal, footpath and railway lines which all run along the same route in Galena, Illinois.

For more on Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/10/28/cees-compose-yourself-photo-challenge-week-5-leading-lines/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Purple

My favorite color! Purple is the subject for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week. Around the house and in the garden there is a liberal sprinkling of the color purple and, when I go out and about with the camera, that particular shade always catches my eye.

A view of downtown Chicago from Lurie Garden in Millennium Park.

Also in Millennium Park, Crown Fountain in the depths of winter.

Butterflies love the chives that are growing in our garden! It’s the only reason I keep them; the color purple and the fact that they attract butterflies. The trouble is they’re taking over; the chives that is. Every autumn I dig them up but the seeds drop and every spring back they come in even larger numbers!

Detail from a car at the Volo Auto Museum.

Back to the garden again and an Iris with the rather saucy name of Street Walker that did outstandingly well this year.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge and to see some excellent examples of the theme, go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/06/02/cees-fun-foto-challenge-purple/

Travel Theme: Center

Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge this week is Center.  Here is my interpretation of the theme.

The Golf Center in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Looking down at the center of the Sutphin Fountain at the Indianapolis Art Museum in Indiana.

Springbrook Nature Center in Itasca, Illinois.

For more on Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge on Where’s My Backpack? go to http://wheresmybackpack.com/2015/04/17/travel-theme-centre/

 

A Word A Week Challenge: Water

Sue Llewellyn’s Word A Week Challenge on A Word In Your Ear at https://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-water/ is Water.

The images for this challenge were all taken at the same location but what a wealth of opportunity for water shots it presented!

Across the street from historic Union Station in St Louis stands Carl Milles’ fountain sculpture ‘The Meeting Of The Waters.’

The fountain represents the meeting of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and was originally entitled ‘The Wedding Of The Waters‘ but because the naked figures and rather risqué nature of the sculpture caused such a stir when they made their debut in 1940, local officials insisted that the name be changed.

Fountain Girl

Originally created in 1893 by sculptor George Wade, Fountain Girl or The Little Cold Water Girl as it was sometimes called, was first seen at the World’s Fair in Jackson Park, Chicago. It was moved to several different locations after that, before being put in storage for some time. This beautiful piece of artwork was later installed in Lincoln Park but was stolen in 1958. Fountain Girl was never recovered but recently the bronze statue was recast and is now back home in Lincoln Park.