Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Everyday Moments in Downtown Chicago

Every day is not just any old day in downtown Chicago. That’s why I love visiting the city; to capture moments such as these. Thanks to Amy for providing the subject for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. For more on this challenge go to Everyday Moments.

Whether you’re strolling down the River Walk or Michigan Avenue there’s always someone or something interesting to see.  Stunning skylines or captivating canines, they’re all here to amaze and delight us.

From harbors to parks and everything in between, every moment spent downtown offers new opportunities for photography. Despite the daily bustle of the city there are still places to enjoy nature too.

Familiar faces and places are always a welcome sight and the sounds of the city are music to my ears. Life in the city is made up of every day moments such as these.

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – The Letter J

Roll up! Roll up!  Cee is looking for words that start with the letter j for her Fun Foto Challenge this week so, here for your amazement and delight, see the  jiggler, the juggler, the jester and the jouster.  All the fun of the fair!

Images captured at the Bristol Renaissance Fair.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter J – Needs to contain the Letter J and be at least 6 letters long

Weekly Photo Challenge – Pedestrian

Krista Stevens at The Daily Post has chose pedestrian as the subject for the Weekly Photo Challenge.   Note to self; must take more ‘people’ pictures!  I have to confess that when I take pictures, especially scenic shots, I’m usually waiting impatiently for people to ‘get out of the blessed way.’  However, I couldn’t resist capturing this image of a group of pedestrians crossing the street in Chinatown, Chicago.

For more on the Weekly Photo Challenge go to Pedestrian

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

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – View From The Back, Bottom Or Underneath

This week Cee has us getting to the bottom of things for her Fun Foto Challenge. Not only that, but the back and underneath as well.  Going through the photo files I realize that although I try to take pictures from as many different angles as possible, I rarely focus specifically on the back of a subject and these days if I get down low enough to take a shot from underneath, it takes me a while to get back up again. Still, I managed to find a few BBU’s that I thought might work.

This is definitely a back & bottom shot.  The combination of underwear and wellington boots was a bonus.

Luckily I didn’t have to crouch down too far to get a shot underneath the roof of the Stumpf Belvedere which stands at the top of a hill at the Green Bay Botanic Gardens in Wisconsin.

Taking a leisurely ride in the back of a hay wagon  at Willow Springs Garden in Wausau and a rear-end view from a carriage ride at the Wade House Historic Site in Greenbush, Wisconsin.

Two views taken underneath the great Mackinac Bridge in Michigan. The first was taken from the hydro-jet ferry boat heading out to Mackinac Island and the second was captured from shore just before sunset.

Image taken at the 63rd Annual American Indian Powwow in Elk Grove Village last year. Impressive from any angle! The people, costumes, dancing, music and weather were spectacular!

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/03/21/cees-fun-foto-challenge-view-from-the-back-bottom-or-underneath/

 

 

Powwow Portraits

Images captured at the American Indian Center 63rd Annual Chicago Powwow held in Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village in September.  According to the program distributed at the event, the powwow is a celebration of intertribal Native American culture.  Chicago is home to the third largest urban Native American population with over 140 tribal nations represented and the American Indian Center was founded in 1953.

Pictured above; Head Veteran (Combat Veteran) Paul Cloud of the Ho-Chunk Nation, serving as overall leader of the powwow circle, responsible for protecting the Eagle Feather staff and powwow area.

Splendid costumes, heart-pounding music and friendly people all made for an awesome day at the powwow. I hope to share more images with you in upcoming posts.

Cee’s Compose Yourself Challenge: Well-Composed Photos

If, as Cee points out, every well-composed photo has a main subject, then I certainly had trouble staying focused on the principal topic of my images while at the marathon race at Snowbird in Utah recently.  It was difficult not to get distracted by the surrounding scenery which was breathtaking in itself. Still, I felt the challenge that these competitors faced, biking and hiking all the way up Hidden Peak, could only really be appreciated if some of the rough terrain was included.

With this picture I took a much wider angle of the final stage of the race, I suspect more for a shot of the view rather than the participants.

Going back, I cropped the image to focus more on the cyclist, while leaving some of the mountains in the background to give an idea of the height of the peak.

Most of the time, however, I zoomed in on the people rather than the scenery.

Cee also asks us to share images that illustrate three emotions; happiness, sadness and beauty or inspiration.

This photo of my grandson always makes me smile. I hope he will always be as happy as he has made me.

An image captured at an American Lung Association Fight For Air walk. It made me sad to see the names of so many people who had lost their lives due to various forms of lung disease, much of it caused by smoking, a problem which our own family has had to confront over the years. Almost all the people participating in the walk had been touched by this tragedy in one way or another.

The beauty of this scene at Arches National Park just took my breath away. Not only was it awe-inspiring but also very humbling.

For more on Cee’s most instructive and helpful tips on her Compose Yourself Challenge go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/10/07/cees-compose-yourself-challenge-week-2-what-all-well-composed-photos-have-in-common/

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Back of Things

This challenge was a tough one!  It’s not often that I take pictures of the back of things so I really had to sift through the archives to find something appropriate.

The Pioneer Family Memorial in Elgin was sculpted by artist Trygve Rovelstad and is just as impressive from the back as it is from the front.

The back end of a ship’s cannon at the Tall Ships Festival at Navy Pier in Chicago.

On a recent trip to Utah we visited Park City and saw some really cool bikes there.

I don’t know why I took this particular shot of a couple sitting up at the bar in a restaurant where we stopped to have lunch during a trip to Wisconsin, but I finally get to use it.  Hooray!

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/10/01/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-back-of-things/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Off-Season

Earlier this year the circus came to town in the form of the NFL Draft.  The Draft is always held in the Off-Season and, since this was the first time in 50 years that it had been held in Chicago, I thought it would be worth taking a few pictures.  Thankfully, Krista at The Daily Post has provided the ideal opportunity for me to share some of these images.

Eyes on the prize; during the Off-Season we’re always hopeful that the ‘Bears’ can finally field a team that will come away with the trophy.  Unfortunately we always seem to end up saying, “Wait till next season.”

Inside one of the structures in Grant Park, large screens show the latest picks with all the facts and figures.

The commentators seemed to be enjoying themselves. I’m not sure who they are but I have a feeling the guy on the right has something to do with the Northwestern University football team.

The distinctive logo of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s on a helmet displayed at Pioneer Court on Michigan Avenue along with others from around the league.

The weather was better then, at the end of April, than it has been recently, and the crowds were enjoying a leisurely stroll around all the attractions in Grant Park.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge on The Daily Post go to https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/off-season/

Travel Theme: Hats

Don’t get me started on hats!  Whatever happened to that essential fashion accessory that always finished off  any ensemble so perfectly? Even when our girls were growing up we used to love going to the local department stores to try on all the fancy hats. Sometimes they looked really good, other times we just had a laugh.  Of course people still wear hats but they are rarely worn as a fashion statement. (I don’t count baseball caps as fashion accessories, especially for women.)

Some of the hats that you see today are worn strictly for ceremonial occasions or as part of an ethnic costume; dancers performing with the Ballet Folklorico in Elgin, a participant in the Polish Parade on Columbus Drive in Chicago and a Knight of Columbus forming part of the honor guard at a religious ceremony held in Grant Park, Chicago, for example.

Some hats are worn more for protection. Whether you’re swooshing down the slopes of the year-round ski slopes at Fox River Grove or riding a favorite in the 1 o’clock at Arlington Park you need the right kind of headwear.

When you’re a kid, and more importantly a princess, you can get away with anything. At this age everything looks cute.

Looking back at some of our old family photos I came across one taken at my grand-aunt’s wedding in 1911. For the purpose of illustrating the theme Hats I’ve extracted some individual portraits from the group.  Now these ladies really knew something about hats!

For more on Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge on Where’s My Backpack? go to http://wheresmybackpack.com/2015/05/15/travel-theme-hats/