Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Looking Up At Things

Things are looking up! At least they are for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week.  Once I got started on this one, I couldn’t stop, so I’ve tried to limit myself to just a few of the images that I found in the photo files. We’ll be traveling around quite a bit for this challenge, starting with downtown Chicago.

Looking up at ‘the beehive’ atop the Metropolitan Tower on Michigan Avenue and ‘The Spearman’, one of two bronze statues standing as gatekeeper on Congress Plaza.

Looking up at a chandelier in the State Capitol Building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Looking up at a rather fierce-looking statue of an eagle, looking down at us at the Lee Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Looking up at the trumpeter atop the Mormon Temple in Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Looking up at George Washington on Mount Rushmore, South Dakota.

Looking up at a giant lantern at the Chinese Lantern Festival in the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri.

And lastly, looking up at the trees on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/02/28/cees-fun-foto-challenge-looking-up-at-things/

Heavenly Trumpeter

On Guard

Wings Over Temple Square

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: One Item

Thanks to Cee for her Fun Foto Challenge this week and the subject One Item.  It gives me a perfect opportunity to share some of the images that I captured at the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois on Tuesday.

One moss-covered boulder at the foot of the West Waterfall.

One lonely duck in a scrimmage for food with a whole crowd of hungry koi in the waters of The Garden of Reflection.

One red umbrella on the Floating Deck.

One cheeky chipmunk checking out visitors in the Pond Strolling Garden.

One statue; Ancient Scholar – Bunjinzo which, according to the visitor’s brochure, was carved approximately 600 years ago.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to http://ceenphotography.com/2015/06/09/cees-fun-foto-challenge-one-item/

Travel Theme: Statues

Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge this week on Where’s My Backpack? at http://wheresmybackpack.com/2014/03/28/travel-theme-statues/ is Statues.

Plenty of these in the photo files despite the fact that a camera club judge once told us that images of other peoples’ artwork were not considered good material for competition. Too bad! I like taking pictures of statues!

A life-size bronze sculpture of George Washington Carver in the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St Louis.

An imposing statue entitled ‘The Apotheosis of St. Louis’ that stands outside the St. Louis Art Museum.

Also in the same city, in the grounds of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, is a statue entitled ‘The Angel Of Harmony’, a 14-foot high, stainless steel sculpture by Wiktor Szostalo.

There are countless statues in Chicago of everyone from famous sports personalities to historical figures but for this challenge I have selected just two. The first, on Upper Wacker Drive, is a tribute to newspaper columnist, broadcaster and talk-show host Irv Kupcinet.

The second is a statue of Nathan Hale who was reported to have said “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country” before being executed in 1776 as a spy by the British during the American Revolutionary War.

Although many statues are placed prominently on plinths or columns, I rather like the ones that appear in more natural settings. This sculpture of Abe Lincoln and his family for instance, standing on the street in front of his old law offices in Springfield, Illinois.

Or this bronze statue entitled ‘Spirit of the Prairie’ overlooking the Town Square of Schaumburg.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Statues, Carvings & Sculptures

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge at http://www.ceephotography.com/2013/10/08/cees-fun-foto-challenge-statues-carvings-sculptures/ really did look like fun so I thought I’d jump in. The subject of this particular challenge is Statues, Carvings & Sculptures.

Many years ago, when I belonged to a camera club, I heard a competition judge say that he really wasn’t impressed by images of sculptures or statues because he considered them merely pictures of other people’s artwork. Thankfully I decided not to take any notice and continued to take shots of ‘other people’s artwork’ especially if I thought they were interesting and merited a place in my own albums.

The first picture shows part of a piece by William and David Turner entitled Canada Geese. This sculpture resides in the Naturalistic Garden at The Chicago Botanic Garden.

I came across this statue of Robert Morris, George Washington and Haym Salomon on Wacker Drive in Chicago a few weeks ago. This monument, ‘A Symbol of American Tolerance and Unity and the Cooperation of People of all Races and Creeds in the Upbuilding of the United States,’ was designed by Lorado Taft.

A more modern-day statue, temporarily on display in Chicago in 2011, was that of Marilyn Monroe. Entitled Forever Marilyn, it was designed by Seward Johnson.

This slightly more decorous lady was part of a display of statuary at the Cuneo Mansion and Gardens in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

I’m not sure if this one qualifies as a statue, carving or sculpture but I thought it might be alright. This was taken at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Illinois.

And for something completely different, a sculpture from the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park.