Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Capital

This week, guest host Viveka has given us the topic Capital for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.  We have visited a few State Capitals on our travels around the US so here is my take on the subject.  Living in Illinois as we do, Springfield would be the obvious place to start.

Madison, is about the halfway point between our house and where our daughter and her family live in Wisconsin, so we sometimes meet there to visit places like Olbrich Botanic Gardens and the Capital Building.

We have family living in Indiana so a trip to Indianapolis is usually one of our destinations. Just my luck, one of the sharpest pictures I ever took was one of the steam plant, which is the only reason I include it here. Also pictured, The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, White River Gardens and a fountain at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

A recent visit to St. Paul, Minnesota resulted in some pictures of the Capital Building, the Cathedral of St. Paul, and the Conservatory at Como Park Zoo.

Our youngest daughter and her husband lived in Salt Lake City, Utah for a brief period so we spent a week there taking in the sights which included the Capital Building, Temple Square and the College of Pharmacy.

Our visit to Cheyenne, Wyoming was only a short one as we were on our way to Utah, but we stopped long enough to visit the Capital Building.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Lines

Until I saw the subject for this week’s Photo Challenge, I never realized how frequently the word line is used in describing different situations, actions or things. For instance; toeing the line, dropping someone a line, the thin blue line, crossing the line, behind enemy lines, fall into line, hook line & sinker, forgetting your lines, along party lines and so many more, but for now this is where I draw the line.

Lines on the great Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

An interesting use of lines in this modern art sculpture in Galena, Illinois.

Quite a sight! Lines of airplane trails in the sky over our hotel in Marion, Illinois.

Part of a ceiling at the State Capitol Building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Lines of trees in winter at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

A pergola in the Rose Garden at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge go to Lines

 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Monuments and Memorials

This week, Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge requires a word with two m’s and here I have two for the price of one; monuments and memorials.  Go to just about any place and you will see a memorial of some kind, whether it’s in a big city or small town. You only have to go to the local cemetery to see some remarkable examples of ornate memorials such as this one in Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin, Illinois.

And you don’t necessarily have to visit a cemetery to see an impressive memorial or monument. There are some that demand a place with much more prominence such as the 284ft-tall Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument built on Monument Circle in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

Some memorials are smaller but no less poignant, such as this one in Port Huron, Michigan. The anchor was recovered from the “John S Martin,” a 225ft schooner loaded with iron ore, that sank on August 4, 1900 while trying to avoid the wreckage of the “Fontana” that had sunk several weeks before.  The “Martin” collided with another ship, the “Yuma” and four crewmen from the “Martin” died as a result.

Many memorials are dedicated to those who have given their lives in the service of others, such as this one in Lexington, Kentucky.

And some are dedicated to those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but are no less worthy of recognition, such as the tornado memorial in downtown Marion, Illinois.

The 630ft Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is the tallest man-made arch in the USA. It was built as a monument to westward expansion, cost $13 million to construct and was completed in 1965. Let me tell you, the view from the top is astounding!

Easily recognizable is Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.  These iconic sculptures of four US Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are as much a testament to all those who were involved in its creation as it is to the people that it depicts.  

Also in South Dakota, The Crazy Horse Memorial is a giant sculpture of the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. Begun in 1948 this monument is under construction on private land and is still far from completion.  If it is ever finished, it could possibly be the world’s largest sculpture.

From man-made memorials to a natural phenomenon, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming became the first declared United States National Monument, on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter M – Needs to have 2 M’s anywhere in the word

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Dome

This week, Cee is looking for four-letter words starting with D for her Fun Foto Challenge.  While I have plenty of duck, deer and door images, I decided, after sifting through the photo files, to go with dome.  These may not, in the grand scheme of things, be quite as elaborate as some of the world-famous domes I could mention, except for the first one and I’m not even sure if that could technically be considered a dome, but I work with what I’ve got.

The Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.

The dome of the State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Missouri.

The dome of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri.

The State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin.

The dome of the State Capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter D – 4 letters words that start with D

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/

Thursday Doors – Open Government

No, I’m not going to get into discussing politics but I thought this might be a good topic for this week’s Thursday Doors given the current political climate.  These pictures were taken a couple of years ago at the State Capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  For more on Norm’s Thursday Doors go to https://miscellaneousmusingsofamiddleagedmind.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/thursday-doors-january-19-2017/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Alone

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge on Cee’s Photography at http://ceenphotography.com/2013/12/10/cees-fun-foto-challenge-alone/ is Alone.

Very often when Mum and I visited the Chicago Botanic Garden she would insist on my leaving her to her own devices so that I could go off to do some photography in other parts of the Garden. Her favorite spot was in the English Walled Garden where she was quite happy to sit alone jotting down notes, about all the plants that had taken her fancy, in her little notebook.

The Frog Goddess stands alone on the banks of Meadow Lake at Morton Arboretum; one of many scarecrows decorated by local Girl and Boy Scout Troops.

A solitary heron wades about in a pool at River Trails Nature Center looking for lunch.

A man, alone with his music, plays on the streets of Chicago.

I admit the quality of this pictures is not quite as sharp as I would have liked but I did crop it down considerably in order to show the person standing alone on a ledge less than half way up Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. I didn’t even realize he or she was there until after I’d had the picture developed. Of course this intrepid climber wasn’t really alone. There were others in the party obviously, for safety reasons, but, perched there on that spot, I imagine they must have felt very much alone.