Bridges, paths & walkways, desert and mountain terrains, and national parks – these are some of the places to find interesting “ground.” Sometimes there is an added bonus: a lizard, a flower, or a butterfly, or something ugly, like trash. This challenge is a way to showcase the photos I don’t usually publish in other posts!
Chicago Botanic Gardens: bridges, paths, and walkways
Cuba Marsh Wildlife Preserve (Illinois): walkways and grassland
The Middle East (Egypt and Israel): Desert landscapes, markets and farms
Mountain and Southwest (USA) terrain: ground above & below the tree line and rocks at Rocky Mountain National Park; trails and paths at Bryce Canyon National Park
I am happy to get in on this brand new challenge with co-hosts Cee Neuner and Marsha Ingrao! For this very first week, Marsha is the host. She says:
The #PPAC is deliberately open – photographer’s choice. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Seasonal Displays
Graffiti
Statues and Sculptures
Collections
Store Windows
Car Shows
Artistic Construction (benches, buildings, bridges)
Wall Art (not just murals)
Challenge Guidelines
Art has to be freely visible from a public street, freeway, or walkway.
Photographers have free access of use for their photos – no copyrights by the artists.
The challenge starts every Friday by 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Write a post on your blog, publish it, and include a link back to the appropriate host’s post – not on Cee’s or Marsha’s #PPAC page. Also write us a comment and paste the link into the comment. Sometimes pingbacks are missed.
Visit at least two or three other participants in the community and leave them a comment.
Here are some public art pieces in downtown Denver, Colorado. From these photos, you can see why I fell in love with Denver and hope to visit again soon!
This was the first sculpture we saw, in the downtown business district.
Most of the public art we saw was on a pedestrian street, closed to traffic.
These decorated pianos were available for anyone to stop and play (we actually saw someone playing one of them), but I don’t know how well-tuned they were!
Other public art-based entertainments: chess/checker boards!
My husband wasn’t interested in playing chess or checkers – he was just tired and wanted to sit down for a minute!
More cows:
Cows weren’t the only public art bovines on display – there were bison also!
Another sculpture:
Cleverly designed restaurant signs can also be classified as public art!
One of the fun things about traveling is all the different types of architecture you see. So I am posting photos of a variety of architectural styles and colors from some of my recent trips.
An upscale shop in Cologne, GermanySouvenir shop in Cologne with lovely wood carving.Detail on the wall of a bakery in Miltenberg, Germany
A variety of things are for sale in this typically German shop, in Miltenberg
A drugstore in Wurzburg, GermanySchlenkera Brewery, Bamberg, GermanyColorful souvenir shop in Nuremberg, GermanyRiverside commercial area, NurembergTattoo parlor and smoke shop in Regensburg, GermanyColorful commercial street in Budapest, HungaryCafé in the Jewish Quarter, BudapestBakery in Highwood, Illinois, USADowntown street with empty storefronts in Woodstock, Illinois (this was during the early lockdown days at the beginning of April, 2020).Woodstock, Illinois – you can see how empty this downtown commercial street is.Entrance to a shopping center in Tel Aviv, IsraelArabic signs over stores in Bethlehem, IsraelAlso in Bethlehem
Israeli version of Starbucks (Bethlehem)
Children’s books (and it seems like a lot of other things) are for sale in this hip neighborhood of Denver, Colorado.Southwestern adobe style is common in Santa Fe, New Mexico.More Pueblo style architecture in Santa FeColorful hues in Tucumcari, New MexicoYou can get married and then go next door and have old time photos made! (Tucumcari)Northwestern USA style in Poulsbo, WashingtonPoulsbo, Washington – love that onion-dome style “tower” on top of this bookstore!Poulsbo, WAWind socks flutter in front of this kitschy gift shop, Poulsbo, WA
French countryside, province of NormandyNot exactly a road, actually it’s a path. But it’s a long way down! Above the town of Arromanches, France and Port Winason. The British created an artificial harbor here using old barges and truck bodies, which was named Port Winston, in preparation for D-Day. The island of Mont St-Michel is reached by a long causeway at low tide (at high tide, the island is cut off from the shore). Taken from the abbey at the top of Mont St-Michel, France.Are we looking down at the road just traveled, the road yet to be traveled, or the road not traveled? Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USAThe road winds up and down mountains at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.A long and winding hiking trail (which we did not explore) at Arches National Park, Utah, USA. We were content to photograph the scenery!A dusty and winding road at the base of Masada plateau, Israel – the workers’ entrance?A very long and very dusty path for the hardy hikers who take it up to the Masada plateau. Taken from the cable car our group wisely chose!Another photo of hikers on a very windy path taken from the top, at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.Not much of the road is visible here, but the sign tells us about it! Near Oatman, Arizona, USAAround that 15 mph bend in the road and who do we see? A couple of Oatman residents on the road! Oatman, Arizona, an old mining town today survives because of the tourists on Route 66, (of which this is a part), who come for the burros that hang around town – and hike along the road! Oatman has a couple of Route 66 touristy stores and buildings that are the remnants of its mining heyday. Leaving Sedona, Arizona, after a weekend celebration of the 70th anniversary of Verde Valley School, where I attended high school (but much less than 70 years ago!).
And to end, I can’t resist – because this is what I was singing in my head while composing this post.
For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge with the topic Murals and Graffiti, I have a wealth of photos in my archives, because I love photographing public artwork! I include here a sampling of each location. Note that I have blogged about most of these places before, so there will be some duplicates.
Tucumcari, New Mexico: A town I had never heard of before has apparently achieved renown due to at least two songs about the town, and a novel set there. It’s a stop on Route 66.
Cuba, Missouri: This small town on Route 66 is famous for its murals, depicting historical scenes and events, and scenes of daily life. Many are scenes of the Civil War, but I have not included any of those here. Cuba is a “must-see” for any Route 66 trip!
Pontiac, Illinois: one of the last (or first, depending on which way you go) along Route 66. In Pontiac also is a good-sized museum and store selling all types of Route 66 memorabilia.
Because of its prominence on Route 66, there are miniature cars all over downtown Lexington, each with a different artist’s painting. Local historical figures
Black Cat Alley in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an alley flanked by old industrial buildings, which has been converted into a “canvas” for local mural painters! Located in the downtown area, it is easy to get to and I would recommend it for anyone visiting Milwaukee that has an interest in mural art.
Lincoln, Nebraska is a surprisingly interesting city. I had never been to Nebraska before our 2018 road trip and since we like to visit capital cities, we spent a day there. There is a section of town we discovered by accident while finding our way to a restaurant recommended online. Across the street was an old warehouse converted into an artists’ co-op workshop with interesting art on the outside walls.
Denver, Colorado: We stayed at a fantastic Airbnb in the artsy part of town. On Tennyson St. (where the first of these photos were taken), they have weekly art fairs during the summer season.
Sidewalk art/graffiti in downtown Denver
Dubuque, Iowa – near the Mississippi River Museum
Des Moines, Iowa
In Amsterdam, Holland we took a private boat tour on the canals and harbor. We discovered several trailers painted in vivid colors.
Brazil is very rich in culture and teeming with artists of all kinds. The more famous ones display their art in galleries and museums. However, the street art is amazing, painted by very talented “graffiti artists.” In the city of São Paulo, there was literally art everywhere – you could barely walk one block without seeing street art.
Ibirapuera Park is a large park in Sao Paulo containing small art museums, walking paths, and refreshment stands. This mural was on the wall outside a public restroom.On another wall outside the same restroomsOn a street near Ibirapuera ParkUnder a bridge near Ibirapuera Park – graffiti art and a homeless person’s possessions
For connoisseurs of “graffiti art” (although most of it is much more beautiful than graffiti), there is a neighborhood in São Paulo called Beco do Batman (Batman’s Alley) – wander its cobblestone streets to see an explosion of beautiful and/or humorous murals and sometimes political statements. The first two photos were taken outside Beco do Batman proper, which is residential – and we needed lunch so these were our view from the small café where we ate.
This is looking straight up at the dome inside the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
We had a tour of the capitol and were able to climb up almost to the top, where we had a nice view of Denver and the mountains.
My car is a source of several types of reflections:
Reflections of holiday lights on its hood
Light from its headlights reflecting on snowfall
An image in its driver’s side mirror (Rocky Mountain National Park)
Bodies of water are also great sources for photographing reflections:
One of the ponds at our senior community – the reflection was clearer on the water side (left) than the ice side (right).
Hippo and its reflection (Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)
Egrets on the edge of a lake (Tarangire National Park, Tanzania)
In this close-up of two geese that are part of a sculpture, the reflection of the top of the sculpture, geese in flight, can be seen in the pond. (Chicago Botanic Gardens)
Polished surfaces, such as glass and mirrors, are good places to look for reflections.
Glass pots on display at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington – the pattern at the bottom of the pot on the left is reflected on the platform.
Glass bowl
Glass sculpture on the roof of the museum after a rainfall – the birds are actually reflected in the puddle – it reminded me of the egrets in Tanzania!
The polished floor in the courtyard of a mosque in Cairo, Egypt
It took me awhile looking at this photo to realize it was actually a mirror image I was photographing, at a restaurant in Cairo. There was also a mirror at the far end, where the actual scene of our group having dinner was reflected, in the second photo.
Finally, semi-spherical mirrors were used to enhance flower exhibits at the annual orchid show (Chicago Botanic Gardens). This photo is a bit blurry but I liked the reflection – and you can see my camera in my hand at left!
And now, a theme-related video of a golden oldie from the 1960s!
Cee’s black & White Photo Challenge this week has the topic clouds. This is an interesting topic, because one of the things that makes cloud pictures spectacular is color – especially sunsets. I tried and rejected several photos because they just didn’t have appeal without the color. Others, however, look even more dramatic in black & white! So here’s what I chose.
I’ll start with clouds seen from above (through an airplane window).
I got some dramatic sunset photos in black & white when I looked for strong contrasts between the clouds and the sky.
The variety of the shapes of the clouds makes this an interesting photo in black & white.
Sometimes, what attracts me to take photos of clouds is the variety of shapes. It can be especially dramatic in the wide open spaces on the prairies of North Dakota…
…or a sunburst over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
More subtle effects over the pond on the campus of our community.
In this photo, the clouds are reflected in the rippled surface of the water.
Sometimes, instead of a prairie, a dramatic landscape – such as majestic mountains – enhances the photo, offering a dramatic contrast between land and sky.
The official title of the following song is Both Sides Now. But this is a pretty rendition with ethereal moving clouds. Although the song was written by Joni Mitchell, who sings it here, it was first recorded by Judy Collins, which was the first version of it I heard.
