Spots and Dots is the creative topic for Leya’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
flowers (2 orchids at Chicago Botanic Gardens, sunflower at Cantigny Park-Robert McCormick estate, Wheaton, Illinois)
animals (Tanzania)
genets, Ndutu Safari Lodge
hyena, Serengeti
cheetah mother & cub, Serengeti
leopard, Serengeti National Park
D’Arnaud’s barbet birds, Serengeti National Park
giraffes, Arusha National Park
art: sculpture (dalmations in Sao Paulo, Brazil; abstract sculpture in St. Charles, Illinois; giant pumpkin somewhere in Japan – this photo was a screenshot; Chinese lion at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois)
museum art (tapestry, light display)
Leda Catunda, Onca pintada No. 1, 1984, (at museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil)Exhibit at Museu do Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
public art
mural on a wall in a Sao Paulo neighborhood
in an alley painted with murals, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Clock, city center Cologne, Germany
Lightscape light show installations for the holiday season, (Chicago Botanic Gardens, Dec. 2019 and Dec. 2020)
I think I am late for this one, but I’m participating anyway! Lens-Artists’ Photo Challenge #146 is to focus on the details.
In 2019, we took a Viking river cruise, which started in Amsterdam and took us down part of the Rhine River. Our first stop in Germany was in Cologne, with its fabulous cathedral. Its imposing towers can be seen rising above the rest of Cologne’s buildings, this photo taken from our cruise ship as we arrived in the morning.
Officially named the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, this Gothic architectural wonder took centuries to build. Construction began in 1268 but was halted around the middle of the 16th century. It was finally finished in 1880, remaining true to its medieval plan, and at 157 meters (515 ft) it is the third tallest church in the world. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
Its façade contains a dizzying number of carved details, none of which are the same. (And these are all on its exterior!)
I was surprised to see these dark stripes up close.
I was amazed to see the ladder going up this spire! I can’t imagine someone actually climbing up it!
There is a sheep in the middle of this flower-like design – I have never noticed it before!With so many intricate details, it’s no wonder that it took many centuries to build!
I zeroed in on this skull, somewhere on the panel above.
A stained glass window, viewed from the outside.Above each archway is something different.Similar to one of the flower-like patterns above, but with no sheep in the center!
On Monday, Ludwig hosts his weekly challenge Monday Window. I looked in my archives and kept coming across window pairs. Here are a few of them, taken in Brazil, Mont St-Michel (France), Amsterdam, and Germany.
I have not participated in Thursday Doors for awhile, in spite of my passion for doors! However, due to the pandemic, I haven’t had a chance to photograph any doors. So in keeping with the (new) host Sherry, I have delved into my archives for some red doors – and I’m sure I have posted some of them in the past, but never together!
Miltenberg, GermanyMiltenberg, GermanySomewhere in northern BelgiumSomewhere in northern BelgiumParis, FranceMont St-Michel, FranceDes Plaines, Illinois, USADes Plaines, IL, USA
Yikes! I have a few days to catch up for Paula’s February Love Me challenge! Here are 3 more, in no particular order…
Feb. 6: I love…ice cream! Even though it is winter, and quite cold here, I can’t resist the temptation of ice cream once in a while!
Ice cream in France
Feb. 7: I love…art. I love to visit art museums whenever I can as well as do my own artwork! I just finished the book Frida in America by Celia Stahr, a new biography of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo focusing on her years in the United States with her husband, Diego Rivera. While reading the book, I explored her artwork on line and, although I was quite familiar with her work, I discovered a lot of her paintings I hadn’t known about before. I also love mural art wherever I find it – and usually stop what I’m doing to take a picture!
Claude Monet, Bordighera, 1884, oil on canvas; exhibition at Chicago Art Institute, Oct. 2020
Two murals in Denver, Colorado (click on photo to see the entire image)My artwork: Painted Bunting, sharpie and pastels on construction paper, January 2020
Feb. 8: I love…traveling. Anyone who reads my blog even occasionally knows how traveling is absolutely the thing I love most to do! And while traveling, I engage in one of my favorite hobbies, photography, and when I come back, I engage in another favorite activity, writing (or blogging). Below is a gallery random sample of travel photos from 2018-2019. There are no travel photos from 2020 due to not being able to travel during the pandemic! I have two international trips booked for 2022 and hopefully we can do a road trip in the fall of this year.
