Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Vanishing Point

This week, Cee has chosen Vanishing Point as the theme for her Black & White Photo Challenge. There are several sections of the walk around Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg that provide a ‘vanishing’ perspective. I always wonder what I’ll see when I get to the other end or around the next corner.

The images were captured last year. We are expecting a blizzard this evening and these paths will probably be under several inches of snow by tomorrow so it will be a while before I walk them again.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Birds

This week, Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge is strictly for the Birds in the nicest possible sense.

Cee’s Black/White Photo Challenge – Circles & Curves

This week, Cee is looking for Circles and Curves for her Black/White Photo Challenge and nature provides plenty of both.

Cee’s B/W Photo Challenge – Anything That Flies

This week, Cee is looking for Anything that Flies for her Black & White Photo Challenge. Charlie and Zeus are two American Bald Eagles that were discovered injured in the wild and brought to Brookfield Zoo in 2010 and 2011 respectively. They can fly but only just, which is why they are being cared for at the zoo.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Horns

This week, the subject for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge is horns and, as I discovered when I went through the photo files, they come in all shapes and sizes.

The only longhorn that we saw in Texas was this one, stuffed and mounted, on display outside a restaurant in San Antonio.

Personally, I’m always happy to have a fence between me and any animal that has horns like either of these two critters.

One close encounter with a bison in South Dakota was more than enough for me.  This one was safely lounging in an enclosure at Brookfield Zoo.

These are some of the prettiest horns I’ve seen, belonging to an addax antelope, also at Brookfield Zoo.

And last but not least, some impressive horns on an energetic goat waiting for food to be delivered on a pulley system at a farm in Lowell, Indiana. The grandkids had a great time sending up bucket after bucket.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Horns.

 

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – All About Nature

This week it’s All About Nature on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge. Due to family commitments, I haven’t been able to spend much time doing photography lately (although I’ve tried to keep up with all your wonderful posts and pictures) so here are a few shots that I took earlier this year at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Como Park Zoo in Minnesota.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to It’s All About Nature.

 

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Flowing Water

This week, Cee is looking for flowing water for her Black & White Photo Challenge.  A couple of months ago we took a trip to Minnesota to visit, among other places, Minnehaha Falls. It was a very dull, wet day when we were there so we probably didn’t see them at their best. I think, in this instance, the black/white treatment does them and the resulting flow of water more justice than the original color shots.

Closer to home, here are a couple of images from my visit to the Air & Water Show in downtown Chicago. Walking back from the lakefront, I took in Buckingham Fountain and a slightly less well-known fountain outside the Chicago Art Institute.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Flowing Water.

 

 

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Birds

This week, Cee is looking for birds for her Black & White Photo Challenge.  We saw plenty of birds while we were in Texas! In fact, while we were in San Antonio, one of the biggest challenges for me was visiting the Riverwalk which was lined with birds.  If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know about my life-long fear of birds and the problems that I have, dealing with them in everyday situations.  After the first few minutes of dodging pigeons along the pathway I was almost tempted to give it up and return  to street level but with the help of my husband, who walked ahead of me, as a kind of anti-bird bodyguard, I managed to stay the course for quite a distance and I was glad that I did. There is so much to love about the Riverwalk!

However, it’s not all fun and games on the river.  This young bird (heron?) was standing alone on the banks of the Riverwalk. He was quite unconcerned that we were so close. I guess he must have become used to people walking by and the boats packed with tourists going up and down the river. I’m no bird expert so I couldn’t really tell how old he was but I hoped that he was capable of taking care of himself as, when we walked back on the other side of the river, we spotted an adult heron floating dead in the water just opposite to where he was standing.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Birds

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Animals

The squirrels in Texas are very bold, let me tell you!  I didn’t need a long lens for this shot, in fact I was half-inclined to take a step back, as this feisty little critter gave every indication that he was about to run straight up my leg!

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Any Animal (no birds)

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Letters K or L

Back to the alphabet for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge which this week features the letters K and L.  Many of the images that I’ve used for this challenge were taken some years ago and it’s been interesting for me to wander through the old photo files to see just what kind of things caught my eye back in the day.

A Komodo Dragon named Faust, on display at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago in 2006.

This picture of a kangaroo was taken so long ago I can’t remember where I saw it.  Possibly Brookfield Zoo.

A more recent picture, of a koi fish, was taken at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

The king of the jungle, a lion at Brookfield Zoo gazes out at an admiring crowd, sizing us up perhaps as a possible source of lunch.  He looks very lazy but I’m sure he was ready to leap into action if the need arose.

A lamb at Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, Illinois.

A rather alarming llama appearing to get somewhat confrontational at Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm in South Barrington.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/04/06/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-letters-k-or-l/