Water, Water Everywhere – At Gooseberry Falls

I’m not sure if I’ve participated in this challenge before but I thought Jez’s WWE photo challenge would be a good opportunity for me to share some pictures that I took up at Gooseberry Falls, about an hour’s drive north of Duluth in Minnesota, last month. The Falls are easy to access and consist of three levels, upper, middle and lower falls.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Colors Of Autumn

This week, Amy is looking at the Colors of Autumn as our topic for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. I wanted to share pictures that I had taken recently rather than delving back into the photo files to come up with images that have probably been used several times already, but it’s a little too early for fall color in our neck of the woods just yet. However, we were up in Minnesota on the second day of Autumn last week when we stopped off at the Silver Creek Cliff Overlook, part of the Gitchi-Gami State Trail. There were traces of autumn hues in the trees and the many different colors of rocks on the cliff face combined with a blue sky mirrored in the waters of Lake Superior made a very colorful scene.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Artificial Light

I have quite a lot of catching up to do as we’ve been out of town for the past week but luckily I have a whole new batch of images in the photo files to work with, so here goes! Ann-Christine was looking at Artificial Light when she hosted the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge recently. For me, one of the most challenging situations in relation to photography is taking pictures in artificial light. Add to that the difficulties of capturing images of continually moving subjects in water and behind glass and that is definitely one big challenge. The first day of our trip to Duluth in Minnesota was a rainy one, so we spent the afternoon at the Great Lakes Aquarium.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Blue & Yellow

This week, Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is all about colors and more specifically, Blue & Yellow. Going through the photo files, the blues & yellows really stood out, making it easy to find these images taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Morton Arboretum, Wausau, Green Bay Botanical Garden, Como Park Zoo and my own garden.

For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, go to Blue and Yellow.

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.

 

 

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory

During our recent trip to Minnesota we were pleasantly surprised when we made a last-minute decision to visit Como Park Zoo & Conservatory in Saint Paul.  The conservatory was our main focus but when we realized that the zoo was right next door, we thought, “why not.” The fact that there was no admission fee for either place made a visit there even more enticing.

Besides the splendid plant collections inside the conservatory, there was a beautiful Japanese Garden and a spectacular show of water lilies outside the Visitor Center.

Although the zoo may not be as large as some, it had an amazing collection of animals in natural enclosures that allowed for some nice close-up photography opportunities.

 

 

 

Both the zoo and conservatory are operated by the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department and are open year-round.

I can highly recommend a visit to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. It’s a great place for family fun as it also includes a small amusement park and carousel.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Weird and Wonderful Water Lilies

The subject for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, set for us this week by Tina Schell, is Colorful and, following her example of introducing a little “fun and frivolity” into the mix, I decided to experiment with some pictures that I took recently at the Como Zoo and Conservatory in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

One of the reasons I started playing around with these images was the fact that, after looking at the many pictures of water lilies that I’ve amassed in the photo files over the years, they’ve all started to look very much the same.

For those of you who approve, I’ll try this ‘digital messing about’ again sometime with another subject. For those of you who don’t, I promise to try and restrain myself from getting too carried away with the experiment in the future.

For more on the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge go to #8: COLORFUL

The Nature of Glensheen

Earlier this autumn we traveled up north to visit Glensheen Mansion in Duluth, Minnesota.  Despite the fact that the sun decided to hide behind the clouds for much of the time, there were still a few good opportunities for outside photos.  The garden was, understandably, past it’s best, but you could get a sense of how beautiful it would look when everything was in flower.  I could definitely understand why our guide said it was a popular venue for weddings, despite the rather macabre history of the house.

Glensheen sits right on the shores of Lake Superior and, depending on the weather, the view from the beach can look rather forbidding or quite inviting.

Walking through the grounds, which originally covered 22 acres but have now been reduced to 12, we came across a bridge that led to precisely nowhere.

The view from the bridge was quite interesting, however.  The Congdon family wanted to preserve as much of the natural beauty of the property as possible and if you look from one side of the bridge you can see the house framed by trees and from the other side you can see down to the lake.

The landscaping was carried out some time between 1905 and 1908 by Charles Wellford Leavitt who designed the estate to be self sufficient, incorporating a large vegetable garden, greenhouse, orchard, cow barn and water reservoir in the plans. Glensheen is well worth a visit not only for the very interesting tour of the house but also the garden and grounds.