Lilies in Shadow © 2010 Bo Mackison
Most of the lilies at the Chicago Botanic Gardens are front and center in the main garden, framed in multiple square ponds, and offset by summery plantings. There are purple water lilies, pink ones, blue ones, even bright magenta water lilies. But I found these lilies on a lesser traveled path, up and beyond the conifer plantings. Not many people wander this far off the main paths.
These lilies offer a different feel compared to their brightly lit cousins. I love these pale lilies, quietly dressed in shadowy reflections. My favorite of all the lilies I photographed that day.
Water Lilies © 2010 Bo Mackison
There is a new article in my series, Memoir Space, now up on The Calm Space, an online magazine published by Karen Wallace.
In the article, I share an excerpt of a letter I wrote to a special woman in my life, and show how easy it is to write a bit of your life story. It’s as easy as writing a letter – yes, a handwritten letter! – and including it in a special occasion card. Go ahead. Take a minute and read Spreading Happiness by Sharing Memories.
The water lilies were photographed at Chicago Botanic Garden. I’ve been working with desaturated photographs, and in this photo, I left only a hint of the original color, while keeping the emphasis on the two sunlit lilies.
Hope you enjoy both the article and the lilies.
Tiny Fountain © 2010 Bo Mackison
This fountain is in a very long straight line, but the individual water spouts are very short – only a few inches high.
Did you see the fountain in the photograph when you first glanced? As you looked for the fountain, did that encourage you to look deeper into the photograph?
That is what photography – the actual act of taking a photograph – does for me. It makes me take a longer look, a deeper look. It allows me take the time to make meaning from what I see.
Photographed at Chicago Botanic Garden.
Gemini Rose © 2010 Bo Mackison
The rose gardens are in full bloom in July. I love the delicate coloring and shading on this Gemini® Tea Rose.
Photographed at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on the Fourth of July.
Yellow Lily © 2010 Bo Mackison
It’s a cloudy day in Wisconsin, a good day to share this bright bit of yellow – a day lily photographed at the Chicago Botanic Gardens this past weekend.
I sooooo wanted to call this photograph “Lello Lily” in honor of my youngest who pronounced the word ‘yellow’ by substituting ‘l’ for the ‘y’ — and did so long after she could easily say the word ‘yellow’ correctly. She simply loved the way it sounded. Often another family member would call something ‘lello’ also — it always brought on the giggles.
She will so love the sound of these two words combined — ‘Lello Lilly’.
To the Friendly Skies © 2010 Bo Mackison
O’Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and one of the largest. So I am always grateful when I can take the moving walkway through the terminal from one plane’s arrival gate to the connecting plane’s departure gate.
And these walkways were long enough, I was able to take more than a few photographs. They came out in a funky kind of way — appropriate, I think, for the beginning of a journey.
Resting at OHare © 2010 Bo Mackison
The Seeded Earth blog is taking a short break from botanical photography as I take a short trip before I start my summer art fair schedule. For the next week or so, I’ll be sharing a few travel photos as I visit one of the few areas of the country I’ve never seen in person – the Pac Northwest. We started our trip to Seattle at Chicago’s OHare International Airport. We were energized with anticipation of the trip ahead of us, but not all travelers were quite so happy to be on the road. (Or in the skies.)
BTW, best use I’ve seen for a men’s tie in a long time – as an eye mask to block the bright lights of the airport at high noon.
on the Magnificent Mile
The Water Tower on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue has historically been considered the most significant survivor from Chicago’s disastrous fire of 1871. It has become a symbol of Chicago’s revival and fighting spirit to come back from tragedy.
The Tower, built as a pumping station in 1869, was designed by architect William W Boyington. It is on the US Register of Historic Places.
Two other well known, though significantly more modern buildings, loom in the background of the Tower. The Water Tower Place is to the left of the tower, and the John Hancock Center is on its right.
Manikins, Headless, on Michigan Avenue
I was attracted to this window display, looked at it so long that my photo Sherpa dragged me away muttering that he hadn’t been fed lately. That was a true statement, so we went to dinner, but then I insisted on walking down Michigan Avenue, mentioning what a romantic street it was for a late evening stroll.
Ha! In all honesty, I wanted to check out those manikins again. Something metaphorical about plastic models with fake binoculars, all posed as if to be noticing something worth noticing. Yeah sure, the best part – the no-brain part.
Kinda like some photographers. Never really look, no I mean LOOK, at what they are photographing. Snap, snap, snap. Or even worse, snap because someone ELSE is snapping the shot. I LOVE when that happens!
A few days ago I was standing on a street corner and the metal rod structure of a trash can caught my attention. I liked the lines. Then I noticed a bumpy grille on the ground, painted orange. Hmm. I was composing in my head, trying for a combiation using the trash can and the orange street. I walked around a few times. Lined up some shots, checked a few settings on my camera, I was fooling around, enjoying myself, doing some low angles, high angles.
And darn if this guy, perhaps in his mid-30s, maybe 5’5″, wearing a below knee length imitation fur coat, walks towards me and slows. Then stops. I can see him in my peripheral vision, and he’s watching me. He has a camera slung around his neck–big SLR, heavy glass.
Damn, if he didn’t, in a 3 second move – lift, snap, lower his camera. He got off a quick snapshot. I’m quite sure he wasn’t taking a photo of me, which may or may not have been amusing, but of MY trash can!
Here’s the photo I took:
Standing in Line for a Shot of THIS Trash Can?
Nah, it didn’t quite work for me, but I’d love to see if HE got something better. Ha! Ha!
on the Magnificent Mile
Even though the morning was chilly last week when I walked the streets of River North just off Michigan Avenue, the skies were a lovely deep blue and there was plenty of cloud action to add some life to the buildings.
