St Louis Arch

Tough to get a new and interesting view of the Arch as it has been photographed so much. So, I tried to get in close and use the angles to draw viewers into the shot. The Arch has only been around since 1965 so many in their late 50's or older should remember an arch-free St. Louis. Hard to imagine a city building something like this today.

Illinois Farm Land

Felt like playing around with this shot to try to see what I can do inside Photoshop. I think I got kinda a 3D look with the shot. No, it is not realistic, but I had fun making some artistic choices abd frankly, the original shot was a bit boring.

Hotel/Hotel -- Central Illinois

Saw this run down building that called itself Hotel/Hotel (couldn't think of a better name?) on the way down to Champaign. Got to love these old buildings but even when this building was not old, it would have made a strange sort of hotel. I imagine the rooms would be very small and vertical. This building probably has a lot of stories to tell. It is a shame we we never know any of them.

Fall is coming--Naperville

Suddenly the temperatures start to change and you notice it getting darker quicker. Here is a shot of what is coming from a walk that I did last year close to the house. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. Such colors. Can't wait to catch some fall color this year.

Florence -- The Rape of the Sabine Women

This was one of the two sculptures that really floored me in Florence. The first was Michelangelo's David, which was just so much better than anything I had ever seen before. Unfortunately, David is located indoors and they don't let you take a picture of it (Jono did anyway, shooting through a plastic bag, see below). The second sculpture was this one which I thought was called, the Rape of Venus, but now I know is correctly called the Rape of the Sabine Women, done by Giambologna in 1582, who was very much influenced by Michelangelo. That one is located in the central square outdoors in Florence. I thought that they were both amazing pieces of work.

Malibu Coastal Tree

Saw this wonderful tree at a co-worker's rental house right on the beach in Malibu. Wonderful area and just a fantastic place to live. So beautiful.

Old San Juan--the grunge look

Funny how you can take a ho-hum shot of a colorful street corner--this one happens to be in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico--and with a little software trickery, it turns into something else entirely. Just learned how to create this look and it fits this scene pretty nicely. No, it is not real, but taking any picture changes reality.