Micro Landscapes

A micro landscape . . . imagine flying over this scene, somewhere far north where wind and snow cover a frozen river and hug the rocky cliffs.


This strange land is so rugged and wild. Who could survive out here? Who would want to?

Your plane passes over this amazing island in a sea of snow and ice. I know I may be biased, but I see a Schnauzer's head here. Could this be the fabled Schnauzerland? Let's back up a bit . . .

All of these micro landscapes are part of this seaweed-covered outcrop of rocks on Crescent Beach south of St. Augustine, Florida. The "snow and ice" is actually just sand. This whole area is only about 15-20 feet across. Cool!

Time for more travel photos

Having just returned from a week in sunny, warm Florida (NOT!), I will soon be posting a number of what I like to refer to as "non-traditional travel photos." I am particularly fond of the 1/8th-mile long wall of graffiti I happened upon in Gainesville. My host simply dropped me off by the start of the wall and went shopping, while I spent the time taking gabillions of shots of the wall. That was cool. We also walked in Ravine Gardens, a small state park in Palatka. Not the best time of year in Florida for the brilliant things, like azaleas and the like, but the area was beautiful with other things, such as palms, air potatoes (equivalent to our buckthorn, maybe?), bamboo (like our honeysuckle?) and streams and lily-pad ponds. Okay, lots of undesirable invasives, but exotic to my northern sensibilities. I have never seen so much bamboo and so tall! They are removing it by the truckload.

Stay tuned. They are downloaded, but I'm still digging out from the effects of a week's vacation.

Blenderized Grizzly

Okay, I've been playing too long. Things are getting a bit strange. I think I dreamed this photo.

Kayaks Outside Cabelas, Splatter Filter

Flowers Reflected in the Rock River

Sometimes I forget if I've already posted something. Oh, well. This may be a dupe.

Riverbank

This is the river behind the cliffs in Tower Hill State Park, Spring Green, WI.

I'm a fan.

These rusty fan blades were behind the old buildings on the county grounds last fall.

Interview with Eliot Patterson of True Skool

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Eliot Patterson of True Skool today. I am developing a digital library of Milwaukee Graffiti for a class and needed a video element. A good friend recommended True Skool as a resource, so I visited their website and contacted them. Eliot has been a graffiti artist for about two decades and is a veritable fountain of helpful information. These two panels were done by Eliot and a group of kids from True Skool. This artwork can be found on 12th and National, on the southeast corner building, facing west. The two photos represent two long sections of wall, the artwork of each section is roughtly the same height, but because the first section is longer, it looks smaller to fit on here. You can also view another really neat set of artworks by True Skool on Washington and Cesar Chavez on the south side of the building on the northwest corner. I will post some of that work soon as well.

Along Honey Creek culvert in Miller Valley

Dried Maple Leaf by the bus stop

Down by Keefe and Holton

Ode to a Girl with a Pearl Gauge and Septum Ring

Untitled by April Moraza, in the student art exhibit at the WI State Fair.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, 1665.

Goat Parts, etc.

Back

Side

With hopes that goats can't read . . .

Quilts at WI State Fair

Quilt by Janet Sandretti

This one was hanging near the one above, but I couldn't get near enough to get the name of the maker. Absolutely stunning!

UWM Klotsche Center Reflective Surfaces

Ceiling by west exit.

Floor by main east entrance.

Old Style on Old Barn

Clouds in Rock River

This looks like it's been filtered or messed with, but this is simply how it was - clouds reflecting in the slightly breezy surface of the Rock River near Horicon.

Rock River Reflections

MPM exhibit and future job fears

This is yet another exhibit at our Milwaukee Public Museum. Call me overly concerned, but as soon as I saw this scene, my mind immediately went to what I imagine I'll be living like next year if I don't get a job out of grad school . . . !

Millipedes Rorschach

Upon visiting the Milwaukee Public Museum today with my son, I was disappointed to see that the bullet ants are no longer "alive" but have been replaced with replicas! Some nearby beetles were also fakes. Both of these exhibits used to be real and I have no idea why they have been changed. At least these millipedes were real. There are two of them having a cuddle - then a mirror image reflected off the side of their enclosure. Reminded me of one of those ink blot test patterns.

So, what do you see in the millipedes? Personally, I see an owl.

Colorful Dino-Bird

I didn't note what this actually was, but it is on display in the Milwaukee Public Museum near the butterfly exhibit. Looks like some friends of my children . . .

Fairy Tale Boots - Milwaukee Public Museum

In 1959, Hope Cooke, an American student, met Palden Thondup Namgyal, the Prince of Sikkim, at a hotel in India. They fell in love and in 1963 their fairy tale wedding enraptured the American public. The Prince was named Chogyal, or King, later that year, making Cooke the Gyalmo, or Queen of Sikkim, the first American Queen of a foreign land. In 1966, Her Highness donated the young men's leather boots from Sikkim to the Museum so there could be something from her adopted country on display.

This is a window display at the Milwaukee Public Museum, where my son and I went today. The boots are beautiful - intricate leather details.

Mossy Rock

While attending my niece's high school graduation a couple weeks ago (Go, Haley!), I took this shot of a nicely mossed rock under the water along the pier/walkway in Sheboygan.

Rock River Reflections

Reflection of a bridge over the Rock River in Beloit, Wisconsin

This is a reflection of a boat in the Rock River in Beloit. The sign said "Rent Me" and made a colorful design in the water.

This is a reflection in the Rock River of the Rock on the River restaurant where we had dinner last night after a hard day of library tours and studying. Say that three times fast!

How Far Will a Sock Get You?

Apparently, all the way to the Beloit Public Library children's section, for here is where we found Dobby, Lucius Malfoy's former house elf, yesterday afternoon after our biweekly wandering study session. He still doesn't have socks, but now that he's free, he probably doesn't need any. He posed nicely for us in front of a lively green wall on top of a bookshelf.

Betty Boop Waiting Tables in Delavan, WI

One More Zoo Reflection . . .

Had to include just one more reflection taken at the Zoo recently. You are seeing the pillars of a big covered pavilion-type place on the southwestern part of the grounds.

Do owls yawn? Why yes, they do!

The great horned owls have dispersed, but I am still working every now and then on photos I took earlier this spring. Here a tired Mom tries to get some shut-eye with her babies in the nest nearby and countless dogs and their owners tramping past below her.

Cedarburg on the Flip Side

I had lunch with a good friend in Cedarburg a few weeks ago and took this photo of buildings reflected in the river. This is a reflection that I turned upside-down. If you look closely, you can see my shadow in the water at the top of the frame. How cool is that?

Where?

Isn't this elegant? It could be anywhere, but it's the ceiling of the Chocolate Factory at Bayshore Mall where I met my niece and sister-in-law a couple weeks ago. Always bring your camera . . .

Unlikely Places

I had the camera, the D90, in the car with me on my way to a doctor's appointment. I didn't want to leave it in the vehicle, so I brought it in with me and took the stairs up instead of the elevator. I liked the look of all the angles in here.

UWM Biker

This was taken from the south-facing windows of the Kenwood Inn on the third floor of the UWM Student Union this past spring. It just made me think of all the students here who get around on their bikes.

Havenwoods Today

These are fallen willow branches under water off the western dock of the main pond at Havenwoods State Forest. They glowed like amber as the sun hit the water.

Hubby found this little toad in the woods. I only had the Canon Powershot with me, but it did an okay job showing his golden speckled eyes.

Hartford Avenue School

Hartford Avenue School on the city's east side has this wonderful tile mosaic wall with murals along the fence. I just happened to walk by one sunny day and had the little Canon Powershot with me.

Reflections in Another Zoo Pond

I have a great series of reflections taken recently, but I'm afraid if I post them all at once, they start to lose their potency. I'll have to spread them out a bit.

Rainbow

This rainbow formed at soccer practice a couple weeks ago. It was a double - you can see part of the second bow on the right side. Glad I had the camera. I stitched this image together in Photoshop Elements 6 using three separate shots.

Another Shot of the Siberian Tiger