This image is the same as Trees – Untitled #95 excepted for some editing/color differences.
The story behind this picture can be found by reading the story behind Trees – Untitled #95.
Untitled – #87
Untitled – #95
This is a picture of a cotton bush. It is neither a tree nor a flower but we put it in the trees category in the absence of a bush category.
It was taken in October of 2022 during a stroll around the pond at Prairie Walk Pond in Lisle, Illinois. The colors of Fall are evident in this bush while some parts still retain green leaves. Nearly all of the colors of the spectrum are on display here with the help of the water of the pond in the background.
There were three pictures taken that day that are available in our Etsy Shop. Flowers – Untitled #72, this picture, and its companion, being the same image, Trees – Untitled #87, with a bit of a vintage look.
Untitled – #100
We were at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois on this August 2023 late afternoon, heading back to our car after having taken 20 or more pictures. The angle of the sun and its rays coming through the trees decorating the landscape with brilliant light in some areas, casting shadows in other gave an unusually ethereal feeling in the moment.
“Cathedral” is the word that came to mind as the curved branch in the foreground seemed to offer a doorway into splendor, peace, enlightenment, and revelation.
Untitled – #90
We were driving along one late summer day in 2022 and came upon a sharp curve in the road to the right. As I negotiated the curve, out of the corner of my eye to the left, I saw what I thought, in that fleeting moment, a body of water surrounded by some trees. We tried to mark the spot and plan our return.
Return we did, in fact, later that year in October. The was no entrance to that area from the thoroughfare we had been on previously and after considerable searching we finally found the pond which lay within the confines of the College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
The weather was perfect, a slight breeze put the trees in motion, and in the surroundings the autumn colors were in full array. There was a relatively small patch of ground there, the rest being undergrowth or water, but it was ample to take a variety of colorful pictures.
One of the trees there was this willow tree whose long hanging branches swayed most beautifully in the breeze. It was quite captivating and resulted in a picture taken that day being in our Etsy Shop in two versions. Trees – Untitled #91, which is the original picture, and this picture which is an edited version that captures a bit of the mystique of that day.
Untitled – #79
During a walk down one of the many hiking trails in the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, we came across another, steeper, less traveled path that led downward into this clearing. I’ll never forget the sense of peace and yet mystery, stillness, but the feeling of being accompanied by “something” we could not see but strongly perceived. It was unusually quiet; not even much of the winds blowing through the trees to which we were so accustomed. An occasional bird calling out, perhaps, but a tranquility, a place of repose, but not so much a place as a state of being in those woods and walking about as if we were on holy ground.
These were the moments in October 2022, one of which we kept in this picture. Another picture in our Etsy Shop taken that day is Trees – Untitled #89.
Untitled – #91
This is the original and companion of Trees – Untitled #90.
To read the story behind this picture, please read the story of Trees – Untitled #90.
Landscape – Untitled #58
The many colors, textures, and layers of field and forest are found in this September 2022 picture taken at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois.
We pass this field often during our drives through the arboretum and to see it slowly but constantly changing as the seasons change has been a foundational part of our frequent trips there.
As in life itself, a completely different picture emerges as one employs just a subtle change in perspective.
While we only took less that 30 pictures that day, two appear in our Etsy Shop; this picture of the field and woods and Trees – Untitled #34.
Untitled – #57
In the summer of 2008, I was an engineer of an electric commuter railroad that operated between South Bend, Indian and Chicago. During my many trips to and from South Bend I would pass this wheat field which, in July of that year, had captured my attention.
On that 4th of July 2008 I drove about 15 miles to be near the field and then walked the remaining two miles, or so, to the field to be personally rewarded by this sight, recorded by my camera.
I love the colors, texture, detail, framing of the sky, and memory of that part of a journey within my journey.
Another picture, among the 60 taken that day, that appears in our Etsy Shop, is Untitled #5.
Landscape – Untitled #49
As I’ve often mentioned in these stories, Lake Marmo, within the Morton Arboretum, is one of our favorite places to visit.
This picture was taken in October 2022 as the fall colors began to come to life. It was a beautiful, gentle day; the lake placid, the sky brushed with hints of clouds, wildlife still all around us before the onslaught of cold, changes, though nuanced and subtle, happening everywhere in the plants, bushes, and trees.
I took 58 pictures that lovely day and among those we placed four of those in our Etsy Shop. For a further glimpse into that part of our journey we invite you to see Trees – Untitled #33.
Untitled – #82
This hydrangea’s picture was taken in late April 2023. It had survived the winter intact and displayed the delicacies, details, and nuances which were particularly rewarding since many plants do not remain in such good condition after winter.
One of our many trips to the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois produced this inspiration of retaining a degree of unique beauty after otherwise, harsh and trying circumstances. A survivor.