Category: Landscape

In November 2023 we were at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois in what proved to be a rather crisp, raw, pre-winter day. As is our habit, if we don’t have a clearly defined destination, we will drive along the paved roads throughout the Arboretum until we feel “led” to pull over and just see where our footsteps take us.

It was a chilly, windy day which precluded any attempt at macrophotography for certain. As we walked down the path, a short distance from the car, braving the cold wind, we noticed the clouds in the sky over this section of the surroundings near Crab Apple Lake. The way they were, it seemed, “sculpted” and “brushed” in such a unique fashion, determined that we should put them in our Etsy Shop for those who are drawn to the sky and cloud patterns in particular.

This is a picture of Meadow Lake within the confines of the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

As I have often said in these posts, the Arboretum is one of our favorite places to relax, read, enjoy the flowers, fields, and forests, and, to take pictures.

This scene is one perspective of this well-known lake. As I took this picture, immediately behind me is the Visitor’s Center. Near the main parking lot, visitors walk by this lake to get to the Center. Often you will see chairs set up by the lake for special events and exhibits are found here throughout the year as well.

Inside the Visitor’s Center you will find the Ginko Room where guests can eat and are treated to this view through an extensive stretch of windows.

This scene was photographed in May, 2023.

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.

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.

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.

Every time we would drive to see family, we would pass this barn. We have passed it dozens and dozens of times over the years, nestled, just off the highway, in that corn field each summer.

It presents an interesting contrast, not only in color, texture, and form, but as the crops are planted, grow, are harvested, and then disappear for the winter, the barn remained constant, never changing, almost sentinel-like.

This picture was taken in June of 2017. Within 4 years, age and the elements had their way and one of the sides gave way. The barn is still there, leaning as if to fall yet more, in time . . . but still remains though broken.

Update, January, 2024. We were sad to see that the barn had been removed. While it is no longer physically there, the sweet memories of seeing it, knowing we were minutes away from family, will linger forever.

Sunrise, October 9, 2011. We’re at Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve. It’s that time of year in northwest Indiana when the nights are becoming cool but the days still relatively warm. In these woodlands that lie on hills and gentle valleys the fogs and mists appear at first light only to be “burned away” by the sun as it rises and warms the air.

In capturing this moment, we see virtually everything being painted and tinged with the oranges and yellows of the illumination of the sun. Even the fog in the valley, typically more whitish in color, has yielded to the warmer effects of the sun’s rays and power.

I took 93 pictures that morning, two of which are presently in our Etsy Shop, “AbbasImages”: Landscape – Untitled #1, and Trees – Untitled #8. It was a beautiful sunrise which opened a beautiful day.