Chicago - My Kind Of Town - Part 1

Hello again,
I was looking through our past posts and realized that I have not put any picture up from Chicago. We've put pictures up from all around the country, and haven't even thought about putting up any from one of the best cities in the country. So here we go.

We rented some bikes from Navy Pier and started North. We found a snack vender right by the lakefront and had lunch. That was a good start to a fun lakeside day in Chicago.

From the North we headed South past all of Chicago and ended up by the Adler Planetarium. It was such a sunny day in June, but we were still cold. Boy you have to love that Chicago weathere

The Bean, as we call it here in Chicago. Cloudgate is the actual name. Very cool new attraction in Millennium Park. Great spot for photos and people watching

I love taking shots that have the old and new buildings in them. Here we have the Water Tower building in front, and the Hancock Building in the back. They say the Water Tower is haunted, each time I walk past I look for the ghost in the window. Maybe next time.

I can't remember which building downtown this is, but all over the sides they have these statues standing guard over the city.

Another old and new shot. This one has the Wrigley building in the front, and the new Trump Tower in the back. This section of Chicago has some of the best old time architecture.

Proof that Chicago is still the Windy City.

More classic architecture.


A couple shots of the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. Can't wait to get back down there this year after the new Margaritaville opens up. We'll spend a whole day down there, and get some great photos.

One last shot for this entry, looking back at Chicago. In the lower right hand corner you'll see the Drake Hotel. It is hard to believe that this 10 story hotel once dominated the skyline. If you ever have chance, go ride the elevators, they have couches in them.

That is it for now, stay tuned for more, and keep that shutter moving.
Joe and Nikki

Scenes from the South

Hello again,

I was looking through some of our favorite pictures, and I happened on a file file from when we lived down south. I used to work for Marriott, and for about a year and a half we lived in Bluffton, SC. A small town just off of Hilton Head Island. We took a lot of pictures while we were down there, but only a few of them would we consider artsy or out of the ordinary. Hopefully in 2012 or 2013 we will have a chance to revisit our old southern stomping grounds.

Located in downtown Savannah there were several memorials along the main street. This picture of a Celtic Cross represented the large Irish community in Savannah.

The famous "Faux" light house of Hilton Head Island in Sea Pines Plantation. Harbor Town was fun little place on the Island. Getting dinner to go from the Crazy Crab and sitting in the rocking chairs and watching the sunset over the lighthouse will always be a fond memory of the island.

The Sheldon Church Ruins just outside of Beaufort, SC was an incredible find. We were at an ice cream shop in Beaufort, when I saw a picture on the wall, and the owner directed us to the ruins just outside of town. So much history, we could have spent all day there.

One of the locals around Hilton Head. It was so cool when they just come right up to the boat. This one circled the boat a few time looking for a hand out, and left when we didn't give him anything.

We were having dinner at one of the Restaurants on the Northern side of the island, when I walked down to the pier to take a few shots. A storm rolled in and cut this photo shoot short. Oh well there is always next time.

This little guy was a fighter. I was fishing for sharks, and when I reeled in my line to go home, this was on the line. I guess he thought the squid I was using for bait was really his dinner.

This picture was one of the first pictures I took on Hilton Head. I was living at the hotel while I found an apartment. I borrowed a bike from the hotel, and started riding around Palmetto Dunes. I decided to rest for a moment before turning back to the hotel, and snapped a quick picture. It is still one of my favorites from when I was down south.

The last picture for this entry is from the Old Oyster Factory on Hilton Head. The best part about this restaurant was large deck out back. It always had live music, and lots of locals who hung out there. I always liked these two boats, and for some reason only took one picture of them the whole time. Nowadays I would have taken about 50 or 60 or as many as I could until I got just the right one. This one was just perfect.

Another entry down. Like I said before, I can't wait to go back down to the Low Country. Next year we'll take some great pictures of Savannah and Hilton Head. Maybe even take a side trip to Amelia Island and visit the Plantation. That is all for now, take care and check back soon for more uploads.

Until next time, keep that Shutter moving

Joe and Nikki

Nice Shots of Floral

Greetings again,
We were walking over at Lake Kathryn taking some scenery pictures the other day, and it got me to thinking about some of the past pictures of flowers that we've taken. Here are a few of our favorites.

We keep finding good pictures from Blue Sky Vineyard. We had a great sunny day there, and that seemed to produce some great pictures

We found these flowers at The American Club up in Kohler, WI. We went up there for a golf and B&B getaway, and found a hidden garden at the hotel. Very quiet little area with a fountain and tucked away benches. Can't wait to go back.

We were surprised to find an beautiful garden located in the heart of downtown Saugatuck, MI. They had set aside a corner lot and converted it into an art and garden sanctuary.

From the vineyards of Galena Cellars in Galena, IL, comes this picture of some Chardonnay Grapes. If you ever have a chance, stop by this little vineyard in the middle of nowhere. We had a great day there, we had a picnic lunch on their deck with a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and Cheese and crackers.


For the above two pictures we had to travel a great distance to a private garden. Okay maybe not too far. It was on our balcony. These were taken during dinner one night.

And finally the Bristol Renessaince Fair, they have a long suspension bridge over a turtle pond, and this flower just caught our eye. We can't wait to go back there this summer. We are planning on dedicating an entire photo entry for that day.

That is it for now, stay tuned for the next entry.
Joe and Nikki

Random Pictures We Like

This entry features some random photos that we have taken. They range from an ice storm in the country, to Sunset water show in Michigan. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Yes it was cold outside.

Still cold outside, in case you didn't believe me the first time

This picture is from the Musical Fountain in Grand Haven, Michigan. Every night at sunset the town gathers at a park downtown and watches across the river to see this light and music display. It had music choreographed to music from The Raiders of the Lost Arc theme to contemporary rock music. It was a great event.


The grand finale was set to the Score to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Great way to end the show.

This last picture is at my parents house. We were getting ready to leave, and I thought this was a cool looking bird house. I've decided that I'm going to do a full photo shoot of my parents riverfront lot, and some of the surrounding town. They live right off of Old Route 66, so there are some fun landmarks nearby.
That is all for now, stay tuned for more posts, it is going to be a little different for a while. Hopefully that is a good thing.
Bye bye for now,
Joe and Nikki

Getting Creative

I have been working a lot with Photoshop lately and getting creative.

I will be posting some of our favorite images.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

-nikki

Midwest Living Photo Contest

As the Chicago way - Vote early and often.

Copy the link below and mark "Like" for each of the pictures. Yes it is that easy!

http://www.midwestliving.com/photos/photo-contests/march-2011/3865400019

Thank you

Joe and Nikki Walsh

Southern Illinois

This entry has some pictures from our trip to Southern Illinois. We were looking at buying some land to open up a Bed and Breakfast a while back. So we went down to do some scouting around. Around the same time we also started trying to start a family. We have Gwen now, and no Bed and Breakfast yet, and we mean yet!

So here we go, down to Southern Illinois, and he town of Cobden

Trying to get artsy one morning before breakfast. A very cool fog had settled in at the Bell Hill Bed and Breakfast where we stayed before we left to go to a few wineries.






After the fog had burned off we went to the Giant City State park down the road and took a little hike. This formation was called the Standing Rock


This was the view that I enjoyed each morning after breakfast at Bell Hill. Relaxing with a Mimosa. Such a great place to relax, and unwind. It seems so far away from Chicago. A lot farther than 5 hours.

A cool barn, couldn't resist taking a few pictures.


The grounds at Bell Hill are great to walk around. I was following a herd of deers, couldn't get a god picture, maybe next time.

An old flat bed truck at Owl Creek Winery, the manager said that when they have live music there, the band sets up on the back of this truck at the bottom of the large three tier deck. Each time we've been down there, we seem to miss the music. Maybe next time.

I had just bought my new Canon EOS 50D, and was having fun taking pictures over at Blue Sky Vineyard. They had a variety of sculptures on the grounds. This was one of the first artsy pictures I tried to take. I took about 15 or so shots, and this was the best one.

One last picture of the old tree outside of the Bell Hill Mansion Bed and Breakfast. I just like this one. Can you believe back in the day, they had platforms built in the tree where a band would play when the owners would have parties on the lawn.

That is all for this post, look forward to more soon.

Joe and Nikki Walsh