Photography Challenge Week 38

The Week 38 challenge was to use the Rule of Odds in a composition. In photography, the rule suggests that photos containing an odd number of items are more visually appealing. While it is somewhat easy to find odd numbers in flowers, the challenge was to use it in an urbanscape/architecture photo. Below is my take on it.

Dogwood Photography Challenge Week 38

Photography Challenge Week 37

The weather is changing (sort of), and the Week 37 challenge was Story Telling: Seasons. I came across this leaf that had fallen on a stone wall at Crystal Bridges when we visited there last week. There is not a lot of fall color out yet in the Midwest, but I thought this leaf worked well for the challenge. I got a kick out of the fact that the leaf's shadow looked like a bat.

Dogwood Photography Challenge Week 37

Crystal Bridges - Eureka!

After hearing so much about the Crystal Bridges Museum of Modern Art in Bentonville, Arkansas my husband and I had tried on a couple of occasions to get down there to see it. We finally made it happen last week. After finishing our respective pickleball games on Wednesday and taking care of some business around the house (meaning everything had to look perfect in case a potential buyer wanted to look at it while we were gone), we took off down I-44. We found this amazing little barbecue spot in Aurora, Missouri to have supper. It was tasty, and the staff was so friendly!

Hog Tide Bar-B-Cue

In keeping with my new mantra of "Make the U-turn", when I passed the field of cows cooling off as the sun went down in southern Missouri, I knew I had to turn around. I'm so glad we did.

bathing beauties

We arrived at Crystal Bridges at 9:00 Thursday morning, though the museum doesn't open until 11:00. There are miles of trails in the 120 acres that make up the grounds, and from one of the trails you can walk all the way to downtown Bentonville. The museum takes its name from a nearby natural spring, and the bridge construction incorporated in the buildings. Thanks to Alice Walton of Walmart fame, there is no charge to enter the museum.

There were not too many people around, so we had fun exploring the trails, outdoor sculptures and water features. A Frank Loyd Wright house is there as well, so we secured tickets for a tour (also free of charge.)

Crystal Bridges

We had lunch at the museum, and then headed to downtown Bentonville, which has a lovely town square. It is also the location of the first 5 and 10 store owned by Sam Walton. The museum there tells the fascinating tale of the history of Sam and Walmart.

Bentonville

After resting a bit and having supper, we drove back to Crystal Bridges for some night shots. It was quiet and peaceful as we walked along the trails. At the entrance to the grounds there is a lighted sculpture called Buckyball. On this particular evening they were showing "The Wizard of Oz" on a portable screen. How fun!

Crystal Bridges at night

Friday morning we made our way to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had not been there since Andy was a baby, so it would have been 1985. We first stopped at the Thorncrown Chapel outside of town. What a serene, beautiful place. It must be something to attend a wedding there.

Thorncrown Chapel

We spent the rest of our afternoon in Eureka Springs, having lunch at the historic Crescent Hotel and walking around town. We stopped to visit Christ of the Ozarks, the second largest sculpture of Jesus at 67' tall, and then headed home to St. Louis.

Eureka Springs

Another bucket list destination off the list!

Photography Challenge Week 36

For Week 36 of the photo challenge the inspiration was "Your Habits." Some habits are good, some are bad. We could use either in our photo. Eating pizza is one of my bad habits, but it is also soooo good! We found this pie of deliciousness at the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR last week.

Dogwood Photography Challenge Week 36

Photography Challenge Week 35

Symmetry is a compositional technique most often used in landscape or architectural photos. For Week 35 we were to break the mold by using symmetry in a portrait. I used Jim as my model, and photographed him in an allee of trees. That seemed particularly appropriate since he is a landscape architect.

Dogwood Photography Challenge Week 35

Wedding and Forgetting

Last weekend we attended my cousin's wedding in Cincinnati. As the ceremony and reception were taking place north of town, we decided to stay at a Holiday Inn Express in Blue Ash Friday and Saturday nights. Because the wedding did not begin until 4:30, we had time to go downtown and do some exploring. It was a beautiful day, with low humidity, a nice breeze, and temperatures in the upper 70s. As the song goes, "It's a nice day for a white wedding..."

downtown Cincinnati

By mid-afternoon we were back in the hotel room changing for the wedding. I was unaware that the entire event was outdoors, so I was even more grateful for the mild temperatures. The wedding was very nice, and the vows spoken by the bride and groom were heartfelt. The dinner was great, and we had fun talking with our table mates and dancing the night away. The next morning we were invited to a breakfast hosted by the groom's mother for out of town guests. It was nice to be able to talk to my cousins in a less formal (and less stressful) setting.

the wedding

After breakfast we packed up and headed to Lexington, this time staying at a Holiday Inn Express in nearby Versailles. I had never been to this part of Kentucky, and was eager to see the horse farms and play tourist for a couple of days. We spent the afternoon driving on the Kentucky Scenic Byway, and then looked around downtown Lexington. 

Lexington, KY

That night I happened to ask Jim if he had grabbed our dirty clothes out of the drawer at the hotel in Blue Ash. Unfortunately, he had not. Oops! We immediately called that hotel and after giving them our credit card number, they said they would ship them to us. At that point we were hoping that whatever was in the drawer was worth the shipping costs.

It began to rain during the night, and was still raining when we awoke Monday morning. After checking the forecast, it was predicted to rain all day Monday and Tuesday. After a brief discussion, we decided to head home as the things we wanted to see and do were mostly outside. We drove in torrential rains 3/4 of the way home, and were happy and relieved to get back to Webster Groves. 

While I was unpacking, I realized I had left my camera charger and battery in the hotel in Versailles. Really? Twice in one trip, at two different hotels? When I called the second hotel, they were not as easy to deal with. They said I needed to prepay for a Fed Ex or UPS mailing label, and then email that to them before they would ship anything. That became a bit of a process as I had no idea what size the shipping box would be or how much it would weigh. But I finally figured it out and sent off the label. As of today we have received the clothes but not the charger and battery. With it being the holiday weekend, I have been unable to talk to the office person who handles this stuff for the hotel. 

We have traveled extensively for both work and pleasure, and have never forgotten things in a hotel. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come!