On a beautiful evening, I found myself wandering around the unlit fountains of downtown Kenosha, wondering if I could take long exposure pictures of some of the flowers.  These were all experimental shots, but I kind of enjoyed the results.

With only the streetlights to illuminate everything, I had to use anywhere from a one-second to a 30-second shutter speed just to see what I could get, and the tiniest of breeze would blur the shots.  It was quite a struggle.

With the Harley Fest going on, the lakefront area was teeming with people riding and walking, enjoying the holiday weekend weather, and they were some of the friendliest people I've encountered on my photo adventures.

Everyone seemed to be out walking their dog tonight, and I met many curious pooches.

People wanted to know how I was taking pictures in the dark.  Unfortunately, when I tried to explain, they got blank looks like I was speaking another language and nodded kindly, then walked away.  I guess I should keep the technical stuff to myself.

While I was shooting pics, I set my camera bag down on a bench.  When I got home, I brought my camera bag up to my room, set it on my bed and opened it up only to find a HUGE wolf spider crawl out and scurry under my comforter.  After much squealing, I finally trapped it and got rid of it, but now I must rethink where I set my bag down while shooting.  And where I set it down when I get home, too.

My intention originally was to take photos of Veterans Fountain, but the fountain wasn't on.  It hasn't been working right for most of the summer and I'm quite sad.  It's a fascinating feature.

I didn't think the flowers would still be so beautiful this late in the year, but what a surprise I had.  Thought it is the last weekend of summer, it feels like it could go on forever.

In the dark, I couldn't see the bugs hiding in the flowers, but evidently they were still there.

Maybe it was because it was such a pleasant night, but I really like taking photos of flowers in the dark.  The shadows are so dramatic and it only took 180 shots to get a dozen that aren't blurry beyond recognition.

Maybe it was the amber glow from the streetlights, but I'm really shocked at the vibrant colors shooting in the dark will still get you.

The fountain at the Kenosha Public Museum was running, but without any lights, unfortuantely, and photographing it was useless.  Something is going on with the fountains in Kenosha.

The fountain wasn't lacking charm when a giant poodle visited to have a sip.

Happy Labor Day!