Tim Frakes Productions

Matthiessen State Park Fog


Matthiessen State Park is located in central LaSalle County, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. These shots were taken along the Vermilion River which runs through part of the park. My son, Connor performed the guitar music.

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Candace Minster – Spiritual Journey


This story reminds me of summer. Candace Minster is an Environmental Education Coordinator at the White Violet Eco-Justice Center, a ministry of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-in-the-Woods, Indiana. I recorded this story for 30 Good Minutes, WTTW, Channel 11, PBS, Chicago on a blazing-hot summer day.

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A Late Autumn Walk


A late autumn walk through Hidden Lake Forest Preserve, Du Page County, Illinois. Panasonic Lumix GF3, 720p
www.frakesproductions.com

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Hidden Lake Mid Winter


Hidden Lake Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois. Recorded on February 3, 2011 following a Groundhog Day storm. Visuals accompanied by J.S. Bach, Well Tempered Clavier.

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Colonial Parkway: People of Faith


The Colonial Parkway is a twenty-three mile scenic roadway stretching from the York River at Yorktown to the James River at Jamestown. It connects Virginia’s historic triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Several million travelers a year use this route to enjoy the natural and cultural beauty of Virginia.

I recorded these images for a documentary I am helping to produce for Wheaton College and the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals titled: People of Faith. The six, half hour series looks a Christianity in North America from the Colonial period up through today.

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Blessing of the Animals

Every year Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills, Colorado offers a “Blessing of the Animals” event held in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Manistique Harbor Light


The Manistique Harbor Light in Manistique, Michigan

Huntington Beach, California


Took a drive on the Pacific Coast Highway and stopped to take these shots of the surf, just north of Huntington Beach, California. The off-shore oil platform in one shot makes me think about the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Micro Enterprise and Silk Production in Bangladesh


Have you ever wondered how silk is made? Outside Saidpur, Bangladesh I toured a silk production facility. The small factory is a non-profit operation (RDRS) that provides jobs and economic opportunity for women in this poor nation.

The silkworm is the caterpillar of Bombyx mori, the domesticated silk moth. The silk moth is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild.

At the factory, the women, dressed in colorful saris, collect and sort huge piles of golden silkworm cocoons. Once sorted, the cocoons are immersed large into vats of boiling hot water.

This is bad news for the silkworms inside the cocoons! The hot water sparks a chemical reaction that allows the spun cocoon to unravel. Silkworm cocoons are natural bobbins made of one continuous strand of silk thread. After boiling, the cocoons are cooled and taken to a loom and unraveled.

The raw silk thread is then wound onto a spindle, dried and shipped to a textile factory.

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Brookfield Zoo, Holiday Magic


Each December, the Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Illinois hosts Holiday Magic, a festival of lights, ice and animals.

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