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[Naiiki]

Michigan

Cranbrook Gardens - Amazing during the warmer seasons. It has gardens, forest-y areas, and beautiful architecture. It's in the Metro Detroit area, off of Woodward.

Stoney Creek Metro Parks - Beautiful scenery all times of the year. It has a lake, forests and grassland type areas. You do have to pay to go in, but I think it's worth it.

[Atropos]

Schedel Gardens, Elmore Ohio

Website: http://www.schedel-gardens.org/

Japanese Botanical Gardens, really amazing!

[ByeByeBeautiful]

Would just like to point out that Texas is not a Midwest state.

[B.O.M.]

Here's a few for the DFW area. Almost every city has an extensive park system & have some great places to use in photoshoots. There are many more not listed.

Dallas
Dallas Arboretum http://www.dallasarboretum.org fee
White Rock Lake http://www.dallasparks.org/parks/whiterock.aspx free
Dallas Heritage Village http://www.dallasheritagevillage.org/ fee
West End http://www.dallaswestend.org/ free
Deep Ellum http://ondaweb.com/deep_ellum/ free cool graffiti

Frisco
Texas Sculpture Garden http://www.texassculpturegarden.org/ free

Ft Worth
FW Botanic Gardens http://www.fwbg.org free/fee some is free, but the Japanese Gardens have a fee
Water Gardens free 1502 Commerce, FW, 76102

Irving
Williams Square Plaza http://www.irvingtexas.com/About/Mus...WilliamsSquare free a canal, sculptures of horses, etc.

McKinney
Historic downtown, Adriatica (Croatia inspired development), numerous parks & trails

Plano
Downtown free historic downtown
Arbor Hills Nature Preserve free paved & unpaved trails

[rinya]

Er...Texas is not a Midwest state.

[KyleMistry]

Indiana has just about all of the city of Gary if you're looking for abandoned and grungy. There's an abandoned church not far from the Metro centre, and you can walk a mile in any direction from there to find some kind of abandoned apartments, factories, buildings, the like.

Chicago's got its share of abandonment as well-- the silos along Damen Ave. most notably. Easily accessible warehouses and the silos themselves, if a bit rickety in some parts.

[Kitsoru]

Originally Posted by KyleMistry

Chicago's got its share of abandonment as well-- the silos along Damen Ave. most notably. Easily accessible warehouses and the silos themselves, if a bit rickety in some parts.

Are they very safe in terms of not the architecture but people milling around them? Would there be cops hanging around to chase you out if you went down there?
I don't go down there a lot but I've been thinking of doing a Gundam shoot in a locale like that; so the costumes wouldn't be exceptionally outlandish but I'm still not exactly a big buff guy. XD

[KyleMistry]

Originally Posted by Kitsoru

Are they very safe in terms of not the architecture but people milling around them? Would there be cops hanging around to chase you out if you went down there?
I don't go down there a lot but I've been thinking of doing a Gundam shoot in a locale like that; so the costumes wouldn't be exceptionally outlandish but I'm still not exactly a big buff guy. XD

There were two squatters back in August, but they were pretty friendly people. When winter hits there's usually nobody around, and the cops never check in on the place.

[Buckshot Billie]

There are actually some fantastic spots in Kansas City, MO and the surrounding areas.

For one, the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. It's a big, beautiful building with immense stone steps and columns out front. There's a sprawling lawn and a manicured garden, as well as some bizarre installation pieces (Giant Shuttlecocks, anyone?). Inside, there's a well-lit marble atrium and some colourful walls for backdrops. As far as I know, they're just fine with photographers, as long as you aren't photographing near the paintings.

The Country Club Plaza was inspired by Seville Spain, so there are many tile and stucco walls as well as big, majestic fountains. If you're looking for a setting that's not so "Midwesty," this would be a good bet.

A bit south of the Plaza is Loose Park, which has a rose-garden, a lake, and large garden trellises. There are also some kind of interesting statues strewn about, such as two giant armillary spheres. The rose-garden, when in full bloom, is positively gorgeous.

For more urban settings, there are areas such as the West Bottoms and the Crossroads. The West Bottoms is mostly Victorian-through-Depression-era warehouses and train tracks. The Crossroads is like a smaller version of the West Bottoms, but it's mostly art galleries and coffee-houses. There are still some really great photography locations here, though.

Independence, MO (a 15-minute drive from the heart of KC... as well as my hometown), though small, has some kind of interesting locales, photography-wise. Old rusty water towers and dilapidated (but still inhabited, mind you!) Victorian mansions, as well as derelict railroad tracks and depots. The owners of the locations tend to be very nice about photographers on the premises, and some even welcome it.

Addendum to Independence: there is an ENORMOUS Victorian-era mansion called The Vaile Mansion that has been restored and opened for tours. Its lawn has a fountain and gardens, as well as two long rows of trees that work very well for framing subjects in in photographs. Taking pictures outside the mansion tends to be kind of tricky, as it's so big that, after a certain time of day, the main tower completely obscures the sun thus eliminating a light-source. Anywhere else on the grounds must be photographed CAREFULLY so as to avoid rusty pick-up trucks and loudly-painted trailer houses in the background. However, the inside of the mansion is open, but one must purchase tickets (well worth the seven or so dollars!). I haven't asked, but it seems like they'd be open to the presence of photographers. They didn't seem to have an issue with the tourists snapping photos left and right.

Of course, that's not everything. There's a lot more that can be found by pure exploration (how I found most of this).

TL;DR: If Kansas City isn't TOO far a drive, it's got some really great locations.

PS: I'm so sorry for the freaking ESSAY, y'all.

[EkoOtsurone]

Gooseberry Falls State Park, Jay Cooke State Park, and up by Split Rock Lighthouse, all in Minnesota are beautiful locations.
I have photos of them on my DeviantART (in siggy)
I've also started a thread about MN locations.

[Ororo Monroe]

In Madison, Wisconsin the Henry Vilas Zoo and the park that surrounds it is nice. They even have a beautifully painted carosel. The only problem is that it is a free zoo and VERY popular. There is also the Arboritum across the lake. Heck, Madison isn't called Madtown for nothing. You could probably walk down state street and noone would blink an eye.

In Iowa there is Motor Mill. It's a town that never really got started. It's on the turkey river near Elkadar and is owned by the Clayton County Conservation Board. It's a beautiful site. The only problem is it could be difficult to find without a map and directions. Elkadar also has this really awesome stone bridge and there old stone jail is now an inn/restuarant.

Indianapolis, Indiana has the Union Station. It been restored and beautifully painted. There are several huge stain glass windows. Parking will be expensive as it is downtown. But Indy has been the home of Gencon for the last few years so the locals have gotten used to us.

[ToasterPuppy]

Missouri -
-Botanical gardens. They have everything from rose gardens to rock zen gardens. You kind of have to just go there and explore but if your shoot is based around a more natural environment it will most likely have something for you.
Not sure if its open year round or even for photos but they also have a building were they have traditional tea ceremony during the Japanese festival.


I am lucky enough to live on a farm with a pond in the back so I can set up my outdoors photo shoot the extreme but I hope this can help someone

[cuddly_kitten]

I know this may seem kind of late.....buuutttt:

Missouri:

Japanese Garden

Very beautiful place located in Springfield, Missouri. Has a a small boardwalk to walk out onto the pond, pond is filled with a variety of fish like the Kohaku fish. There is full grown Bamboo, garden is well taken care of, and of course a little Sukiya style tea house.

Originally Posted by kandell

Michigan-
Downtown Ann Arbor
Downtown Birmingham
Downtown Detroit
Cathedrals in Detroit and Bloomfield Hills, there's a lot up here.

Ann Arbor has a lot of locations not just downtown. If anyone is near AA the college there UofM has a gorgeous picturesque Quad that's not far from downtown. Nice stone walls and looks like Hogwarts. Great location for shoots!

[KnightJeran]

MICHIGAN
I'd like to make some more specific places in Ann Arbor. It's such a fantastic place. They have graffiti alley (google it!!) which is constantly changing and is a PERFECT location. I'm planning on going there in the summer. As well as some old historical buildings on the University of Michigan campus, as well as ivy covered buildings (great for HP and other things), quaint houses, modern buildings, busy streets, empty streets, empty creepy alleyways. It has a cute little downtown near the campus.

Also, Frankenmuth. It's such a themed town. It feels super German and could be perfect for Hetalia, Princess Tutu, and others. The buildings are so picturesque, and they're meant for pictures since it's a touristy town.