Your Face

Face Shaped Ironwork, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)


I took a fancy to your face...
the beautiful curves, the strength, the inner glow...
the uniqueness of you.

Connections

Old Car Door Handle, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Click on image for larger view)


I try to imagine all the people whose hands have grasped the handle of this old car through its long life time. If one believes in six degrees of separation, the "friend of a friend" concept where everyone is linked by six steps or fewer, then I am connected to someone who knew one of these people...
and you are connected too.

Cloth Hall

Cloth Hall, Old Town Krakow, Poland  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film)


This elegant facade is the entry to Krakow's Cloth Hall. It has been the center of various trade in the old market square since the Renaissance. It is believed to be the oldest shopping mall still in use.

If only Walmart looked this good, the world would be a touch more stylish.

Tideland Tale

Tidal Marsh, Edisto Island, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


As the soft light of dawn rises, high tide fills this marshland on Edisto Island.  There are many sea islands along the South Carolina coast. In the novel Prince of Tides, Lowcountry author, Pat Conroy, tells a tragic tale of the ebb and flow of the Wingo family, who live on a fictitious sea island called Melrose Island. For movie buffs, the book was made into a critically acclaimed motion picture, nominated for Best Picture (not to be confused with this picture, which is not a best picture, but a nice picture nonetheless).

A Purging of the Land

North Fork Toutle River Valley, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


Reminiscent of a Dantesque landscape, shaped by purgatorial smoke, ash and fire, what once was a densely forested river valley was dramatically purged by the violent eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Although it will take many lifetimes to restore this valley to its former lushness, life is slowly, persistently returning, offering hope for the return of a renewed paradise among the mountains of the Cascade Range.

Inspiration

Carnival Fantasy Cruise Ship and Dolphin, Charleston Harbor, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Click on image for larger view)


How often has nature been a model for human endeavor? When prehistoric peoples first watched dolphins plying the freedom of ancient seas, it no doubt inspired them to one day do the same. We have progressed far since that time.

Beyond the Known

Car Port Reflection, Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Our physical world consists of myriad universes, ranging from the infinitely small to the infinitely large... from the known to the not yet known. What lies beyond the known may exceed our wildest imaginings.

Flash Mob

Garden Statue Shop, Augusta, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved




Following instructions given in a viral email, 
a sudden gathering of lawn ornaments pose at a local nursery.

A Summer Veil

Boats and Fog, Northeast Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Maine
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Click on image for larger view)


Early morning mist drapes a thin veil over Mount Desert Island, partly concealing boats moored safely in harbor. Along the coast of Maine, fog can occur with regularity, at any time of year, even on warm summer days in August. This is the view from a hilltop garden that I featured in a post earlier this month.

Bridge Wednesday - Leaning Toward the Weekend

Bike Rider, Ravenel Bridge, Mount Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


You may ask, "Why Bridge Wednesday?" Well, Wednesday marks the midpoint of the work week for many people. And a bridge works nicely as a metaphor for linking one point to another... in this case connecting the early part of the week with the later. Combine these two with a biker tilting around a turn on a bridge, and presto!, I have us collectively leaning toward the weekend.
Ha! Obscure perhaps, but surely symbolic.

Simple Gifts

Horse and House, Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


A curious horse gives me an equine stare at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. Realizing I have no feed bag to offer, he soon loses interest, leaving me to admire this fine limestone and clapboard house of simple construction.

Shakers represent the epitome of simple living. They are famous for plain and practical furniture design. They are also noted for music of unadorned melody, and a "shaking" style of dance, which were central to their communal way of life and faith. One of the best know Shaker hymns is "Simple Gifts". If you ever heard the tune, you would probably recognize it immediately... it was incorporated into Aaron Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring.

A Stillness at Dawn

The Billie B, Bennett's Point, Bear Island, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


A stillness at dawn,
when sky and water reflect untarnished calm,
and silence fills the untroubled air.
Life has yet to stir,
but light and color rouse the new day,
with a promise of hope and expectation.

Ashore

Antebellum Mansions, Waterfront Battery, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


On this date you came ashore,
 beginning your journey in this wondrous world.
Although your ancestors came from islands afar,
from the Pearl of the Pacific,
 you have enjoyed in recent years a jewel of another sort
 here in the Lowcountry.
We wish you a day of happiness, dear friend, and many more...

Hau'oli la hanau, Kathy!

Emergence

Mountain Tunnel, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Click on image for larger view)


I emerged from a cocooning darkness,
into a brilliant light,
entering a new life,
a new existence...
feeling it had happened before,

and would happen again...

True Grit

Boneyard Beach, Botany Bay, Edisto Island, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)


Years of beach erosion and salty ocean spray have transformed a sea island forest into a graveyard of twisted and fallen timber. What's more, this image was made on slide film, the grain of which adds to the grittiness of the seascape.

Cautionary Tale

Window Display, Liquor Store, Krakow, Poland  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


I found this statue in a liquor store window, an old fellow grasping a bottle of booze, clothes wrinkled and torn, tottering unsteadily in a drunken stooper. Hmmm... I don't know about you, but advertising like this seems to warn rather than promote.

Let Sleeping Lions Lie

Green Lion and Gate, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Wise words to live by.

Lions are known to sleep a lot...
they need rest from their vigorous hunting activities.
 They are also known to sleep in front of homes and public buildings...
 they make intimidating guardians.
But lions are best known for their fierce temper...
So it is best to let sleeping lions lie,
 even if they are only made of stone.

Dog Days of August

Rural Road, near Hollywood, South Carolina  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


A pick-up truck drives slowly along a country road early one hazy morning. Long, hot, sweltering days... these are the dog days of August here in the lowcountry.

Old Storm Door

Screen Door, Old Farm House, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


A weathered screen comes loose from a storm door to reveal a second door within. Fortunately the screen has been repaired since I made this photograph, but I like this image as a glimpse of the old farm house's rough charm. This house in Ohio has been resilient over time... it is more than 150 years old... that's older than my straw hat and overalls.

Through the Ages

Roman Forum, Rome, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
  (Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


In the foreground weathered steps and columns of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina reveal the workmanship of ancient hands, while the dome of Santi Luca e Martina, and a statue on top of Il Vittoriano fill-in the background.

The Roman temple was begun in 141 AD by Emperor Antoninus Pius and dedicated to his deified wife, but converted into a Roman Catholic church in the 7th century. During the Renaissance it became the headquarters for the College of Chemists and Herbalists.

The church dedicated to Saint Martina dates from 625 AD, but in 1577 was given to a group of painters, sculptures and architects to house their academy.

The Victor Emmanuel Monument (Il Vittoriano) was completed in 1935 to honor Italy's first president. It features the statue of Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory on her chariot. Being one of the tallest buildings in Rome, the monument is also one of the most visible.

The Roman Forum is literally a timeline of human endeavor stretched out in stone for all to see and admire.

Drawbridge Catwalk

Ashley River Bridge, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


A catwalk leads to the drawbridge operator's house at twilight
 on the old Ashley River Bridge.

Antique Chandelier

Chandelier Shadow on Door, Old Farm House, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


An antique chandelier casts its shadow on a farm house dining room door,
just in time for a spot of afternoon tea and crumpets.

Humming in the Rain

West Prong Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


On a misty, rainy afternoon, a long fallen tree points the way to the West Prong Little Pigeon River in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Rainfall in the park averages up to 85 inches per year, making it one of the wettest places in the U.S.  It is no wonder the Smokies have the greatest variety of plant species of any temperate climate! ... a significant reason for being declared
 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To take this photograph, I held an umbrella over my head with one hand while trying to steady my camera with the other. I did this as I sang Beethoven's Ode to Joy... well, sort of. Because I could not remember all the words,
 I mostly hummed.

A Touch of England

Thuya Garden, Seal Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Maine  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)


Pavilions, lawns, rows of annual and perennial flowers planted in semi-formal style might indicate a garden in the English countryside. But surrounding this garden are the Maine woods of Mount Desert Island. The 140 acre paradise near Seal Harbor once belonged to a Boston landscape architect, but the land was eventually donated in trust to the residents of the island for public enjoyment.

Look Up!

Lantern and Ceiling, Great Market Hall, Budapest, Hungary
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved (Velvia Slide Film)


When entering the Great Market Hall in Budapest, visitors are invited to explore three floors of stalls selling a variety of goods... meats, pastries, caviar, deep-fried treats called langos, fish, garlic, cucumber pickles, palinka (fruit brandy) and of course hot red paprika.  The bright arrays of treats may delight the eyes, but one must look up to discover this invitingly warm and ornate ceiling. This month the market will specialize in foods from Thailand as part of its National Gastro Days program.

Back Dunes

Back Dunes, Beachwalker County Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


Behind sea island dunes, hardy plants and animals thrive in a hot, dry and salty environment. Inkberry, one of these plants, forms a colony rooted in the sand. Tracks of a ghost crab weave through this miniature forest toward the beach.

Trapezoidal Stairway

Stairway, Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Near exhibits of cutting-edge art, a stairway provides geometry
 for abstract style photography.

Finding Little Treasures - Birthday Edition

Lamb's Ear and Rocks, Boulder, Colorado  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


The velvety softness of Lamb's Ear thriving in a field of granite stones would seem improbable, but the improbable often becomes the probable when talking about Mother Nature. Finding this little treasure near our friend's house in Boulder was pure delight. The Lamb's Ear is likely a naturalized escapee from a neighborhood garden. Coincidentally, Lamb's Ears and rocks are two of my wife's favorite things. Which is why she chose this image for today's post, because today is her birthday!

Happy Birthday Becky!

Forest Realm

Tree on an Island, Crabtree Falls, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Wood sprites and dryads,
Satyrs and water nymphs,
Fauns and elves,
Oberon and Puck...
a vision such as this conjures an imaginary realm of faeries
 who frolic among forest and falls.

The Midas Touch

Portico at Night, Pantheon, Rome, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia Slide Film)


Columns of the ancient Pantheon, the color of aging florins, adorn the Piazza della Rotonda on a golden Roman night, where everything seems transformed by the touch of Midas.

Fossil

Hood Detail of Old Mercury, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, South Carolina 
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Snaggletoothed-clunker.

Fiery Beacon

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, Acadia National Park, Maine
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Click on image for larger view)


Even on a sun-splashed afternoon, a lighthouse beacon glows like the blacksmith's fiery furnace. Steady and reliable, it blazes regardless of weather or season, guiding boats safely to harbor and home.

Ambiance

Unitarian Church (foreground) and St. John's Lutheran Church, Charleston, SC
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


On Sunday's in Charleston, the musical sound of bells tolling in historic churches are part of the quaint ambiance of this charming Southern town.

(These two churches are National Historic Landmarks. They are among the 1400 historically significant structures within the Old and Historic
 District of Charleston.)

A Gem of a Window

Stained Glass Window Detail, Sottile House, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved (Velvia slide film)


Little jewels of light and color... elegant patterns of stained glass illuminate this Queen Anne style mansion in Charleston.

Left Hanging

Tree Swing at the Beach, Botany Bay Plantation, Edisto Island, SC  
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved  (Velvia slide film)


A rustic swing lolls from an ancient tree by the sea as children's whispers echo on the breeze.

Standing Out at Sea

Shrimp Boat, Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


In a place where the sea's blue horizon meets the blue of the Carolina skies,
 this trawler stands out when it sails out.

Haute Couture

Window Display and Reflection, King Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)


How will you wear your pinwheel this summer?

*Fashion tip: display it proudly on your lapel,
 on your hip, in your hair, on your hat,
 or perhaps more daringly
 in the middle of your forehead.

Silky Connection

Gate Scrollwork and Door, Legare Street, Charleston, SC
  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


One of Charleston's hallmarks is its decorative ironwork, as seen on this gate. Notice the little cobweb of silky gossamer spun between two adjoining arms of scrollwork... a small example of nature's symbiotic connection with the works of man.

A New Day

Sunrise and Pineapple Fountain, Waterfront Park, Charleston, South Carolina
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Seeming to dangle from the fingers of a fine fountain, a Carolina Lowcountry
sun rises to begin a new day. In that same spirit, I shall begin a new chapter in the story line of Doug's Photo Blog. Shifting the setting from our adventures out West, I return to the Deep South, where Becky and I have lived for
more than 25 years in Charleston.

Every story should offer a bit of drama and intrigue, and perhaps some comic relief. Hence the title of this week's chapter shall be, "A Return to Charleston...  whereupon the leading characters ride a runaway carriage, stroll along the Battery promenade during a tropical tempest, feast on she crab soup while whistling Dixie, shop for pineapple-shaped chocolates at the Market, collect sea shells by the sea shore (even after getting swamped by a salty rogue wave), fish in backwater creeks among cypress knees for stumpknockers,
and dance the Charleston while wearing silly feathered hats." 

P.S.  Please note that Doug's Photo Blog may be a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, yaks and incidents could be the product of
my imagination or a condition of delirium brought on by eating too much
she crab soup. Any resemblance to actual persons, events,
yaks or locales are likely to be entirely a fluke.
 Thank you.
Doug

Go West XXXIX - On Safari?

Giraffe, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on any image for slideshow)

Gorilla, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

Elephant, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

Zebra, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

Rhinoceros, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

King Kong, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

Putt Putt Golf, Woodstock, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Becky putts her ball in before I do.
She wins, again.

Go West XXXVIII - Golden Grains

Grain Field, western Kansas  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)


Although western Kansas seems an endless wave of golden grains, these high plains were once the realm of immense prairie land. Vast herds of buffalo roamed the plains, and prairie grass stretched for hundreds of miles. It was a scene my ancestor James Butler Hickok (aka Wild Bill) was no doubt familiar with, having worked as a stagecoach driver in the territory of Kansas, and later as gunslinging marshal in Hays City and Abilene. But the Old West is gone, along with the unspoiled prairie.

Today the vast lands of Kansas are a bread basket for the world, producing wheat, oats, barley, milo, soybeans, corn, and sunflower seeds for backyard birds,
and binocular-slinging birders, like me.

Go West XXXVII - Pueblo Style

Visitor Center Patio, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


The decorative architecture of the Great Sand Dunes National Park Visitor Center accentuates a brilliant blue sky. Its color and design suggests a Native American influence, especially that of the ancient pueblo style.

Pueblos were buildings made of adobe mud and wood, often constructed one on top of the other to form apartment-like villages. Spanish explorers in the West were the first to use the term pueblo, which means "town". The Anasazi were thought to have begun building pueblos around 750 - 900 AD, although this Visitor Center is considerably more modern.

Go West XXXVI - Book Cliffs

Clouds and Book Cliffs, Grand Junction, Colorado  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Afternoon clouds build above Book Cliffs in western Colorado. These cliffs are an arid escarpment of layered rock that span about 200 miles. They are an excellent example of stratified geology, and provide a consummate study model for scientists. The sandstone layers seen here are the remains of an ancient sea that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Yukon during the Cretaceous period, roughly 100 million years ago.

This vast, largely undeveloped desert area contains a protected Wild Horse Range and is one of the few places in the country where bands of Mustangs roam free. The Book Cliffs also harbor coyotes, mountain lions, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and American bison. But alas no yaks.

Go West XXXV - Quirky

Garden Sculpture, Boulder, Colorado  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Boulder has a reputation for being a bit quirky. But that's not a bad thing, especially when imaginative and fun-loving oddities like this are on display in neighborhood gardens.