Mountain Farm Building

Layers of Building Materials, Old Farm Building, Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
North Carolina  © Doug Hickok


Dating from the end of the 19th century, an old farm building at the Mountain Farm Museum in the Great Smoky Mountains displays a variety of building materials and their textures. Mountain folk used whatever natural resources they could to construct their farmsteads... stone, river mud, timber and bark, mixed in with a generous dose of blood, sweat and tears. For a hundred years pioneers used their skills and perseverance to eke out a rough living amid the harsh mountain wilderness of the Appalachians until the modern world gradually crept in and changed their lives forever.

Misty Monday - View From A Lighthouse Window

Mulholland Point Lighthouse, Campobello Island, New Brunswick
  © Doug Hickok


From a atop Mulholland Point Lighthouse, on Campobello Island, a view of the mist shrouded Bay of Fundy is framed by a window. On a clear day, you can see forever, and ever, and ever, and ever more... well at least all the way to Small's Cove, and Deep Cove, and Broad Cove, and maybe even to Chocolate Cove (there are countless coves in this part of the world). Oh, and did I mention Carrying Place Cove, and Lord's Cove, and Otter Cove, and...

Finding Little Treasures - Easter Edition

Easter Candy  © Doug Hickok

Sometimes one of the thrills of life is finding little treasures, like this assortment of multicolored malt eggs and jelly beans on Easter morning. For a person who relishes sweets and their tastiness, like me, this is striking it rich! 

YUMMY ! ! !

Wishing you a Happy Easter weekend full of delicious treasures.

Finding Little Treasures - The Original

Harbor Water Abstract - I

Sunrise on Charleston Harbor Waves, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved 
(Click on image for larger view)


Eye-catching early morning light on these harbor waves creates an abstract pattern of texture and hues.

Homage to Ernst

Sports Car Driver, King Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok

It's Favorite Photographer Friday (FPF), a feature I began on my blog last week where I link you to a photographer who has influenced my work in some way over the years. Today, I thought I'd dedicate my post to one of my all time favorite photographers, and one of the most influential photographers you may never have heard of, Ernst Haas. Born in Austria in 1921, he later became one of the first photographers invited to join Magnum Photo, where he began a long illustrious career. Haas is admired today for his pioneering work and innovation in color photography, especially with abstracts, reflections, motion blur, and highly saturated images. Many contemporary photographers make images in a style that Ernst Haas set the standard for decades earlier. Take a few moments to browse around his estate website and look through his amazing array of images. You may find yourself marveling at his ingenious vision. Perhaps he'll inspired you as much as he inspired me. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sign of the Times - Man Crossing High Above Street

Crosswalk Sign, Cincinnati, Ohio  © Doug Hickok


For some reason, I see this walking man just about everywhere I look. In big cities. In small towns. In the mountains. In the desert. He seems to be a ubiquitous man. He favors walking on this diamond shaped yellow sign whenever he appears, and is always frozen in mid stride, like a mime unable to move. In this instance he is crossing high above a street in downtown Cincinnati. Perhaps you have seen him too, in some form or another, wherever you live.


(This image was made a few years ago on Velvia 100 RVP 35mm color slide film,
pushed one stop for increased color saturation,
with a Nikon F3HP camera body,
and a Nikkor 105mm f2.5 lens,
while wearing a pair of old white sneakers,
 laced with red shoe strings,
tied in big floppy bows.)

Bridge Wednesday - Lines and Cables and Hues, Oh My

Tower, Cables and Light Posts, Ravenel Bridge, Mt Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok


Sorry, no pineapples or dinosaurs today. But I do have a modern bridge to get you over the mid week hump and on your way toward the weekend. This is the Ravenel Bridge which is often referred to as the Cooper River Bridge... hmmm... probably because it spans the Cooper River, not the Mississippi, the Nile, or the Amazon.
In this photograph, an arrangement of lines and shapes caught my eye as well as the blue hue of the view.


For another blue hue view of the Ravenel Bridge, see this post.

Pineapple Tuesday

Pineapple Fountain, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Here is another stylized version of the Southern hospitality pineapple. This one takes the form of a fountain featured in Waterfront Park, a pleasant greenspace overlooking Charleston Harbor. Although it appears to have the spiny horns of a triceratops from the Cretaceous Period, this is misleading. It is, in fact, a man made fountain of the Quaternary Period.

Misty Monday - Ancient Mountains

Budding Tree, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok


Right about now, Spring is inching its way up into the high ridges of the Appalachian mountains, some of the oldest on the planet, dating back to the Ordovician Period. On a misty mountain day, early leaf buds waken on this mossy limbed tree. 
Some things never change. This scene of vernal transformation could have appeared millions of years ago. The cycles of the seasons continue, like the flow of time. Gladly, Spring is easing into the colder reaches of the Earth. And gladly, pterodactyls no longer terrorize the skies.

Pineapple Sunday

Pineapple Gate, Saint Philip's Church, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


This elaborate ironwork motif over the entrance gate to Saint Philip's church is actually a stylized representation of a pineapple. For Charleston, the pineapple is significant because it symbolizes hospitality. Stories from 150 years ago tell of sailors returning to port with tropical fruits from the West Indies. They would often hang pineapples above their doors as a sign of welcome. These days Charleston is often voted best mannered city in the USA, and pineapple symbols can be seen throughout the town.

The Creatures Among Us, Part Two

Rebar Tangle, Old Navy Base, North Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Kraken


(Please see The Creatures Among Us, Part One)

Finding Little Treasures - The Original

Assorted Rocks, Hunter's Beach, Acadia National Park, Maine  © Doug Hickok


Sometimes one of the thrills of life is finding little treasures, like this assortment of multicolored rocks on a beach in Maine. For a person who relishes rocks and their rockiness, like me, this is striking it rich!

Wishing you a weekend full of little treasures.


Thought I'd start something new also. Calling it Favorite Photographers Friday, I'll post a link to photographers whom I admire or who have influenced my work to a certain degree over time. Today's favorite is Eliot Porter, one of the first to photograph landscapes in color.

Salt and Pepper

Table Shadow, Savannah, Georgia  © Doug Hickok


At a sidewalk cafe in Savannah, Georgia, late day sunlight casts a shadow of a translucent table onto the wall.

Across the Ocean...

Angel with the Sudarium, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy  © Doug Hickok


From yesterday's natural angel we cross the ocean to a man made angel (young in comparison, a mere 342 years old). Designed by the great Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and sculpted by Cosimo Fancelli in 1669, this stone angel is one of ten on the ancient Roman bridge that spans the Tiber River between Castel Sant'Angelo and the city's historic center. Each angel holds an instrument from the Passion. This one displays the Veil of Veronica, often called the Sudarium, which is said to have the likeness of the face of Jesus imprinted on it from when Veronica wiped the sweat off Christ's face during his struggle toward Calvary. The genius of Bernini can be seen in the complex textures and curving shapes of an angel transformed from stone to art.

Around the Bend...

Angle Oak, John's Island, SC  © Doug Hickok


The Angel Oak is estimated to be as much as 1500 years old, making it the oldest living thing east of the Rocky Mountains. It is a 25 foot diameter live oak tree, one of the largest in the country, that shades an astounding area of over 17,000 square feet. Its longest limb is 105 feet long! Many of these limbs are so heavy that they rest on the ground.  The name "Angel Oak" comes from the couple, Justus Angel and Martha Waight Tucker Angel, who received it as part of their marriage settlement from the Waight family (the owners for four generations).  Now owned by the City of Charleston, it is even more spectacular because there is no admission fee!

For another image of this amazing behemoth, see this post.

Misty Monday - Curving Country Road

Country Road, John's Island, SC  © Doug Hickok


A country road curves towards the dreamy mists of early morning on John's Island, a rural sea island near Charleston. This road leads to the ancient Angel Oak, estimated to be the oldest living thing east of the Rockies. I'll show you an image of that Methuselah-like tree on tomorrow's post.

Trinity Church Sunday

Trinity United Methodist Church, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


This antebellum church was designed in the style of a Roman temple, with a lofty portico, ornate Corinthian columns, and an elegant medallion in the center of the ceiling.

The image was made with a technique I like to use when I don't have a tripod handy for a long exposure, or want an unusual perspective on a subject that is commonly photographed in a straight forward way. I lay the camera on the ground pointed upward and release the shutter using the timer. In this instance, a wide angle lens emphasizes the receding lines of the columns and the tall wooden door. Turning the camera on the diagonal creates a more dynamic image.

Impression of a Sunrise IV

Great Blue Heron, Charleston Harbor, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


A Great Blue Heron glides across harbor waters just as the sun peeks over Sullivan's Island on the horizon.

Twisted Trees

Twisted Coastal Live Oaks, Kiawah Island, SC  © Doug Hickok


At the edge of the ocean, this glowing cluster of coastal live oaks twist and turn from the constant force of winds sweeping off the sea. Like durable trees on mountaintops, they are survivors.
Hope you survive your weekend!

Clip Clop, Clip Clop...

Shadows of a Horse and Carriage, Meeting Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Clip clop, clip clop... neighhhhh, snort, nicker, whinny, pbbbbb...  "and over here to your left you'll see the Nathaniel Russell House. Built in 1809, it is one of America's most important neo-classical dwellings..."
Carriage tours through the historic district are a part of Charleston's charm, as they offer visitors a slow paced, leisurely view of the city's beautiful and historic setting. This 19th century mode of transportation is so authentic that you might imagine you glimpsed Rhett Butler strolling along a promenade, arm in arm with a lovely southern belle.

This is one of the images from inside this year's Festival of Houses and Gardens brochure (see the post for April 5th).