Bridge Wednesday - Into the Darkness

Cape Creek Bridge, Coastal Highway 101, Oregon  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view.)


This arched bridge, reminiscent of an ancient Roman aqueduct, disappears into the Stygian shadows of a mountain ridge as daylight fades to night. Who knows where the road may lead, or what lies ahead... perhaps only the Fates can say.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Shadow of a Chair on Shell Pavement, John's Island, SC  © Doug Hickok


I know, I know, the color is a bit over the top...
 but it's Valentine's Day,
so why not go to extremes!?

Misty Monday - Veil of Obscurity

Sun and Fog, Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains NP, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film)


Beauty, behind a shroud of mist, will reveal itself for those patient enough and 
willing to see.

Guardians

Bronze Door, The Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua, Italy  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)

Saints of the Church, like guardians of the faith, peer down at the faithful from their ornate alcoves on the Basilica of Saint Anthony's tall bronze doors. The basilica was completed in 1301 to honor Saint Anthony of Padua, who after his death became the patron saint of lost people and things. The basilica is a major destination for pilgrims from all over the globe. If you have lost something dear to you, perhaps this is the place to begin your search...

"Tony, Tony, look around. Something's lost that can't be found."

Weathered

Blue Door of a Restaurant, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok


Rusted metal, peeling paint, worn wood... this weathered blue door seems to have the character of an old mariner, exposed to years of salty seas at the helm of his weatherworn ship.

Friday Finials

Tourists on Legare Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Finals in the shape of stylized pineapples decorate this 19th century mansion on Legare Street. Pineapples are symbolic of hospitality, a tradition that dates back to the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. Eventually the tradition spread to Europe and then to colonial America, where pineapples became a common architectural motif, from door knockers to finials to fountains. 


As one of the images featured in the Spoleto Festival USA ticket brochure, this picture gives a sense of Charleston's historic setting and the old world feel that the city can sometimes convey. 


I've listed a few photography links to click on if you have some extra time this weekend.


Here is a collection of stunning images by the renown photographer Peter Turnley.


A police officer with camera makes poignant images.


Finally, consider how different everything looks in the light of night.


Have a good weekend.

A Ride Back in Time

Horse Carriage and Old Exchange Building, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


One of the fun ways to see historic Charleston is a horse carriage tour. It makes you feel like you have journeyed back in time, to an era when life moved at a considerably slower pace.

This is one of the images from the Spoleto Festival USA website, from a section that promotes things to do when visiting the city. If you come, remember to bring your Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara costumes, along with your carpetbags. But please, no scalawags or rascals allowed.

City at Night

City Lights, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film)

Another one of the images used in the Spoleto Festival USA ticket brochure, one that suggests a lively night life... theater lights, restaurants, cafes, the fluxing auroras of city streets...

or maybe alien crafts landing at the site of an active volcano...

Palm Tree Cloud

Palm Tree and Cloud, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


Palm tree fronds wave against an azure sky in this image from the Spoleto Festival USA ticket brochure. Although this picture may suggest a tropical island setting with visions of white sandy beaches, grass huts and coconuts, it's not...  Charleston has more of a semi-tropical coastal climate. There are tan sandy beaches, but no grass huts or coconuts that I know about.

Spoleto Festival USA 2012

Cover, Spoleto Festival USA 2012 Ticket Brochure  © Doug Hickok

Original Image, Riviera Theater Marquee, King Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


I am proud to announce that Spoleto Festival USA  selected this image to feature on their ticket brochure this year. Spoleto Festival USA is one of the largest international arts festivals, not just in the USA, but in the world. It has been a center piece of Charleston attractions since it was begun here in 1977 by the founders, who were looking for an American venue to correspond with the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. The two week event runs from late May through early June.

Charleston was selected because it would "provide the charm of Spoleto as well as its wealth of theaters, churches and other performance spaces..."

This image was made at night using a quick zoom blur with my tripod mounted zoom lens. I'll show you more images from the ticket brochure and the Spoleto website, in the following days.

Stitch Design Co., an awarding winning design and marketing group, did exceptional work, as they always do, in designing the brochure and selecting images.

Supercalafragalisticexpealadocous

Old Ornate Gate, Saint Michael's Churchyard, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


This is a detail of one of the most famous decorative wrought iron works in Charleston, Saint Michael's Churchyard gate. It was made in 1840 by a German born blacksmith, 
J. A. W. Iusti. Inside the gate are the tombs of John Rutledge and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, signers of the U.S. Constitution (1787).

As you may know, the first 10 amendments of the Constitution are the Bill of Rights, which allow for, among other safeguards, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion, etc.

It furthermore allows for the drinking of coffee on a leisurely Sunday morning while humming songs from Mary Poppins...  "Supercalafragalisticexpealadocous" anyone?

Polly

Playground Turtle, Daniel Island, SC  © Doug Hickok


Having journeyed to South Carolina for sun and fun, Polly the Prefabricated Plastic Turtle was saddened to learn no swimming was allowed in the park.

White Point Light

Late Afternoon Light, White Point Gardens, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


White Point Gardens on The Battery is a pleasant place to sightsee or simply find a place to sit and while away the hours. Light from late afternoon sun glances across the grassy grounds where outdoor weddings take place beneath the 19th century gazebo. Among other highlights, Charleston has also become one of the top wedding destinations in the U.S.

For your weekend pleasure, I'll end today's post by shedding some light on these fun photography links. Hope you enjoy!

A National Geographic photographer demonstrates how to use available light in a variety of situations.

See phenomenal images of the recent spike in arctic aurora activity.

Check out the editing process of Magnum photographers and see how a handful of great images were selected from their contact sheets.

Kumbayah

Sweetgrass Baskets and Camellia Petals, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


The word of the day is Kumbayah. It is a Gullah expression which means "Come by yah" or "Come by here". Its connotation is associated with closeness or spiritual unity, and derives from a 1930's African-American spiritual. The Gullah language (also called Geechee) was the Creole spoken by slaves of South Carolina's sea islands.

This sweetgrass basket image was used recently in a Town of Mount Pleasant advertisement, with the title "Kumbaya. (Come by here)". The basket design is simple, but other basket designs are quite elaborate, displaying the artistic skills of the weaver. Some are featured in art museums.

The local craft of basketry is an art form brought to the Carolina Colony by slaves from West Africa. It is prominent in the fabric of Gullah culture, a weave of African and New World elements. Sweetgrass is a native plant which grows in Lowcountry tidal marshes, and is gathered and dried for basket weaving.

The red flower petals are from the sasanqua camellia bush, which grows readily in our climate, and is featured in many Charleston gardens. Ironically it is not native, but derives from the southern coasts of Japan. It is a cultivar dating from the Edo period (1695-1733).


This concludes your South Carolina history/biology lesson of the day!

Appalachian Snow

Birch Tree Trunk and Rocks, Roan Highlands, North Carolina/Tennessee  © Doug Hickok


A dusting of snow adds texture to tree trunk and rocks in this scene along the Appalachian Trail. Many blogs that I have visited this January have displayed beautiful images of snowy winter wonderlands. We don't have snow in Charleston, so I had to pull an image from last fall when Becky and I took a hike in the highlands of North Carolina. With an unusually warm winter (thanks to a La Nina cycle), apparently, this will be the closest thing we will have to a snowy wonderland this year.

Stretch

Bike Taxi Rider at Night, King Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


A little bit of camera panning goes a loooooooooong way.

Misty Monday - Spanish Moss

Tidal Marsh, Daniel Island, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


Heavy Live Oak branches draped with Spanish moss hang over this tidal marsh on a fogging winter morning. Spanish moss is not actually a moss or lichen, but an "air plant", an epiphyte, that gathers nutrients and moisture from the humid air of southeastern US climates. It has a fondness for Live Oaks and Bald Cypresses, because these trees have foliage that provide abundant mineral nutrients. Creatures such as birds, bats, snakes and spiders make their homes in the pendant air plant, because it's a "cool" place to "hang out".

Spanish moss is also closely associated with the imagery of Southern Gothic folk tales and literature.

Budapest and the Top 21

Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Budapest, Hungary  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film)


Seen from the top of Castle Hill, through the columns of Fisherman's Bastion, the dome of Saint Stephen's Cathedral rises prominently above Budapest on a hazy summer day. Fodor's Travel recently gave Budapest the highest of praise when it listed the city among the Top 21 travel destinations in the world. A few other top spots included London, Paris, Milan, Belfast, South Korea and guess who else? Charleston, the only North American selection, made the list too, for the first time ever! I'll talk a little more on this in a follow-up post. In the meantime, congratulations to all the finalists!

Last of the Old Guard?

 

Old Truck, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, South Carolina  © Doug Hickok


When life gets tough, sometimes you must put-up your guard and plow straight through. That seems to have been the philosophy of this old truck. Times have changed though, and life strategies have become more sophisticated... you can hire a life coach these days to help you survive the intricacies of the modern world, and achieve your goals. Outdated modes of thinking have become like this rusty relic from another era.

Single House Style

Single Houses, Colonial Lake, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


A distinctive form of Charleston's architectural style is the single house. Many of the original plots in colonial Charleston were long, narrow properties, running perpendicular to the streets. A house built on this land was typically one room wide (a single house), or sometimes two rooms wide (a double house). Entry to the house from the street was through a side door which opened onto a porch or piazza.
The two houses pictured above on Colonial Lake are examples of the single house style.

I'll leave you with some cool photography links for your weekend pleasure... hope you enjoy!

A photographer from Chicago took a picture everyday of the same hill for four years.
Another photographer composed portraits of identical twins.
13 famous photographers posed with their most iconic images.
Here are the winners of the 2012 Hasselblad Masters Award.
Lastly, see some amazing waves from Tasmania!