Let the Tours Begin

Tulip Magnolias, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

2013 Festival of Houses and Gardens Cover Image



It is time for the Historic Charleston Foundation's Festival of Houses and Gardens to begin. Spring is in full swing here. Visitors will enjoy strolls through a city blooming with color, with tours of a variety of historic homes and gardens.

One of my stock images is the cover shot for the Festival brochure. The brochure was designed by Lee Helmer Design.

The rest of the week I will post more images of Charleston in the springtime.

Jelly in Deep Blue

Jelly Fish, South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Alien? No. A jellyfish floats effortlessly in a blue light tank at our local aquarium.
Personally, I prefer my jelly with peanut butter, between 2 slices of bread.

Black... & White Mood

Saint Philip's Church, French Quarter, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Saint Philip's steeple rises above a gated brick wall
along Philadelphia Alley in Charleston's French Quarter.
The day was bright and sunny, but when the image is rendered in black & white the mood becomes mysterious.

Impression of a Sunset II

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



Another edition in my series of sunrise/sunset impressions, this one with a twist of the focus ring and a tilt of the head.

Projected

Door and Gate Shadow, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Front gate scroll work is traced onto an ornate door like a movie on a theater screen by the ultimate projectionist, the sun.

Steamboat Landing

Seagulls on Fishing Pier, Steamboat Landing, Edisto Island, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



Dawn light on Steamboat Creek reveals two seagulls sitting on a fishing pier.
The pier is on Edisto Island, named after a Native American tribe that lived in this area long ago, before settlers arrived.

Night Gazing

Meeting Street Facade at Night, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)



I love to search out Charleston's many intriguing details, some of which are more striking after sunset when the city lights come on. These two classical faces gaze from the shadows of 19th century commercial facades along Meeting Street.

Bloomin' Redbud

Redbud Tree, French Quarter, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Contrasting with yesterday's misty Monday monochrome,
this image of blooming redbud hints that springtime in Charleston is here.
Tours of the houses and gardens begin in 10 days!

Misty Monday - Campobello Shoreline

Misty Coastline, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Misty weather diffuses light to create ideal circumstances for recording textures and tones, as in these lichen spotted rocks along the New Brunswick coast.

Spanish Church

All Saints Chapel, San Luis, Colorado  
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



This desert scene could be mistaken for somewhere in Spain or Mexico, but it is in San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado. The influence of early Spanish settlers can clearly be seen. 

A winding path journeys past bronze statues depicting the Stations of the Cross, one of which can be seen in front of the church.

Nicks and Scratches

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



A stairwell detail from a 19th century farm house reveals graduated hues... 
and a few nicks and scratches from the passage of time.


 

A Long Hike in the Woods

Appalachian Trail, Roan Mountain, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



A smooth graveled section of the Appalachian Trail 
passes through a spruce fir forest along the crest of Roan Mountain. 
From here, one could walk north to Maine, or south to Georgia. 
Either way, it would be a long, long, long hike in the woods.

Harbor Lights

Charleston Marina and Ravenel Bridge, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)



Illuminated by night lights, a tranquil scene of Charleston Harbor in the evening shows sail boats in the marina, the towers of the Ravenel Bridge, and in the distance the warm glow of the Wando Terminal, where international container ships come to dock.

Canopy Patterns

Outdoor Stage Canopy, Riverfront Park, North Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



The canopy of an outdoor stage, seen from below, 
is illuminated by the golden light of evening.

Low and Flat

Shem Creek Marsh at Sunset, Mt. Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



One gets a sense of just how flat our Lowcountry is by the abrupt line of the horizon in this shot of a tidal creek at high tide. The town of "Mount" Pleasant, near where this image was taken, soars a staggering 10 feet above see level!

Lowcountry Symbols

Live Oak and Palmetto, Middleton Place, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Symbols of the Lowcountry, a Live Oak festooned with Spanish Moss and a Palmetto, converge in this study of light and shadow.

Dr. Seuss Visits Charleston

Old Planter in Courtyard, Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Thing One
plays hide-n-seek in an old planter
at Middleton Place.

Adorned Door

Ornate Door, Harleston Village, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Wrought iron gates aren't the only things to have decorative patterns in Charleston. Ornamentation adorns old wooden doors and letter slots too.

Formally Green

Topiary, Middleton Place Gardens, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Magnolia Gardens (seen in the previous post) features wild informal gardens. 
Its neighbor down the river, at Middleton Place, features well tended and groomed formal gardens. Either way, you will find green, 
even in the depths of our winters.

China Grove?

Bamboo Forest, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC 
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Soaring poles of bamboo grow thickly together to form a small grove, not in the panda populated forests of China, but in the semi-tropical gardens of Magnolia Plantation. Somewhere in the background I think I hear the music of 
the Doobie Brothers!