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| Balustrade, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Piazza and Palm, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Saucer Magnolia, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Hidden Garden, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Old Iron Fence and Camellias, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Flowering Cherry Trees, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok The early Spring blooms continue here in Charleston. On a stroll through parts of the historic district, I discovered plenty of flowers and warm hues to grab my eye. |
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| Via G. Zanardelli, Rome, Italy © Doug Hickok Here's wishing you a delightful weekend. Maybe you can take a bike ride... or visit a museum... or learn about a famous artist, like Andy Warhol for instance... or take a trip to beautiful Italia. Or maybe you can ride your bike to an art museum that features an Andy Warhol exhibit... in Italy. Yes, that's the ticket! |
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| Restaurants and Shops, East Bay St., Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok There's been a little chill in the night air this week, a reminder that old man winter is not quite ready to exit the stage. Yet these kinds of nights are perfect for enjoying the show that is called "Charleston's Fine Dining". Along East Bay Street are restaurants that play out plenty of these culinary performances. But if Shakespeare is more your kind of dish, then try this theatrically scripted post... |
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| Gate to Pirate Alley, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Two signature fixtures of Charleston are its ornate ironwork and brick walls covered with stucco. A little side light here brings out the texture in both. This gate opens to Pirate Alley, an area in the French Quarter, where the old colonial stories tell of visiting pirates spending their booty on grog and other diversions. One tale tells of the time when the flamboyant freebooter, Jack Sparrow, danced a fast flamenco with a fuchsia flamingo at a nearby tavern called The Flaming Fandango. But, to be honest with you, I'm a bit skeptical about the veracity of such yarns. Arr. |
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| Old Sign, Burnsville, North Carolina © Doug Hickok There's more to a sign than just its letters. Often, it's the hues that catch the eye. |
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| Old Oaks and Tidal Marsh, Daniel Island, SC © Doug Hickok Yesterday the Lowcountry had a foggy start to the day, so I went out early to capture the misty mood of the morning. |
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| Daffodils, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Red Camellia, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Daffodils, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Narcissus, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok The weather here has been so warm lately that we now have a yard full of the hues of early spring flowers. We also have tea olives beginning to bloom. They have tiny white flowers, easily missed by the naked eye, that have the most stunning and far reaching fragrance. It seems they're all a few weeks early this year. So the good news is, it's Spring! |
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| Pink Door Under Renovation, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok This paint job could give any contractor the blues. The color therapist recommends extensive rehab to restore a healthy pink glow. This pink's for you, Leanne. |
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| Receding Ridges, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina © Doug Hickok May your weekend be as golden as mountains aglow at sunset. |
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| Porch Balustrade, Georgetown, SC © Doug Hickok To continue from yesterday's theme, here is another pattern of lines photographed against a purple background. A porch is an ideal place to have a restful gathering; to sit back and relax a bit. So why not add a shade of orange, and a green hue to that eye-catching purple, and have a nice gathering of secondary colors? You can almost here them conversing, speaking that special language only colors can speak, when they are happily together. |
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| General Westmorland Bridge on a Foggy Morning, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Here is a multi-pylon bridge to guide you over the mid-week murk, and safely into the weekend. Woop. Woop. |
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| Old Tree and Haystack, Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee © Doug Hickok Ents (Etymology note: Ent is an Old English word for "giant") |
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| 18th Century Row Houses, Elliott St., Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok It was a dark and misty morn. Fog shrouded shapes seemed to loom in the gloom. A creeping stillness silenced every sound. Street lamps dimmed as an air of mystery tightened its hold on the narrow alleyway. Suddenly, a door creaked slowly open, and from within the shadows emerged a... What honey? My chocolate chip pancakes are ready? Sorry, I gotta run. Mysterious Monday continues... to be mysterious. (Unless you wish to complete the mystery yourself) |
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| Angel Head, Church Entrance, Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas © Doug Hickok |
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| Out Buildings, Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas © Doug Hickok |
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| Convent, Mission San Jose, San Antonio, Texas © Doug Hickok Mission San Jose is the largest of five missions in the San Antonio area. Founded in 1720 by the Spanish colonials, it served as an outpost for preaching Christianity among the native populations. Even though these missions are part of our National Park system today, many still operate as active parish churches. When we visited Mission San Jose, we attended a Sunday Mass, which just happened to be a Mariachi Mass. Yes, a service accompanied by a brightly colored mariachi band! So there was plenty of singing, toe tapping, and swaying from side to side. Perhaps the strangest part of the Mass, which I can still visualize vividly, is that the usher had an uncanny resemblance to the ponytailed action film star Steven Seagal, who you may know is also a 7th dan black belt in martial arts. Needless to say, no one protested where the usher sat them. |
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| Lobster buoys, Mount Desert Island, Maine © Doug Hickok When out trolling for a tasty photo, I'm often buoyed up by the sight of enticing color. Here I've hooked a shot which lured my eye, a pattern of hues, hung on a wall for display. Photo note: If you're in the mood for a little off the wall humor, check out the work of Chinese photographer Li Wei. |
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| A jetty at Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok Frankly, on this fine Friday, we're foraging for fun and folly. Finally, felicitations to our fabulous friends Sarah and Rob on becoming fiances! |
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| Corner of East Bay and Broad St., Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Day or night, the best way to experience Charleston is to walk it's narrow streets and alleyways, and experience up close it's many charms and delights. But don't forget to glance up occasionally, because you might see an array of hues that catch your eye. Photo Note: If you like exceptional black and white photography, check out this artist. |
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| Market Hall, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok A row of evergreen flowers leads the way to a Greek Revival building, Charleston's Market Hall. |
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| Sunset, Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, SC © Doug Hickok This is a photograph made of a cluster of coastal Live Oak trees silhouetted against the sky at dusk. Beyond this lies the Atlantic Ocean, and beyond that North Africa. And beyond that lies the Middle East, and beyond that China. Further beyond that lies the Pacific Ocean, and beyond that Southern California. Further still beyond that lies Texas, and beyond that South Carolina, where this photograph was made. |
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| Heart-Shaped Ironwork & Redbud, Meeting St. Garden Gate, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok May your day be filled with love, happiness, and the pursuit of chocolate. |
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| Antebellum Mansions, South Battery, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Garden Gate, Longitude Lane, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Snow in the Face Fountain, South Battery, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Crepe Myrtle Trees, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok One year ago today, Charleston awoke to a rare winter beauty, a snowy lowcountry landscape. It lasted only half a day, after which the sun came out and quickly melted the snow. What a surreal morning it was! |
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| City Museum Ruins, Cannon Park, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Charleston may not be as old as Athens or Rome, or have as many ruins, but it is old enough to have been ruined a time or two. Wars, earthquakes, fires, they've all left their mark on Charleston over the years. These Corinthian columns are all that remain of the old city museum that burned about 100 years ago. They stand as a monument of sorts in Cannon Park, where people gather these days to play with their dogs. This image was made a few years ago, on slide film, at twilight. The unusual green glow is the way the daylight film recorded the color temperature of the mercury vapor street lamps, which illuminated the ruins from nearby. |
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| City Hall, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Swag, cinquefoil, egg and dart, dentil molding, Ionic capital, pilaster and volute. If these terms mean something to you, you're probably not a botanist, nor a dentist. Probably not a strutting hipster either. Instead you're probably an architect. This image of Charleston's City Hall illustrates architectural elements dating back to the era of the ancient Greeks, the great builders of the Parthenon. The classical style has been so influential over time that it can be seen ubiquitously throughout the western world. Yes, the style is so prevalent that, as a matter of fact, I just happen to have a Greek temple of my very own, in my back yard, built by some fellow named Ictinus. |
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| Winter Tree, Great Smoky Mts. National Park, NC © Doug Hickok There's something to be said about good old fashion film. This image was made on slide film about 22 years ago, and when I found it recently in my stacks of old slide boxes, I marveled at the color. The film had captured the hues of the mountain light in the evening hour perfectly and still retained it! I like the hint of orange (in the little leaf still clinging to the branch) against all that blue and purple. By the way, this photo is from the Great Smoky Mountains, one of my favorite places to visit. I've been going there since I was a kid back in the 1960's, and have made regular visits since then. And, you know, there's something to be said about good old favorite places too... |
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| Charleston Maritime Center, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok A sail boat finds safe harbor at the Maritime Center. In the distance, illuminated by lights, is the Ravenel Bridge, stretching over the Cooper River. The night was quite dark, but a long exposure of 30 seconds brought out details I missed with the naked eye. You may have noticed the sail boat shows some soft blurring from the gentle rocking of the waves. |
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| 2011 Spoleto Festival Ticket Brochure |
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| Palmetto Reflections, Kiawah Island, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Facade Ornamentation, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Broad St. Shadow, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Virginia Creeper and Blue Shutter, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Single house, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok One of my images was chosen this year for the cover of the 2011 Spoleto Festival USA Ticket Brochure. Charleston's international arts festival is one of the world's largest, lasting 17 days, and offering a wide array of performances from artists and musicians from around the globe. Kudos to Stitch Design Co. for their excellent creative work designing the brochure. Incidentally, Spoleto held a contest asking their employees where they thought this photo was taken. It may be hard to guess, as I made this image several years ago, and recent renovations to this single house have changed its appearance somewhat. This underlines how transient the moments are that we capture with our cameras. The moment is there, then gone forever. All that remains is what was recorded in that instant, which lingers only in our memories and our memory cards. |
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| Colorful Architecture, Cincinnati, Ohio © Doug Hickok What more can I say? |
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| Mountain Ash, Mt Pisgah, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina © Doug Hickok Against all odds, despite the harshness of high altitude elements... driving rains, icy storms, gale force winds... a solitary Mountain Ash grows on a ridge near Mt. Pisgah, along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Rooted tenaciously, standing strong, the tree withstands a sudden autumn snow squall, its twisted, stunted form enveloped in the dimming light. In a sense, this hardy soul embodies the spirit of the mountains... in spite of relentless hardships, it endures. |
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| Old Truck, Burnsville, NC © Doug Hickok The old truck Zephyrus was once a god of the road. Breezing down a two lane highway at the jaw-dropping speed of 35 mph, his new body of freshly painted steel glinting, his spotless chrome trim gleaming, he became the talk of the town. But time passes, like the gusts of the west wind, and Zephyrus soon blew gently toward the twilight of his winter, becoming obsolete, nearly forgotten, by-passed by the newer, the faster, the more beautiful. Yet, he persisted. Born into a new Spring and thriving once again, he assumed the mantel of a weathered, but colorful character. He stands today, proud, venerable, and wise, the classic symbol of a shining era gone by. |
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| Iron Fence, Murray Blvd., Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Not quite. What you actually see here is the warm light of a setting sun suffusing blades of sweetgrass with fiery color. Sweetgrass occurs naturally in the lowcountry, and has been used for centuries by the famous Gullah basket weavers to hand craft their beautiful basketry. Also, many Charlestonians grow ornamental sweetgrass in their gardens. |
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| Audubon Swamp Garden, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok It's rare for us to have snow, let alone enough accumulation to make a pretty winter scene. But, back in the late 1980's, we had such a snow. This is an image from that day, offering an unusual look at a southern swamp, though not what you'd expect. There are no alligators, no swarms of mosquitos, nor oppressive layers of stagnant air dripping with ego humbling humidity. Just a pretty snow, etching rare winter beauty. Trivia note: You may remember a campy horror movie from 1982 called Swamp Thing. Parts of that movie were filmed right here in this very swamp. Yup. |
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| Chinese Lanterns, Crosby's Seafood, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Winking Sun, Cosmotique Boutique, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Today, I offer a different sort of sunrise, one with a winking blue and gold happy face. I offer this as a warm and affectionate greeting to everyone, and to express my appreciation for all your kind comments. And the Chinese lanterns I included to celebrate the advent of the Chinese New Year, which is this Thursday! 2011 will be the Year of the Rabbit (no relation to that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny by the way). |
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| Sunrise, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok The great glowing orb of the sun, rising over the Atlantic Ocean, appears to teeter on the brink of the world. |
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| Castle Hill, Budapest, Hungary © Doug Hickok The repetition of windows and a roofline's shadow, plus various hues of orange, continue yesterday's theme of rhythm and color. I can't think of any jazz artists that would be appropriate for today's theme. But, for some obscure reason, that only my brain can understand, Bugs Bunny and piano keys come to mind. Hmm. Here's a link to explain the rather obscure allusion to Bugs Bunny and piano keys... Hungarian Rhapsody #2 |
