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| Waves 1, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Waves 2, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Waves 3, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok These three images were made at dawn using long exposures between 2.5 and 4 seconds. They remind me of Popsicle flavors (artificial colors added, but no sugars, preservatives or peanuts added). |
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| Fisherman's Bastion, Castle Hill, Budapest, Hungary © Doug Hickok The Fisherman's Bastion (Halaszbastya) of Budapest displays a stone carved lion and an ornate column. The steeple of Saint Matthias Church rises above in the background. |
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| Red and Yellow Houses, Castle Hill, Budapest, Hungary © Doug Hickok A pair of colorfully painted houses on Castle Hill, with their characteristic tile roofs, near Vienna Gate Square. |
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| Dome, Saint Stephen's Cathedral, Budapest, Hungary © Doug Hickok The interior of Saint Stephen's Basilica shows the splendor of its architecture. It was named after the first king of Hungary. |
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| Prospect Harbor Lighthouse, Schoodic Peninsula, Maine © Doug Hickok "We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won't need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don't fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine." - Dwight L. Moody - Prospect Harbor Lighthouse stands near the Schoodic Peninsula Scenic Byway in Maine. It was established in 1850 and is still in use today, though it is operated automatically. The keeper's house is called Gull Cottage. It looks like a place I'd love to stay, even if only for a day. Our summer temperatures here in Charleston are over 100 degrees these days. Remembering the cool blue sea in this picture helps me feel less broiled. Quick take: Speaking of beautiful settings by the sea, here is a link to images of Italy's top beaches. You will simply love this one! |
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| Farmyard Cat, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio © Doug Hickok Mystery of the day... What is this a picture of ? Cute, cuddly kitten or Napoleon's hat. Clint Eastwood's poncho from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or Inspector Clouseau's trench coat. Misplaced hubcap from an old jaguar or Prairie schooner overpacked with beaver pelts. Ronaldo's retired soccer shoes or Denizen of Katmandu. Snoozing Yeti or Napping Yak. Mozart's wig or Tolstoy's beard. Triple layer Lemon Bourbon cake or Insidious alien from top secret Area 51. Hypotenuse of a Euclidian triangle or Cheerleader's pompoms. Lady Gaga's eye-patch or Blackbeard the Pirate's manbag. Garfield's stand-in Chester A. Arthur or Coney Island hot dog. Pippi Longstocking's pony tails or Fannie Mae's empty purse. Wombat disguised as a chicken or Java Chip Frappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on top. Vision from the mind of Hieronymus Bosch or Salvador Dali's handlebar mustache. Great Pyramid of Giza or Fearsome feline predator, bane to all barnyard mice. It is curious that what appears obvious to one person can be so completely different to another (i.e. religion, politics, art, sports, etc.). Although today's post seems utterly absurd, it poses the question, does perception depend more on objective observation or subjective frame of mind? |
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| Brick Wall and Paint, King Street, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Red |
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| Running Boy Street Sign, Mt. Pleasant, SC © Doug Hickok Yellow |
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| Wail, Whale, Wale Wall, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Blue |
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| Gate Ironwork and Brick, Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Ironwork rolls in aqua circles, like sea waves over the terra cotta bricks of a theatre wall. |
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| Runners, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok (Canon 5D Mark II camera, 24-105mm f/4 lens at 97mm, 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 100) Charleston is in the running for best outdoor city in the U.S. So far it is ranked in the top 10 at number five. Boulder, Colorado is in the lead, with Portland, Oregon second. This is a contest held by Outdoor Magazine and participants vote through Facebook. If the weather is nice where you are this weekend, I hope you enjoy the great outdoors of early summer. And LasT but not LeasT... Happy Birthday, LT! Don't forget to wear your sparkLing Tiara! |
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| Birch Forest Road, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada © Doug Hickok There is a familiar poem by Robert Frost that discusses roads taken and not taken. It's true life offers an endless array of choices. We make them practically every moment of the day. Sometimes choices are easy, sometimes not. Regardless, they usually come with expectations of a particular outcome. Yet, along the road taken, you're sure to find the unexpected as well. And occasionally you'll find the unexpected to be surprisingly pleasant. This was so when my wife and I chose to drive down this quiet forest road in New Brunswick, where we were soon rewarded with a beautiful sylvan scene. Some folks call this kind of discovery serendipity. I call it looking closely at the road map... and as photographers often do, imagining the possibilities. Quick take: This short article poses the question, "What kind of picture taker are you?" |
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| Prato della Valle, Padua, Italy © Doug Hickok The picturesque city of Padua is the oldest city of northern Italy. Tradition says it was founded by the Trojan prince Antenor in the year 1183 BC. Pictured above is the canal of the Prato della Valle (Il Prato), the elliptical public square built over the remains of an ancient Roman theater. This canal is lined with statues of town luminaries and surrounded by beautiful palazzi dating from the 14th century. Padua's famous university (1222 AD) had among its professors Copernicus and Galileo. The school also boasts the world's oldest botanical garden (1545 AD). Artists such as Giotto, Donatello, Mantegna and Canova have contributed to the city's cultural legacy. The great architect Palladio was born here... and so on and so forth. The neighborhood I live in (a suburb of Charleston) was developed only about 40 years ago (circa 1970 AD). Before that it was primarily woodlands and wetlands. The only known luminary was the Swamp Thing (see this post for details). Hmm, no wonder America is called the New World. |
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| Porcher-Simonds House, East Battery, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok One of Charleston's most popular sights is the row antebellum mansions that perch above East Battery Street, overlooking Charleston harbor. Many of these houses display tall multi-story columns that are visible from several miles away. The Porcher-Simonds House (1856), pictured above, was designed in an architectural style reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance, complete with Ionic capitals and an ornately decorated pediment. The red palmetto tree flag, called "Big Red", is a variant of the blue South Carolina state flag. It was flown by Charlestonians, just after the Declaration of Succession of 1860, as a symbol of state's rights and resistance to encroachments of the federal government. |
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| Near Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee © Doug Hickok Change is constant and inevitable. But change is often difficult to accept when it's unwanted. The once beautiful Carolina Hemlock forests that graced the mountains of the Southern Appalachians are disappearing. The beautiful lacy branched conifers are dying from the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive sap-sucking insect. As you can see on closer inspection, some of the trees are only skeletons now. Yet, as the hemlocks perish, nature adapts and evolves. Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, a different ecosystem of flora and fauna will take the place of the hemlock forest and thrive. Change will continue, and a new forest will emerge, one with a beauty of its own. In this way, nature's example gives the human race hope. As our planet and our lives constantly change, we'll both adapt, and thrive in a new and, I hope, beautiful way. Unless of course we're unable or unwilling to change. Then it's a different story. Then, we'll become the next hemlock tree. |
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| A Bass Harbor Church, Bass Harbor, Maine © Doug Hickok The small Tremont Congregational Church, in Bass Harbor Maine, has a food pantry program where they ask for donations of non-perishable goods to help local families stressed by the escalating costs of fuel. The difficult economy has hit the fishing industry particularly hard in this area, with the rising costs of gasoline to power their lobster boats being a major reason for struggling marine businesses. |
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| Narrow Passage to a Secret Garden, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok This view through a tall skinny opening, down a narrow passageway, reveals a beautiful garden. The passage is a piazza that belongs to one of Charleston's old antebellum mansions which opens along Meeting Street. Normally the doors to this mansion are closed, keeping the garden hidden from view. You may be wondering what the rest of the mansion looks like. But if that bit of knowledge is withheld or unknown, then this narrow view becomes a kind of metaphor for human knowledge. Or more precisely, the lack of it. Because, so often our knowledge of life is limited to what we can see, what we think we know. We make decisions everyday based on our "view down the passageway." As Hamlet famously said, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Verily I say. Verily. |
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Balcony, Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Pictured above is the Dock Street Theatre bathed by the warm light of early morning. This weekend is the last weekend of Charleston's Spoleto Festival USA, and this historic theatre is a featured venue of the famous international arts festival. Events this weekend include a presentation by Ireland's Druid Theatre of their play "The Cripple of Inishmaan", an opera by Spoleto founder Gian Carlo Menotti called "The Medium" and several Chamber Music concerts. These concerts are favorites of festival goers, and will include works by Beethoven, Schubert, Paganini, and Farrenc. Today's Favorite Photographer Friday selection is another fabulous National Geographic photographer, Michael Yamashita. Mr. Yamashita has an uncanny ability to capture exceptional light and atmosphere in his travel images, mostly from Asia. You can see samples of his images on his official website. He has a fascinating photo blog as well. Thank you very much for all your visits and kind comments! Hope you have a nice weekend! |
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| Walking Shadows, Savannah, Georgia © Doug Hickok "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." -William Shakespeare- |
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| Mount Hood in Summer, Oregon © Doug Hickok Mount Hood is a remarkable landmark. It is Oregon's tallest mountain (11,239 ft), visible up to one hundred miles away. It is covered by 12 glaciers or permanent snow fields and is the only mountain in North America with year round snow. The ancient cone-shaped volcano is estimated to be the one most likely to erupt in Oregon. When we visited Mount Hood a few years ago, I made this image using a 300 mm lens mounted on a Nikon F3HP camera, with Velvia RVP 100 slide film, pushed one stop. We also searched high and low for a view of Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch), but found only foot prints. We weren't 100% sure of who or what left them. For all we knew, they could have been my foot prints, since I normally wear big, ape-sized hiking boots with hairy toes. I know it sounds far fetched, but it's true. |
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| Red Canopy, Taco Boy Restaurant, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok (Canon 5D Mark II camera, 24-105mm f/4L lens, at 105mm, 3.2 secs., f11, ISO 100, tripod) There are certain hues that catch the eye no matter where you are. One of those hues is red. The seam of a canvas canopy on a Folly Beach restaurant offered an opportunity for a simple color abstract, one which couldn't be ignored. Quick take: What's it like to parachute off a mountain? Take a look at this 2 min. video and leap into your day with a thrill! |
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| Docks on Folly River, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok (Canon 5D Mark II camera, 24-105mm f/4 lens, at 100mm, 1.3 sec at f/11, ISO 100, tripod) A sunrise along the Folly River at low tide - boat docks and fishing platforms line the edge of the tidal marsh, leading toward the glowing light in the east. The cycles of our lives, like the cycles of nature, often have a pattern, an order, an up and down rhythm like the tides of the sea. Mondays are Mondays. But Tuesdays are sure to arrive on time. And so the rhythm of the week continues unabated. |
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| Ceiling, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy © Doug Hickok Dating from the year 548, this early Christian church is one of 8 buildings in Ravenna that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Although begun under the rule of the Ostrogoths, it was completed during the reign of the Byzantines, and is one of the few churches to survive undamaged from the period of Emperor Justinian I. I was traveling with the choir of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Charleston) when we stopped in San Vitale to admire the beauty of the church. Shortly after, the choir director assembled the singers for an impromptu piece (Morten Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium) at the alter. I'll never forget that moment, because I've never heard such magnificent music! The combination of the talented singers and the acoustics of the church made the voices sound etherial. For a moment I thought I was in heaven. This image of the interior shows the ornate dome from below. The light being quite low, and not having a tripod, I set my camera in the middle of the floor with a wide angle lens pointing upward, and made a long exposure of about 30 seconds. The photograph was made on slide film which rendered the mostly ambient incandescent lighting a glowing warm color. |
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| Two Busts in Two Windows, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Two heads are better than one. (Nevertheless, she's still always right.) |
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| Walking Man Sign, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok Yo! Surf's up! (But first I need a doughnut!) |
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| Curbside Sign, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok "Here you must not!" (Scoop your poop!) |
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| Shrimp Boats at Dawn, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok (Canon 5D Mark II camera, 24-105mm f4 lens, at 32mm, 3.2 sec, f8, ISO 100, tripod) Dawn or dusk. The blue hour of twilight is my favorite time of day to photograph. Whether you're shooting film or digital, the cool tones of the light spectrum are easily recorded. This image shows a pair of shrimp boats at dawn reflected in a tidal creek near Folly Beach. I'm often fascinated by the psychology of color and its emotional impact on the mind. Blue is traditionally a color of calm and tranquility, but can also be a color of sadness. Like so much in our world, color is subjective. Its emotional impact is relative to the surroundings. Quick take: If you're interested in really retro photography, National Geographic has a cool feature article about Abelardo Morell's camera obscura photographs. Maybe you can try this at home. Enjoy! |
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| Mountain Stream, Tanawha Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina © Doug Hickok To dip your toes in the refreshing waters of a mountain stream is to experience a touch of heaven. |
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| Roman Forum, Rome, Italy © Doug Hickok "The gods are on the side of the stronger," said Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56-117), a senator of Rome and historian of the Roman Empire. This statement was true of the mighty empire, from the 8th century BC to the year AD 476, when one of the world's greatest civilizations rose, thrived, and declined in a span of about 1000 years. At the height of its power, the dominion of Rome spread 2.5 million miles across the Mediterranean region, and into northern Europe and Asia. Pictured above, the Roman Forum was the heart of the empire and the oldest part of the city of Rome. This photograph of its ruins illustrates both a visual and historical depth, showing more than a millennium of years in one view. The ruins from front to back are, the Arch of Septimius Severus (AD 203), the Column of Phocas (far right, AD 608), the Via Sacra (cobblestone path near steps, circa 5th century BC), the Basilica of Julia (steps, BC 54), the Temple of Castor and Pollux (3 columns, BC 484), and in the distance the ruins of the Palatine Hill (BC 510 - AD 576). Quick take: You can buy the newest Hasselblad 200 MP camera for only $45,000! Act now while supplies last. |
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| Docked Boats, Northeast Harbor, Maine © Doug Hickok The question Hamlet asked was, "To be or not to be." The question a writer asks is, "to write or not to write." The question a painter asks is, "to paint or not to paint." And, the question a photographer asks is, "to shoot or not to shoot." Sometimes a subject is just too photogenic to pass-up and screams for attention. Such was the case for this naturally beautiful setting on the quiet misty waters of Northeast Harbor, Maine. I HAD to shoot! |
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| Yardarms, Tall Ship, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Sailors tying up sails on the yardarm of a tall ship. |
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| Deck of Tall Ship, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Ropes on the deck of a Coast Guard tall ship docked in Charleston. |
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| Red Barn, Rural Ohio © Doug Hickok An image from my days of roaming around the countryside in Ohio. (shot on Kodachrome 64 slide film, 1986) |
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| Reflections of Shrimp Boats, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC © Doug Hickok Homage to Jackson Pollack. |
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| Faded Mural, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok Answer to the mystery movie star on the mural (from Tuesday's post) - Ingrid Bergman... painted on the side of the restaurant, Planet Follywood. |
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| A young Doug getting his legs in shape for those low POV shots. |
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| Reflection of a photographer. |
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| Whatever it takes to get the shot. |
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| See, those squats paid off! |
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| Shadow of a photographer... or 2. |
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| Capturing Krakow. |
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| To shoot or not to shoot... that is the question. Happy Birthday Doug ! ! ! |
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| Four Palmetto Trees, Charleston Harbor, Mt. Pleasant, SC © Doug Hickok This is a view through four Palmetto palms toward Charleston Harbor on a hazy summer morning. I liked the palm trunks in shadow when I first arrived on the scene. I next used a 300 mm telephoto lens to compress space, giving the image a more graphic appearance. The photo was made on Velvia RVP color slide film a few years ago, back in my pre-digital days. You can see a little grain from the 100 ASA film speed, quite different from the smooth look of the 100 ISO digital speed. Also, I thought I would continue the blue/green color theme from yesterday's post. Hope I didn't make you doze off with all the technical talk. Tomorrow will be a mixed bag day, with several promised images included. Hope you have a great weekend. Quick take: May I leave you with an absolute ooh aah image to start your weekend? How about this stunner from Frans Lanting! |
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| Blue Restaurant Door, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok "In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject" Henri Cartier-Bressen Folly Beach, a 30 minute drive from downtown Charleston (just 5 minutes as the Laughing Gull flies), is a great place to find color, color with character that is. This image shows a detail of a rough-looking door. It is the entrance to a popular restaurant in the island town. The weathered door is a gem in the making, having been chiseled over time into a precious specimen with dazzling blue and green hues. Add a bit of red and you have a little treasure. And now, if you will please excuse me, I must clean my house. Quick take: Here is a link to an extraordinary video called "The Decisive Moment", narrated by Henri Cartier-Bresson. In it the master photographer displays and discusses a selection of his most famous images. Priceless. |
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| Laughing Gull, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok There is not a dull gull on Folly Beach these days. Laughing gulls in particular are riotously noisy and seemingly ubiquitous. They frequent the pier, the beach, the parking lots, the areas behind restaurants, and of course, the skies. They are especially eager for handouts, as this handsome bird was. Although I had nothing to give, I tried making-up for my lack of charity by encouraging the gull to laugh at some of my jokes. I tried knock-knock jokes, rim shot one-liners, puns, and even tried my best blue-footed boobie imitation. Not surprisingly, all my attempts at jokes fell flat. The only response I got from the gull was a quiet, curious look, as if to say, "This guy is a looney bird". |
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| Faded Mural, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok On the side of a restaurant on Folly Beach is a fading mural of famous Hollywood stars from yesteryear. This image is a detail of its weathered wood surface showing the collar and shoulders of one of these famous stars. Who could this be? This weekend I'll reveal the whole picture of this person in case your curiosity has been piqued. |
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| Castle Hill, Budapest, Hungary © Doug Hickok When walking around Castle Hill of Budapest one morning, I was initially attracted to this scene by the warm yellow color of the old stone walls. But then I became intrigued with the open door, which allowed a glimpse through the dark corridor into a courtyard garden. It reminded me of Charleston and secret gardens hidden behind the facades of historic houses. And that made me think, you never know what's behind outward appearances. Quick take: Here's a link to a short article about shooting street photography with a rangefinder camera. The article opens up an interesting commentary/discussion on the pros and cons of film vs digital photography. |
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| Saint Philip's Church, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Saint Philip's Church steeple rises above the streets of the French Quarter in this starry night image from Charleston. The red lantern is part of the Pirate House, which dates from 1740, and is said to have lodged the visiting sea rover Blackbeard when it was an inn and gaming establishment (we had tourists even back then). A tunnel led from the Battery to the Pirate House and was used by buccaneers entering the city, apparently to keep a low profile. Pirates were not a welcome sight in those days, except in places they spent their hard fought booty. Speaking of pirates, Captain Jack Sparrow makes his appearance in theaters this weekend in another entertaining installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We are big fans of Johnny Depp and look forward to any fun new films of his. ( f5.6, 13 secs, ISO 400, tripod) |
