Hands On

Handwrought Hand Prints, Auburn, Alabama  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



This handiwork of handprints made by hands pressed on a wall make a handsome handcrafted image to contrast with yesterday's handrail. 

(I just learned there are 174 words in the English language that begin with the word "hand". To celebrate this handy discovery, I'm going to ring my handpicked handbells while doing a handstand until the handmaidens learn how to handle the handclasps on their handbags and retrieve their handkerchieves!)

Below the Archway

Hand Rail and Gateway Arch, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial,
Saint Louis, Missouri  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



At the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, I laid down on steps below a hand rail and aimed my camera upward. To my delight I found an intersection of lines that made an abstract image worthy of monochrome treatment.

Monarch in Shadow

Detail, Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved 
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)



A panoply of curves, arches and florals congregate while a monarch peers from the Gothic shadows of Matthias Church in Budapest, Hungary.

Thou Art Lichen To a Fence

Lichen on Rail Fence, Newfound Gap, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)




Lichen grows on a timber fence high in the Appalachian mountains... 
behind the fence, a rise of smooth granite.



(Look Laura, a tree and a rock!)

Old Grasses

Gravel Pit Mound and Grasses, near Harrison, Ohio
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Fresh snow provides a soft backdrop for a gathering of old grasses.

Arching Oaks

Garden Lake, Charles Towne Landing State Park, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (click on image for larger view)


Charles Towne Landing is the original location of the English settlement of Carolina. The present day park includes lush gardens and glassy lakes. 
Vaulting limbs of live oaks reach toward each other as they reflect in the lake's mirrored surface.

Centuries Ahead of His Time

2nd Century Roman Statue, Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



God of the River Nile
 tweeting on his smart stone.

Victorian Reflections

Historic Houses along Colonial Lake, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Click on image for larger view)



Reflections of Victorian homes shimmer on Colonial Lake
 as the golden hues of evening light linger.

Incisive

The Needles, Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



Sharp teeth penetrate a moody sky. Rocky pinnacles, called the Needles, 
provide pointed subjects for an overcast day along Oregon's Cannon Beach.

Early Spring at Charles Towne

Red Maples and Split Rail Fence, Charles Towne Landing, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Our warm winter temperatures have brought out early spring in the Lowcountry. These red maples are sending out their catkins, soon to become little helicopter seeds which spin from their limbs to the ground.

This scene is from Charles Towne Landing State Park, the original site of the English settlement of 1670. A decade later, the frustrated settlers moved from this hot, mosquito infested inland area to the breezy peninsula where today's 
city of Charleston thrives.

Lurking

Albino Alligator, South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

If you've ever wondered what an alligator does all day, this would be the answer... lurk quietly just below the murky surface of dark water swamps, waiting patiently for its next meal.

This rare albino individual is on display at our local aquarium. Its skin is so sensitive that it must be kept indoors, away from the sun. In the wild he probably would not have survived to adulthood. He is not camouflaged

 like his pigmented brothers.

Local Wildlife

Yard Ornament and Fresh Snow, near Harrison, Ohio  
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Snowy Egret

Dwarfed

Bicyclist and Wingate Sandstone, Colorado National Monument, Colorado
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Dwarfed by sheer walls of desert sandstone, a lone cyclist tests his endurance by biking along a national park road which eventually snakes up the valley to the canyon rim. 

The reddish Wingate Sandstone formation is composed of ancient sand dunes dating from about 200 million years ago. It towers above the valley along a fault line to form immense cliffs throughout Colorado National Monument. 

On this particular day, we spotted a pair of Peregrine Falcons flying along the cliffs where they had made their aerie on a rocky ledge.

Bridge Wednesday - No End in Sight

Wando River Bridge, Daniel Island, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Ghostly fog shrouds the concrete columns of an expressway bridge,
with no end in sight.

Embellishments

Ornate Gate, Ansonborough, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved




Scrolls embellish a gate to a colonnaded mansion in
Charleston's Historic District.

Winter Camellias

Sasanqua Camellias, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Winter camellias bloom amid a cascade of Spanish Moss in the gardens of Magnolia Plantation.

The Watch

Statue, Prato della Valle, Padua, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view.)



The statue of Antenore of Troy, the legendary founder of Padua (according to Virgil), keeps steady watch over the domes of the Monastery of Saint Justina (founded in the 5th century). Justina of Padua was martyred in 304 AD, and later became venerated as a patron saint of the city. She was a young lady
 regarded for her chastity.

Tentacular

 Trimmed Sycamore Trees, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Plant, animal or mineral?

Don't Worry, Be Happy

OK Cafe Sign, Atlanta, GA  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Everything's going to be OK.

Snow Diaper

Swing at Playground, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



A baby swing holds a load of freshly fallen snow.

Spice It Up

Pineapple Fountain, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



When you have a bland meal, adding a little spice can liven it up. Perhaps that goes for photography too. I woke early one morning to shoot Charleston's iconic Pineapple Fountain at sunrise. But the light was less than appetizing, resulting in a rather bland image.

I kept the image in my files for a few years, but went back to it recently to reexamine its potential. I decided to mix in a few spices to add flavor... some deep blues and purples in the shadows, some warm yellows and oranges in the highlights.

This spiced-up version of the image may not be to everyone's taste,
 but at least it's not as savorless as the original.

A Nerve Wracking Experience

Boulder Scattered Tidal Zone, near Seawall, Acadia National Park, Maine  
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)



A boulder strewn intertidal zone is exposed at low tide along a misty Maine coast. Growing abundantly here is a seaweed called rock wrack, more commonly known as rockweed. It is also known more indelicately as bladder wrack.

These mats of thick rock wrack are quite wet and slippery, so this hazardous tidal zone is no place to test your track and field skills... for if you do, you are very likely to encounter a most nerve wracking experience.

 

Castle Pinckney

Sunrise and Shutes Folly, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



On the isolated island of Shutes Folly, in Charleston Harbor, lies the overgrown ruins of Castle Pinckney. Although not a real castle, it was a small fortress built in 1810 to help guard the city from naval threat. 

It was briefly revived as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War. But mostly the fort has been abandoned for long periods of time, fading into the obscurity of history.

The Color of Stone

Sunset on Stone Sidewalk, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



Strolling on the stone paving of a sidewalk at sunset, one sees colors and textures not seen during the day.

Do the Twist

Window and Crepe Myrtle, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Two trunks of a crepe myrtle tree twist past
 a curtained window on Tradd Street.

Hindu Parable

Detail, Elephant Mural, Portland, Oregon  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



Do you know the old Hindu parable about the elephant and the blind men? Several versions exist, but it basically goes like this...

 6 blind men (who do not know they are blind) gather around an elephant, each touching only a part of it, the trunk, the head, an ear, etc. Each blind man then interprets what he thinks the elephant is, based on what he has learned. 

Of course there is disagreement among them. The blind men each stubbornly hold to their opinions, and eventually come to blows. In an alternate version, they compare their varied knowledge and reach an agreement.

Another version tells of a sighted person walking by, explaining to the blind men what the elephant actually is. At this point they realize for the first time they are blind.

A more contemporary version of the parable reverses the circumstances, where 6 blind elephants each determine the nature of a man. 
They all conclude he is flat.

Seaside Tranquility

Bench on Patio, Folly Beach Pier, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved 



A tranquil dawn unfolds over the Atlantic
 offering a peaceful view from this seaside bench.

Pristine

Bench in the Snow, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Sitting quietly and undisturbed on a hillside,
 a bench is bundled up in a fresh coat of snow.

Photo Shoot

Couple on Beach, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



There is no doubt in my mind that this is a man in the ocean 
imitating Kung Fu Panda.

Rip Van Winkle

Bald Cypresses and Spanish Moss, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Wispy clusters of Spanish Moss dangle from a row of bald cypresses reflected in a garden pond. You can see why this mossy epiphyte is sometimes called "old man's beard". I hope if I ever live to be ancient, that I can grow such a beard...
 like Rip Van Winkle.

Mystery of the Sphinxes

Sphinx, Piazza del Popolo, Rome, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
 (Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


16 identical marble Sphinxes sit atop a wall that surrounds the 
Piazza del Popolo in Rome. These statues give the outdoor space an 
Egyptian flavor, complementing an authentic obelisk from ancient Heliopolis 
that stands in the square. 

Sphinxes and mysteries seem to go together. To me, the mystery of these sphinxes is whose face is represented on these sculptures. Is it the artist himself, Guiseppe Valadier, or is it a politician... or maybe a war hero? The profile looks classically Roman, so it can't be some guy from Ohio.


And another mystery... what the heck came first, the chicken or the egg?


I know one mystery that needs to be solved as soon as possible... where the nearest frothy cup of cappuccino can be found!

Suffusion

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, near Atlanta, Georgia
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



The last light of day suffuses the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center 
with a glowing warmth.


(And... A very happy birthday to you, Bucko!)

A Cool Sunrise

Sunrise, Folly Beach pier, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved

A cool morning sunrise greets a lone fisherman on the Folly Beach Pier. I remember when Becky and I first moved to Charleston, we drove out to Folly Beach to eat at the Atlantic House Restaurant, which offered lovely views of an adjacent pier and the ocean. 

But both the restaurant and the pier were destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. 6 years later the Folly Beach Pier was constructed and is intended to be hurricane proof. So far so good!

Local Advertising

Old Door and Wall, Krakow, Poland  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)



Many years of repeated use have proven this metal door an ideal place for local advertising and the hodgepodge of placard remnants blends perfectly with the chaos of the old stone wall.

Leaving Early

Tire Tracks in the Snow, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Making fresh tire tracks in the snow, a car leaves signs of departing home in the bluish light of frigid dawn. With the streets utterly still and quiet so early on a holiday weekend, I was curious what errand this person ran...
 a trip to the tanning salon perhaps?

Beautiful Decay

Old Garden Door, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



An old wooden door slowly succumbs to decay,
 while being framed by the lush greens of a winter garden.

Finding the Niche

Old Oak on a Marsh, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Lowcountry live oaks spread their limbs any direction they can to find their niche in the wild... the very epitome of adaptability.

A Walk on the Creek

Shem Creek Park, Mt. Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Fishing boats, marshlands and Lowcountry vistas... a perfectly natural place to build a boardwalked park for all to enjoy.

Anyone for a Sunday walk on the creek?

Nature's Hand

Snowy Gravel Pit Mounds and Bare Trees, near Harrison, Ohio
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


These mounds of gravel covered with slowly melting snow 
offer an interesting visual...
an industrial site fashioned by the hand of man,
transformed by the hand of nature.

Winter Trellis

Garden Trellis, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved


Charleston is not the only place where I find ironwork to photograph... this scroll is part of a garden trellis near Harrison, Ohio. In summertime, colorful vines may twine themselves around it, but in wintertime it is piled with freshly fallen snow.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Morning

Woodlands, near Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Becky and I spent the holidays back home in Ohio with family. We awoke one morning to a fresh snow fall, so I could not resist the temptation to leave the house early and shoot.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I had promises to keep..." promises to eat the sour cream doughnuts that awaited me back in the warmth of the house.

Desert Canyon

Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



When Becky and I camped here last summer, it was 104 degrees! 
Horse trails and hiking trails meandered through dusty canyons, past red rocked cliffs, scrubby mesas, and a landscape rich in fossils. 

Today, in the midst of winter, this desert canyon seems a comforting sight indeed!

An Eagle has Landed

Lantern with Brass Eagle, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view)



A lantern has winged company for the evening along Saint Michael's Alley in a district of Charleston known as South of Broad.

Modernity

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, near Atlanta, Georgia
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



This contemporary performing arts center
illustrates a change of venue... from old colonial Charleston
 to the modern metropolis of Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Balding

Bald Cypress, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



The bald cypress is a deciduous conifer. Here it is gradually loosing its "hair" and will soon be completely bald for the winter.

Man, I feel its pain, because I can relate!

Hidden Anchor

Bare Tree and Billboard, Atlanta, Georgia  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Some personalities are recognizable anywhere,
even when incognito.

Bristly

Winter Crepe Myrtle, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Shoots from a pruned crepe myrtle
 appear to bristle after its leaves have fallen.

Before the Storm

Lily Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



The tendril of a late afternoon thunderstorm creeps toward a mountain lake in the Rockies where two floating anglers try their luck before the rains fall.

On a High Horse

Equestrian Statue, Florence, Italy  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film)



Cosimo I de Medici rides tall and proud atop his bronze saddle in the Piazza della Signoria of Florence. And well he should... the Medici were great patrons of the arts, and put their indelible mark on the history of Florence
 and the Italian Renaissance.

Early Winter Garden

Red Bridge and Pond, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



In early winter there are still plenty of hues to see in Lowcountry gardens,
 and abundant pools of still waters to reflect their beauty. 
Beholding such delights is a fine way to begin a new year!

Happy New Year from Charleston!