Seperation

Palmetto Tree and Shutter, Aiken-Rhett House, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


From this vertiginous point of view, a palmetto tree and its doppelganger shadow are cleaved in two by a roof's razor edge.

Safe Harbor

Shrimp Boats at Sunset, Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


A row of shrimp boats anchor safely along Shem Creek, as the setting sun casts its reflection in a cabin window. As in yesterday's post, the dominant color today is blue, although a complementary spot of orange adds a defining accent.

A New Week Means...

Display at an Open Bar, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


... a new color theme.
If you wish to speculate which color it is, I will gladly help by giving you a hint. In China and Japan, it is the color most associated with love and happiness.


May your week be filled with love and happiness.

Exception?

Stacked Canoes near Little Miami River, Harrison, Ohio  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


This black canoe is the only one in a stack of red ones. It is the oddity, the rara avis... which begs the question... does the exception prove or disprove the rule? This is a question that dates back to the Roman orator Cicero, from a rhetorical defense of his client. For example, would it be truthful to say that all of Doug's posts this week have the color red, therefore, red is always in his posts? Or, is it ordinary for Doug's posts not to have red, and this week is the exception that proves it.

More likely this is all just idiomatic gobbledegook.

Metal Mouth

Old Red Truck, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, South Carolina  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


I had braces... both of my kids had braces... if only our "grills" looked this cool!

Keeping-up with a new tradition begun here at Doug's Photo Blog, I will end today's post with a photography link for your weekend enjoyment...


Great images are often a matter of being in the right place, at the right time and/or having a creative mind.

Out Looking...

Entry to the American Theatre, King Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


The voice in his head told him, "You never know what you might see when you are out looking". So he kept his eyes open and alert... all four of them. Little did he suspect that, when walking past this old movie theater, he would suddenly be enchanted by this wonderful collection of shapes, lines and warm colors. Doug could not resist the urge to take a picture...
 so he did.
And, he did all of that (dramatic pause),
 without tripping or stumbling.

Well, that was a really exciting story.

Symbiosis

Rope and Shrimp Boat Hull, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view.)


The word for the day is symbiosis. It is a noun meaning "any interdependent or mutually beneficial relationship." The word dates from 1877 as a biological term, and refers to a mutually beneficial association of two different organisms.

In this photo I would like to think that the colors red and green are visually symbiotic, and the boat and rope are just as symbiotic.

In my experience, chocolate and coffee (especially chocolate covered espresso beans) going into my face, also exhibit traits of symbiosis... maybe... I hope the coffee and chocolate benefit...  somehow...

I Wandered...

Main Square, Old Town, Krakow, Poland  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


... lonely as a cloud,
That floats on high o'er Krakow square,
When all at once I saw a truck,
a beacon, of bright red paint;
Beside the umbrellas, beneath the trees,
flashing and gleaming in the summer heat.

And even though this poem doesn't rhyme,
I don't mind,
'cause I made a picture,
Worth more than words.

Misty Monday - Low Tide

Steps to East Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Campobello Island, New Brunswick  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


The only way to visit the lighthouse is at low tide (you can see how high the water reaches by noticing the marine vegetation, the rust on the stairs & railings, and dark stains on the rocks). On most days, here at the Bay of Fundy, tides will vary about 
30 to 40 feet from low mark to high. Wading or swimming are extremely dangerous due to swift currents and cold water temperatures. Woe to those who get stranded on the island when the tide rushes in. They will have to wait about 8 hours for the next chance to escape.

Saint Philip & the Spider

Spider Fountain, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


Backlit by late afternoon sunlight, the Spider Fountain at Waterfront Park glistens like a gossamer web against a Charleston skyline. Seen in the distance is Saint Philip's steeple standing tall above the French Quarter.

Bare for Now

Bare Dogwood Tree and Fence Rail, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


But soon there will be white flowers...
and green leaves!

Residua of a Past Age

Twin Bollards, Church Street, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film)


If I can beg your patience for one last image from the Hank's Seafood Cookbook... this one shows two stone bollards, the remnants of a place along Church Street where boats used to be moored. However, if you walk past here now, you will notice something missing... the water. The tidal creek that once bordered this house was filled-in during the late 18th century, so that habitable land could be expanded beyond the bounds of the old city walls. Today the surrounding neighborhood has many Revolutionary and antebellum era houses.

I will leave you a few photography links for your weekend perusal...

 Have you ever wanted to run away to join the circus?

This Vermont artist, now living in California, pursued photography as ritual and story.

Lastly, see extraordinary color abstracts by Pepe Boulette.

Pirates and Cookbooks

Ornate Gate to Pirate Alley, French Quarter, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view.)


Another picture from the Hank's Seafood cookbook? Yes, you guessed it. But what, might you ask, does a cookbook have to do with pirates? Nothing really. This image just happens to portray the gate to Pirate Alley in the French Quarter, which hints at Charleston's historic past (plus it makes an interesting topic of discussion for this post).

Pirate Alley is adjacent to the Pirate House, a purported hangout for buccaneers in the early 1700's. Although there once were pirates in colonial Charleston, they are now safely tucked away in history books, and the only ones likely to be seen today are in costume, leading walking tours through the city.

Bridge Wednesday - Twilight Glow

Ravenel Bridge at Night, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)


Aglow in the twilight, the Ravenel Bridge displays its symmetrical form while reflecting its illuminated towers in the waters of Charleston Harbor. This is another one of the images from Hank's Seafood cookbook.

Courtyard Garden

Fountain in a Small Garden, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film. Click on image for larger view)


Another picture from Hank's Seafood cookbook portrays a classical fountain in a small courtyard garden. These kinds of green spaces adjacent to homes are a significant part of Charleston's charm. Protected by surrounding houses and vine covered walls, these enclosed gardens usually have something blooming anytime of the year.

Cooking Charleston

Saint Philip's Churchyard Gate and Carriage, French Quarter, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok
(Velvia slide film)


As I alluded to in a previous post, Charleston has been receiving much favorable attention as a travel destination in recent months. Conde Naste Travel Magazine ranked it as the number one city to visit in North America. Fodor's Travel went even further by placing Charleston among the top 21 "to go" attractions in the world. They described it as a "buzzy" destination that is "foodie-centric" and "leading the Southern food revival". Charleston, for such a small city, is indeed graced with an abundance of fine restaurants and cafes. There is a menu for almost anyone's taste.

Today's image is one that is featured in a coffee table cookbook recently published by Hank's Seafood Restaurant.  It is replete with delicious recipes presented by nationally recognized chef Frank McMahon. The intent of the image is to offer a taste of Charleston's historic and charming ambience.

Travertine

Colonnades and Lantern, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City, Italy  © Doug Hickok
(Click on image for larger view)

A solitary lantern hangs between the rows of large columns in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City. The centuries old colonnades are made of travertine stone, a common material of buildings in Rome, and throughout Italy. Travertine is a limestone formed from mineral or hot springs. The word itself derives from an Italian word meaning 

"of Tibur", an ancient Roman town, which is today called Tivoli, near Rome. 

It was a preferred stone of Michelangelo... and Bernini, the builder of the 

colonnades pictured here.

Time Capsule

Gresham Mill, Canton, Georgia  © Doug Hickok


Gresham Mill, amid the suburbs of Atlanta, seems like a Depression era time capsule preserved for modern eyes. Not far from a busy interstate highway, it is a reminder of who we once were, and how dramatically times have changed, even within recent memory.

The Edge

Palm Trunk and Shutter, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok


Today's photograph illustrates color contrast between warm and cool colors, and is an apt segue into my Favorite Photographer Friday selection, Tom Mackie. He is a renown practitioner of color design, creating saturated images with vivid impact. He teaches about seeking conditions that maximize atmospheric lighting and color, conditions that create tension by being in a state of transition... for example, the edge of day and night, the edge of changing seasons, or the edge of clearing storms.

My take on this visual tension is the above image, which portrays the edge of light and shadow, where the setting sun briefly illuminates textures on a palm trunk, while the background lies in deep blue shadow.

I hope you take a few moments to look at his website.
Have a great weekend!

A Wheel and the Great Beyond

Tiller Wheel, The Old Depot, Lewisburg, Ohio  © Doug Hickok


Teeth on the wheel of this old tiller form an alternate pattern, seeming to move with the wheel in a relentless path toward the heavens...
 to infinity and beyond!