After the Storm

Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view. Velvia slide film.)



A haze of moisture backlit by a setting sun
settles over Cades Cove after a rain storm passes through.

Approaching Storm

Marshland near Sol Legare Road, James Island, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view. Velvia slide film.)



To capture this Lowcountry vista, I stood on top of my car.
 This gave me enough height for a distant perspective over the
 marshlands, which also included the looming clouds of an
 approaching storm.

The Way

Boardwalk, Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film.)



The way to tranquility is along this path
 in Portland's Japanese Garden.

Parks Aglow

Azaleas, White Point Gardens, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



One of Charleston's many city parks is aglow
 with color when the azaleas are in full bloom.

New Replaces Old

Shrimp Boat Framed by Yacht, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



The trend of recent times at Shem Creek...
fewer and fewer shrimp boats are seen along the creek
while more and more pleasure crafts take their place.

Alien Presence

Boneyard Beach, Botany Bay Plantation, Edisto Island, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



The skeletal remains of an old tree looks
 eerily alien on the boneyard beach at Botany Bay.

Folly Patterns

Sunrise, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view. Velvia slide film.)



Waves form jagged patterns in the surf which is awash
 with the hues of sunrise. This image was taken from the
 Folly Beach Fishing Pier, and was the cover shot
 on Charleston Magazine several years ago.

Bear Lake

Old Tree, Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



An old tree clings to the edge of Bear Lake,
an alpine lake in the high elevations
 of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Gate of Hearts

Hearts Gate, French Quarter, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



This French Quarter gate has heart...
several hearts in fact, albeit all upside down.

Vortex Blues

Gate Scroll with Blue Door, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved 



Newly minted ironwork becomes a vortical subject
 for an antebellum mansion on Charleston's Battery.

Gems in the Rough

Turk's Cap Lily, near Black Balsam Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina



Along a trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Becky and I discovered
 these two little gems growing in a high mountain meadow
 near Black Balsam Knob. What a joy to find these delicate Turk's Cap Lilies
along the edges of such rocky trail!

Take the Plunge

Divers Fountain, Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



Sometimes you need to just take the plunge,
 as these synchronized "divers" do
 at a fountain in the Dubai Mall.

Night Scrolls

Gate Scrolls at Night, Saint Philip's Church, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film.)



Street lights at twilight illuminate the scroll work
of a churchyard gate in Charleston's French Quarter.

A Fine Day for Dappling

Dappled Sunlight, Fernbank Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
 © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



A sprinkling of dappled sunlight falls
 on this tree trunk and the grass around it
during a fine summer day at Fernbank Park.

Beauty in the Abstract

Shoreline, Breach Inlet, Isle of Palms, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view. Velvia slide film.)



A curve in the beach at Breach Inlet makes an ideal subject
 for a nature abstract. Soft light adds a touch
 of color to enhance the evening mood.

The Old Spring House

Spring House on Rice Mill Pond, Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



A gorgeous day at Middleton Place gardens highlights
 the graceful contours of Rice Mill Pond and its beautiful
 surroundings, including the old spring house on the hill.

A Hint of Winter

Autumn, Mount Mitchell State Park, North Carolina
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved



A hint of winter pervades this view of Mount Mitchell
with a dusting of snow atop its peak
 and a thinning of autumn leaves among the lower ridges.

Fall Tour of Homes

Garden Gate, Charleston, SC  © Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Velvia slide film.)



The Preservation Society offers their Fall Tours this month,
 from October 2nd to the 26th. The annual event opens up
private homes and gardens to guests who glimpse Southern living,
 Charleston style.

Autumn Moment

Autumn Maple, French Broad River, North Carolina
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



A maple's golden hue contrasts nicely with the river's deep blue
 in this autumn moment captured in western North Carolina.
 Happy Friday everyone!

Smoking Ridges

Misty Ridges, Black Mountains, North Carolina
© Doug Hickok  All Rights Reserved
(Click on image for larger view.)



The Great Smoky Mountains are not the only mountains that emit rising mists. Here it is the Black Mountains, which are part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. They are the highest ridges in the Eastern U.S. and include Mount Mitchell, the tallest of them all.