Rosslyn Redux

Tag: Eve Ticknor

  • Hammock Days of Indian Summer

    Rosslyn Boathouse, Indian Summer (Photo by Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Boathouse, Indian Summer (Photo by Eve Ticknor)

    A warm thank you to friend, photographer, and some time Essex neighbor Eve Ticknor for giving me these evocative images of Rosslyn’s boathouse.

    You will see in my photographs, ways to see water, not just to look at it. Honing your observation skills will open your eyes to other worlds. ~ Eve Ticknor (Aquavisions)

    Rosslyn Hammock, Indian Summer (Photo by Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Hammock, Indian Summer (Photo by Eve Ticknor)

    Indeed. Eve’s photographs capture  dreamy abstractions that don’t easily reveal their source. Rarely does she share images as literal and representational as these. So I considered myself very fortunate when I received her email recently.

    The photos were accompanied with a question: Is that you in the hammock? She had shot the photographs from near the Belden Noble Memoiral Library on the Essex ferry dock. At first, she hadn’t noticed that someone was reading in the    hammock. It wasn’t until she saw my flip-flops on the deck that she realized someone was contentedly resting.

    She caught me!

    Image of Indian Summer

    Although we’ve already experienced some chilly days and nights this fall, we’re also enjoying frequent installments of Indian summer. I’ve taken advantage of a few such days to grab my tablet and work lakeside from the comfort of my “corner office”.

    Eve explores refracted and reflected images on the surface of water, never using Photoshop or filters to alter her images. What we see is what she saw. And yet she succeeds in capturing all sorts of whimsical illusions on the water surface.

    Illusion of Indian Summer

    And yet these fun photos are no illusion. I was busted midafternoon playing hooky. Can you blame me?

  • Eve Ticknor’s Meditative Mirages

    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)

    Every once in a while I get lucky. A dramatic sunrise falling on mist. Gluten free, dairy free chocolate desert on a restaurant menu. A quick smile or pleasantries from a stranger. A dogeared but otherwise forgotten poem resurfacing, reconnecting, re-enchanting after many years…

    Many of Eve Ticknor’s (aquavisions.me) watery photographs — especially when hinting of Essex, Lake Champlain, and even Rosslyn — belong in my ever burgeoning catalog of lucky  experiences. I have shared Ticknor’s photographs before (Hammock Days of Indian Summer on September 18, 2013 and Eve Ticknor’s Boathouse Photos on June 23, 2014)

    Eve’s photographs capture dreamy abstractions that don’t easily reveal their source. (Source: Rosslyn Redux)

    The photograph above is a perfect example. It moves before your eyes like a mirage. What is it? A second photograph of the same scene helps demystify the subject.

    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)

    Still stumped? That hypnotic labyrinth of squiggly lines is the key, but the two vertical, shaded columns are helpful too. If you’re still stumped, here’s a third photograph that will decipher the abstract beauty in the previous two photographs.

    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Boathouse and Hammock Reflections (Photo: Eve Ticknor)

    Eve explores refracted and reflected images on the surface of water, never using Photoshop or filters to alter her images. What we see is what she saw. And yet she succeeds in capturing all sorts of whimsical illusions on the water surface. (Rosslyn Redux)

    In addition to the mysteries woven into Eve Ticknor’s photographs, I’m also drawn to her “earthy” palette. She often captures rich, nuanced colors in her work, but there’s a muted, organic hue that I find refreshing in today’s super-saturated world of digital photography and pumped up filters. That third image above is especially rich in color and tone, so many putties and heavy contrasts. It strikes me as painterly and meditative in a way that so many crisp, high definition, copies of reality are not.

    I’ll conclude with one last hauntingly beautiful images from friend and photographer Eve Ticknor. It is a glimpse over the shoulder of Rosslyn’s boathouse toward the Essex ferry docks pilings, the entire scene veiled in gossamer moodiness. Thank you, Eve!

    Rosslyn Boathouse and Essex Ferry Dock Pilings (Photo: Eve Ticknor)
    Rosslyn Boathouse and Essex Ferry Dock Pilings (Photo: Eve Ticknor)

  • Eve Ticknor’s Boathouse Photos

    I’ve just received a lovely email from local artist and friend Eve Ticknor (aquavisions.me) with four soothing images of our boathouse. Eve’s dreamy boathouse photos last appeared in “Hammock Days of Indian Summer” last September.

    Her new series offers a seasonal bookend to the last set. “Spring!” the photos sing soothingly. “Springing into summer. Soon. But for now, still spring…”

    It’s an incredible gift when I receive artwork inspired by Rosslyn, and I offer my deepest thanks to Eve (and all of the other generous artists who’ve shared their creative visions with me) for allowing Rosslyn to a-muse you.

    While I was waiting for the ferry! (Photo: Eve Ticknor)
    While I was waiting for the ferry! (Photo: Eve Ticknor)

    In addition to the boathouse photos, Eve included this enchanting image of a duckling family paddling along between the Essex ferry dock and the boathouse. They seem to have swum directly out of a patina’ed storybook!

    Before I even realize it I’ve counted the ducklings. Today there are twelve remaining, twelve significantly larger and less fluffy adolescent ducks. I imagine a few ducklings fell prey to eagles or snapping turtles. Or perhaps they swapped momma ducks to join a smaller brood? My mind wanders to the the many perils ducklings face on their sprint to duckdom.

    Thank you, Eve.