Thursday, November 05, 2009

Theme Thursday - Castle

So... Here I am living in the midst of the US's largest collection of the "castles" of the 19th century commercial Robber Barons, so you automatically assume you're gonna see Newport's famed Bellevue Ave. "summer cottages". Well, you almost did, but... As I was signing up on the Theme Thursday blog Sunday, I got hit with a major brain-wave as a line from Joni Mitchell's song "Both Sides Now" lit up like Fourth of July fireworks: "... and ice cream castles in the air..." Some of you may know that I have another passion aside from birds and graveyards - I love taking pictures of big, fat cumulonimbus clouds piling up in the sky on a Summer day; I use my circular polarizer filter to give the clouds more definition, and I usually either shoot in black & white or convert to b&w (the preferred method) because it makes the clouds look more dramatic.

So today I'll show you some of my favorite castles. They may not be built of stone to last for millenia, but their very fleeting nature makes them all the more precious and beautiful. Oh yeah, and if you really feel the need to look at Newport's "castles", you can go here, here, here, and here. And don't forget to go check out the other Theme Thursday participants.






Of course, that means my first video offering is obvious - Joni Mitchell singing "Both Sides Now".


The other song that occurred to me almost immediately is Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". I picked Jimi Hendrix's version because frankly, everybody, including Mr. Zimmerman himself, considers Jimi's version the definitive one. Enjoy!


Photos & text © 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger

23 comments:

  1. Amazing cloud photos! I like the third one best. I think it's the most dramatic of the bunch. lol.

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that song! Wonder which of these castles Peter Pan lives on...

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE thos pics, and I always love hearing that song by Joni... Thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really like the monochrome. It provides a perfect contrast for the ice cream castles against the sky and above the land and sea. Including the fence in the foreground of #2 was inspired. Long live Jimi and Joni!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the music and a wonderful take on the theme!

    ReplyDelete
  6. great, great, great contribution to today's theme.

    I had thought of those castles in the air (clouds) too, but don't have a good stash of shots in my archives, so didn't even go there other than in my imagination - so am so happy to see you pick up that path and illustrate it so wonderfully.

    joni and jimi a wonderful musical pairing!! two of my faves, as you know

    ReplyDelete
  7. ahhh another favourite subject of mine...and one that is not easy to catch the beauty of...but you did it! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bows and flows of angel hair...

    Fabulous take on the theme, Roy. Stunning pics.

    ReplyDelete
  9. that last photo of those looming clouds is especailyl fantastic. Castles in the air indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You just can't go wrong with Joni Mitchell & Cloud Castles! Well done, Roy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great take on TT, Roy. The cloud castles are even more ephemeral than sand castles, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Can easily imagine Zeus lounging around up there, idly wondering where to toss the next bolt...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely and creative as always, Roy!

    ReplyDelete
  14. The photographs are amazing. Your castles are in deed in the air.

    I was surprised (a bit)that you didn't include the song: Castles in the Air... - a fabulous Don McLean song...

    "And if she asks you why, you can tell her that I told you
    That I'm tired of castles in the air
    I've got a dream I want the world to share
    And castle walls just lead me to despair"

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your pictures are beautiful Roy! Thank you for sharing with us :)

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great post Roy. And the choice of Joni singing "Both Sides" was inspired. Can't get it out of my head now.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sorry Roy, late yet again. They're lovely ice cream castles and a nice take on the theme as well. Black and white certainly gives them drama! If it's any consolation just a pall of grey cloud covering ujs today. No puffies at all!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Two of my favourite songs and some absolutely beautiful photos. Thank you! (Thanks also for the tip re getting better definition in the shots. All I need now is a new camera ...)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wonderful cloud photos! this is a great take on the theme

    ReplyDelete
  20. beautiful pics! and great take on the theme

    ReplyDelete