This week’s theme is inspired by a beautiful photograph Vlad posted over at Wind Against Current. Click the link to see his photo, and when you pick your jaw up off the floor, come on back over here and join in this week’s challenge.
Mystical is an evocative term with many nuances. I chose this word because it can be interpreted in so many ways. It can mean spiritually symbolic, otherworldly, ethereal or mysterious. I also love how this word sounds when you speak it aloud, and I can’t help but associate it with mists that conceal the everyday, cloaking the mundane in a veil of mystery. The verb ‘to mystify’; to make mysterious or obscure, is derived from the words mystic and mystery. Ooh, the possibilities are endless.
Last weekend I visited Washington State’s Olympic Penninsula and got a few photos that capture the essence of what mystical and otherworldly mean to me. I hope you like them.
Foggy day in the Hall of Mosses
In the depths of the Hoh rain forest
Freezing fog over Lake Crescent
So what does the word mystical conjure up for you? If you’d like to join in this week’s travel theme (everyone is welcome to join in), here’s what to do:
- Create your own post and title it Travel Theme: Mystical
- Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
- Get your post in by next Thursday, as the new travel theme comes out on Friday
- Don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date on the latest weekly travel themes
Mystify me.
xxx
Ailsa
Where's my backpack? 
Lovely theme, as usual! This will be fun…. 😉
🙂 Looking forward to seeing your post, Marie. Just had a chance to view your entry from last week’s challenge, really lovely!
Thank you very much Ailsa. 🙂
Just saw your entry for this week, Marie, wonderful double exposures, that top one is my favourite!
Thank you! 🙂
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Gorgeous photographs! Not only mystical but magical, too! Here’s my entry: http://goomfh.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
Wow, that was mystifyingly quick, Doris 🙂 Lovely interpretation. Where was the church? xxx
Thank you! The church is in my father’s village in the Southern Peloponnese, in Mani and it’s called Agios (Saint) Nikon (like the camera 🙂 ). We go there almost every year! The kids love it!
beautiful photography 🙂 love the mystery of trees and forests .. especially rain forests 🙂 .. one can simply just ‘be’ 🙂
Me too, Jenn – I spent my childhood playing in forests, they’ve always had a magical hold over my soul.
ah i wasnt in forests as such but definitely in the bush and woodlands .. mum used to keep me occupied on trips looking for fairy homes … i still do 🙂
Post is up 🙂
http://the-serenity-space.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
Ooh how lovely, Jenn. Crystal Castle looks fascinating, but my favourites, of course, were the top three with the mosses and trees and shimmering green stream. 🙂
true .. nothing beats mystical but moss covered rocks and rainforests 🙂
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You pretty much nailed what mystical means to me (though Vlad’s shot was pretty stunning, too.)
Moss, ferns and a touch of fog and I’m transported somewhere magical, Gunta. 🙂 Yes, Vlad’s photo is really spectacular. xxx
Beautiful photos, absolutely! And here is my “mystical water element” for the challenge: http://esengasvoice.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
Hi Esenga, great interpretations from all around the world, that glacier is wonderful! Great idea to tie it all together with an elemental water theme, I love it!
That really is a mystical forest, Ailsa – I keep coming back to look at that tree, and I think the fairy forest (what I always called moss, as a child) has enchanted everything there, including the freezing fog! Beautiful captures all, but the tree, that’s emanating magic 🙂
That’s my favourite too, you can almost hear the tinkle of fairy laughter spilling out from the moss-covered roots. To quote J.M. Barrie, “I do believe in fairies! I do! I do!”
Just saw your post for this week – fabulous photos, and oh, how I loved your mist-engulfed journey. What a wonderful adventure. xxx
Wow, I could stare at that first photo for a long, long time. The real deal would be even better.
It is truly stunning in the Hoh rain forest, Marion, I hope you get a chance to visit someday! xxx
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Ailsa, I love the way you find the perfect oblong section of a theme photo for each week’s header. It’s better than a catchy headline.
Your photos are indeed mystical. In these forests I’d be irrationally tempted to look for fairies. Hope you like my mysterious subject, too. http://soundslikewish.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/ailsas-travel-photography-challenge-mystical-mysterious/
I love it, Trish, that would definitely stop me in my tracks. What a wonderful capture! xxx
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What lovely images and what a lovely theme. Here’s my response.
http://artifactsandfictions.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/mystical-mountains/
Ahh, Suzanne, I love the mountains in Ireland, definitely mystical! I’m very happy to hear your laptop pulled through, mine was a bit temperamental this week and it was not a good feeling!
What lovely mystical photos and what a lovely challenge. Here’s my response.
http://artifactsandfictions.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/mystical-mountains/
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Wow. Your photos are stunning. Very mystical. And I agree that this word is wonderful to say.
Thanks Ally! I love words just as much as I love photography, so it was fun to play with both for this week’s theme. 🙂
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awesome! I have a great photo to add! Will post when I get home tonight. Love that you do this!
Hurray, looking forward to your post, Pam! 🙂
Nice shots!
Thanks Robert! xxx Ailsa
Something about the rainforest makes me feel like a kid – whenever we are lucky enough to get to one, we hold our breath waiting for a glimpse of deer… lovely photos!
Omigosh, ideflex, I couldn’t believe it – I was hiking up on Hurricane Ridge with a friend, and an entire herd of black-tailed deer burst out of the snow-covered pines right in front of us. A stag and a bevvy of doe and fawn. It was spectacular!
So lucky! Your followers in furry form!
Here lies a path to an otherworldly journey…
Wow, that is definitely a path to somewhere extraordinary. Lovely shot, Miguel.
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Love your shots … I was expecting trolls and fairies coming out of my screen. My pick is the middle one – that is true mystical.
Grin. It did feel a little like walking through a fairyland, viveka, the only sound I could hear was the pitter patter of rain. xxx
Awesome pictures 🙂
Thanks ocelot81 🙂
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I think purple must be in everything mystical!
Ooh, how beautiful, and I love the splash of purple. Very mystical indeed! 🙂
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This challenge afforded lots of choice! See how Shakespeare transports us yet – please have a look at
Oh my, those are the sweetest sleeping faeries ever! I love that poem by Elizabeth Dillingham, and oh, yes, you can always count on Bill the Bard for a touch of the mystical. Really splendid post. 🙂
Thanks so much – I’m happy you saw what I did in it…
Great images, amiga…they make me want to step into the scene and experience it in person! you’re right about Vlad’s photo.. It’s very special.
Here’s my take on mystical before I dash away for the day.
Enjoy and thanks for a great challenge!
z
Gorgeous post, Z, and what an adventure! My goodness, I love the idea that the shaggy little burro was there to lead you out of the fog. xxx Ailsa
Thank you! We stopped and took photos of the burro, and it seemed to want to stay with us! For me, it was hard driving away and leaving it pulling up the rear!
Z
My entry! TNX in advance for visiting 🙂
Thanks for sharing Christmas in the Philippines, Miljo. Gosh, Coca-Cola has their hands on everything, don’t they? 🙂
Truly magical photo’s, here’s my weeks entry: http://truetravelings.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
Lovely interpretation, Claire, that turquoise pond is stunning. Makes me want to dive in right now!
Thank you, I wouldn’t its infested with snakes 🙂
Gulp!
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I grew up in Seattle, and have seen all these places– definitely mystical. Lovely photos!
Olympic National Park is truly breathtaking, colormusing, this was my first time visiting, but it certainly won’t be my last!
That word is one of my favourites and your photos lead me right there!
Hurrah, mission accomplished, thanks Lyle! 🙂
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Great theme. Love the trees in the woods. Here is my entry. http://wp.me/p23TG1-1FC
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Lovely interpretation, Francine, that foggy photo of Pittsburgh is mystical indeed. 🙂
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This is a great subject this week. Here is my entry:
http://ohmsweetohmdotme.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
Ooh, I really enjoyed your post, Allan. I always think of it as the Magic Hour, but I love your nod to Maxwell Parrish. I had no idea ‘Daybreak’ was that popular.
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Beautiful pictures of the peninsula and the Hoh Rainforest. It is a magical place and you captured that quality. My entry is a mystical garden path with a touch of enchantment in a photo collage of green: http://canoecommunications.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/weekly-photo-challenge-mystical-green/
I can’t wait to go back again, c & c, something about it spoke to my soul, it’s so varied and filled with such natural beauty. I love your entry this week, my favourite is the closeup of the grass along the wooden fence. 🙂
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Hi everybody
Here my entries for this week
Fabulous, Max. First of all, what an amazing adventure climbing that volcano in Ecuador, those full photos are stunning, I want to pack my bag and go right now. And as for your first photo, what a happy accident! It looks for all the world like someone peeping through half-opened eyes, I can almost see eyelashes at the top of the field of vision. It’s a lovely shot. 🙂
Thank you Ailsa. Your comment is very cute and it is true, seem to look at the world that way, with eyes half-closed
😉
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A Magical Mystical tour:
http://patriciaddrury.com/2012/11/16/travel-theme-mystical/
That is an incredible collection of photos, Patricia, thanks for sharing them. That tornado/rainbow shot is straight out of the Wizard of Oz. Insane!
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Wow, that is an incredible story, Le Drake Noir, I cannot believe that went on until the 1980s. Thanks for sharing this very strange and somewhat unnerving piece of Danish history! xxx Ailsa
Definitely some mystical pics in this post: a majestic weeping tree, a church, a glowing grave yard…
http://brokenlightcollective.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/green/
Lovely series of shots, Broken Light, and I really love the artist’s narrative about her relationship with the colour green. Very moving. xxx
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