The "Kickstart" Photo

I've been cruising around flickr today, just browsing through photos. At first I was looking at Black Skimmers - a species of shorebird common to my area, and then, of course, I had to look up gondolas. There are lots of great shots in there, including a few from John Kerschbaum's operation on the St. Croix River in Minnesota.
Take a look at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenhunnicutt/2558581004/

and

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenhunnicutt/2547422747/

I wish I could post up the actual photos, but out of respect to the photographers, I'm only posting links to the photos at this time.

Now here's the one that inspired me to throw this rough-shod post together.
It's such a great "capture" as the photographers like to say.

Based on the gondolier's clothes, I'd guess the shot was taken in winter.

The one thing I noticed about this photo was just how black the gondola is, except for those scuffs on the hull-side just below his foot.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the "Kickstart" photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angie_real/2051590405/