WPC: Bridge

This weeks theme is ‘bridge’ but rather than trawl through my archives finding pics of bridges (and there are many many pics of bridges!) I decided to head out and re-photograph one of my favourite bridges in this area.

Older photograph taken 4 years ago

The Jackson Truss covered bridge is located just west of Greenup, Illinois and is a re-creation of a bridge built in 1832, which legend says Abraham Lincoln helped build along with his father and cousin.

The original wooden span was constructed in 1832, but was washed out in 1865. Ferry service provided crossing until a steel replacement was constructed in 1875. Unfortunately, that bridge was also washed out in 1912. Again, intermittent ferry service served the area until 1920 when a 3-span girder bridge was completed. In 1996, the eastern pier was severely damaged due to flooding. A grant was applied for to construct a historic looking covered bridge to replace the damaged one.

The recreation was designed to carry modern day vehicle loads, including semi-trucks, this 200 foot single span structure is reported to be the longest covered timber bridge in the US without posted restrictions.

Costing 2.8 million dollars to construct and funded by Federal and State funds, the old structure was demolished and removed in November of 1998 and in spring of 2001, the new bridge was commemorated.
A patent from the original bridge truss aided in the design of the new bridge. Walking inside the bridge one is astounded by the size of the large timbers and the visible construction techniques used.

The new bridge has a story board and observation deck on the west bank and is open to both vehicle and foot traffic.

And as all that information is far too serious (I hope you’ve been paying attention – there will be a quiz later!) here’s an added bonus of a photograph of an orchard I stopped at to buy peaches on the way home.
Bridge

WPC: Delta

I wasn’t sure if the topic for this week was ‘Delta’, ‘Change’, ‘Transition’ or what…. but the thing that got stuck in my mind was Delta and of course what is the biggest Delta in the USA but the Mississippi Delta. I haven’t actually been to the Delta of the river as such, but I have crossed the Mississippi several times going to Memphis and also up in the Quad Cities in Illinois and when it merges with the Ohio on my route to Nashville and of course it’s part of the culture in New Orleans, which I was fortunate enough to visit a few years ago (I even paddled my feet in it). Anyway this week it’s a few shots of the Mississippi I’m showing y’all from N’awlins (like my accent?)

The first is a shot of the Creole Queen Paddle Steamer which I had played around with in Photoshop to give it an aged feel.

Paddle steamer on the Mississippi

This next shot was taken from the City of New Orleans train window somewhere in Louisiana. I also aged it in Photoshop to give a bygone-effect. 16 hours on a sleeper train to N’awlins, playing ‘Phase Ten’ card game with friends and watching the scenery pass by. Good times.

Gas Beer Food Bait – what more could you ask for?

Delta

WPC: atop

I love driving around the countryside and finding out-of-the-way quirky places and stumbling across objects that just beg to get photographed. Oh all right, I love driving around the countryside getting lost and stumbling across hidden gems. I’ve been chased away from rambling old, falling-down houses before, even though I’m not actually inside the property, I just stop outside to take photographs but I’m very aware of ‘no trespassing’ here in the USA so I usually just leave when asked. Because guns, ya know! Anyway I came across this wee still life all ready to shoot and process at a local vineyard. This one I printed off on canvas and have hanging in my house.

I have also printed this and sold this one. Saw it at a local orchard and again it begged to be photographed and processed. Love the colours here.

Stumbled across this gem in the middle of nowhere, Illinois. I didn’t actually get out of my car to take this photograph because I’m a chicken. I was listening for the sound of banjos all the time. Isn’t it a beauty though? I wish I had been brave enough to walk up and say “Hey, can I take photographs?” With my Scottish accent I might have gotten away with it….

Anyway that’s all I have for ‘atop’ and it really is only the first photograph that is actually on theme. Oh well, some weeks are like that.

Have a good one!
Atop

WPC: The road taken

The one good thing about driving in the Mid-West USA is that it’s never too busy to pull over and take photographs when something catches your eye. Driving along in the middle of nowhere (rural Illinois) when I come across these sad-faced old cars. What do you mean cars don’t have faces? Just look at these photographs and tell me it doesn’t have a face!)

Sad-faced car

This old scrapyard full of rusting cars was photography heaven. I’m not sure what they are – Chevrolets maybe?

“Took my Chevy to the Levy but the Levy was dry…”

I wonder how many roads these cars have taken and what stories they would tell?

This poor car is blind

I’m sure this last one comes to life on Halloween to haunt it’s previous owners….

The Road Taken

Rain

Dear America,

You are NOT Scotland. Please stop raining.

Alba.

 

Photo 101: Street

As I said yesterday, I don’t live in the most photogenic place, and as an interloper I don’t have any particular fondness for the town I live in. Plus the main street is a feast of McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Subways. Around the town square it’s a little bit more photogenic with second hand bookstores, pubs, lawyers offices with canopies, coffee shops and a big courthouse slap-bang in the middle of it all. But it still wasn’t very inspiring for photographs. So I took myself off to a nearby town that seems to be stuck in the past. As I was walking around snapping shots I could totally picture when the street used to be made of dirt instead of tar and they tied up their horses in front of the saloon instead of parking their ginormous trucks!

With that thought in mind I did a little Photoshopping to create the look I had in my head – I even removed the lampost…

Yeah, I don’t have enough real work to do today. Off to see if I can find any cowboys now!

Bed bugs optional…

Not the Hotel Yorba

“Well its 1 2 3 4
take the elevator
at the Hotel Yorba
I’ll be glad to see you later
all they got inside is vacancies”

Just a little song that was running through my head as I was processing this image. Hope y’all like 🙂

 

Photography backlog

I’m a terrible blogger! I don’t even have the excuse that I’ve been off doing exciting things – I’ve just been working and working-out 5 days a week (no chocolate or bread the whole of January and I put on 2lbs!!!!) My photography is also in a slump, I haven’t shot anything new for ages so I’m resorting to last September in Florida to add something to this blog….

But it’s always fun to go through old photographs and pick up on ones you originally filed as ‘later’ then have a play about with them. That is playing with them in between my ‘jobs-that-I-get-paid-for-doing’. The shot above was taken with my compact camera and I loved how the boy was having a blast playing in the waves at sunset so I enhanced the colours and made him as much as a silhouette as I could without losing all definition in the figure.

This one is a totally over the top HDR image, but sometimes it’s fun to go ‘all-out’ and garish.

Then this last one didn’t quite turn out as I’d hoped, I was aiming for a old postcard type effect without losing the colour or going sepia – I might go back to it one day….

I actually have enough photographs to work on that I never have to shoot another pic in my life and I’d still have hundreds left over. One time I went to New Orleans and husband accused me of working for Google-Earth the amount of snaps I was taking. “Wheesht man and go wait for me at the end of the street – I’ll be there in 40 or 50 shots time!”

And this is why I’ve started blogging

I’ve always hated those meetings where you’re sitting round a table and you have to introduce yourself and tell everyone a little bit about yourself. Yesterday’s assignment felt a bit like that to me so I just wrote something silly (which I don’t think counts as a real blog) (but this one probably DOES count as a ‘real’ blog, so yayy, my first ever blog today) 🙂

Anyway, meetings, yes – don’t you just want to stand up and say “My name is Obi-Wan Adobe and I’m a ninja-jedi warrior” (photography/graphic design pun there non-designerey people)…. which of course is daft because they would obviously know you were a jedi already (due to the light-sabre) but I’m pretty sure it’s forbidden to tell people you are a ninja (maybe some ninjas out there can enlighten me on that point for future reference?)

Well this is why I’ve started blogging. I now work from home and no longer work in an office where we can have hour long discussions on the merits and qualities that make up the perfect elf (Legolas).

Oh and I will post some photographs too, but mostly I’ll probably just start blethering about whatever randomness is bothering me that specific day.

Use the force my friends!

Blogging 101: Introduce yourself

I am a:

Photographer

Graphic designer

Avid bookworm

Music junkie

Middle-aged Scot living in the USA

Ninja/Jedi/Photoshop Goddess

Newbie blogger

One of the above statements is false

……… yes, of course I’m not middle-aged!