Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Bridges

Lew gave the Headbangers group the theme of Bridges for this week's challenge. Last week I went out in search of a new image to use for Curves. This will be a week of selecting from my files.

It might be easier to go out and get a new shot. A relatively quick jog through the files gave me three dozen possible images to use--well, those were the ones I selected to choose from--if I don't go looking up some more. No, actually I have the one that I want to use and I won't go looking for more.

The reason is partly because bridges are incredibly interesting structures--the geometry, the lines, the settings...

If any kid asks why we need to study geometry, just tell them to take a look at a bridge.

The other part of the reason would be that I participated for a couple of years in a monthly meme featuring bridges. You can see some interesting bridges if you visit my Bridges label page.

So I will try to pare the selection down to -- well --  at least fewer than three dozen.

I am shoveling out the footbridge on the 4th of July. Mt. Rainier National Park

Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park, Arizona

Some of our local bridges: above--the Cable Bridge and below--the Blue Bridge. These connect Kennewick and Pasco, Washington.
 

Remains of an ancient bridge in the Highlands of Scotland.

The other side says "Where have you been?"  Lincoln, UK

Some London Bridges, but not THE London Bridge. It is in Arizona now.


This footbridge at Chinook Pass is part of the Pacific Crest Trail. East entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park.
 

Bridge construction--a few years ago near Hoover Dam on the Arizona-Nevada border. Crossing now with the bridge completed is much quicker. We once waited about two hours in traffic to cross on the dam itself.
 


Under the bridge. Isn't this cool--well, it was cool under the bridge. This one (above and below) is in Dunsmuir, California.


Bay Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
 
Suspension bridge at the Grove of the Patriarchs, Mt. Rainier National Park.

I will choose between these next two pictures for my header. The area spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge held that name long before the bridge was built. (BTW, if you didn't look through my Bridges label pages, do check out these pictures taken by my in-laws in --I think it was 1936--the bridge opened in 1937.
 
One of our sons has lived in the Bay Area for about six years. When we visited them in the second place they lived in there, I looked the address up on a map and wondered if there would be a place nearby with a view of the bridge.
 
Little did I know that the place with the perfect view was their living room.



Others of the headbangers will have some amazing bridge images, but I doubt that any of them will have as many as I do. You can see theirs through the links in my sidebar.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

More Curves

I said I would look in the files for more curve pictures taken in the past few years. He we go on a world tour.
Cathedral curves Oakland

Cathedral curves Lincoln UK


gateway curve Dauber Garden, Lincoln

sculpture curves, Lincoln

beach curve, Wales

parasail curve, Wales

Eye curve

tube curve

London architecture curve

London curves old and new

Charing Cross curve

Old Globe curves

Cathedral reflected curve

San Francisco curves

Sundial Bridge curve--Redding

Chihuly glass curves



dragon lantern curves


Russian dome curves (Kremlin)

also Kremlin

Sergiev Posad

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Headbangers--Curves

I'm late, I'm late, but we have just returned from a morning of errands and seeking out curves, as that is the Header challenge this week. After a very busy week with Easter preparations and himself in the hospital a couple of days, I am not the early bird I usually am. on top of that, I decided that instead of searching the files for some good curves--I am sure I have some excellent ones and will prepare a separate post of them later--that I would go out with the camera and find some.

Himself suggested that after paying a couple of bills, we head up the hill to the Horseheaven Viewpoint, as that road is one with some curves. It is a hill that he uses for a test drive whenever we are looking for a new to us car. You can gauge the power of the vehicle on that climb.





Before heading up the hill, we stopped to pay the power bill, and while he was inside I spotted this bicycle rack which was a great example of utilitarian curves, as was the curved edge of the landscaping edging beyond.
 
 


 
 
 
 
We were going out to find curves that were designed to prevent the need to use a road like this one. Aren't you glad that engineers have found just the right curves to make an ascent of a hill like this one more feasible?
 You can see the some of the curves in the road as we begin our climb. At the top, however, you can see the long stretches of straight--straight across the top of the hills between the wheat fields--between harvest and planting at this time of the year.
 Straight in both directions.
 A long long way across the field to another road.
 I got the straight shots because we had missed the turn into the viewpoint as it is not easy to see from the uphill lane and probably not terribly safe to turn into from there either, with the visibility on that curve at the top of the hill quite limited.
 We could see the curves in the Yakima River below in the valley. Not the curviest part of the river.
 And we could look down the road at the curves that would return us to Prosser.

 The orchards and vineyards below are rather curvy as well.
 And so is Interstate 82 right along here.
 The sidewalk at the viewpoint curves around the tree.
 After our excursion to the viewpoint we went for lunch at Hog Heaven...
 ...where we found quite a few curvy antiques in the décor.




 And on the way back to our car spotted the art deco curves of the Princess Theatre sign. Signs in the windows at the theater reminded me that the Lower Valley Musical Comedy Association is presenting Annie this weekend and next. We need to get our tickets. I hope they are not already sold out. We are wondering who will portray Sandy.
So, there was our excursion in search of curves. Now all I have to do is decide which one to use for the header. I wonder if the other members of our Headbanger challenge will have made an excursion in search of curves, or if they will have found some awesome images in their earlier files. Either is good, and you can see them by clicking their links in my sidebar.