Nov 30 2007
Bridge of Cullman County (Pic of the Week)
From the darker end of the bridge (1-second exposure, freehand).
(click any image to enlarge and sharpen)
After my work was done on Thursday, I tried to make it to Clarkson Covered Bridge before sunset. Tucked in a valley, its surroundings go dark before the sun completes its dip below the horizon. Built in 1904 and restored in 1975, the bridge reaches 270 feet (82m) across the expanse above Crooked Creek.
The opposite end of the bridge faced a valley between hillsides, but still I had to set my camera on a rock wall to get anything sharp enough to share. That presented a problem, because rock walls are considerably less portable than tripods.
One of my pictures provided a perfect opportunity for playing around a bit. I’m pleased with the results. The before/after illustrates fairly clearly what I did.
See the culvert and graffiti?
See the culvert and graffiti now?
Notice the brightness of the background sky above the trees. If only some of that light would have reached the bridge.
My point-and-shoot Canon A560 (about $139) did well, but the lens didn’t go quite wide enough for this job. I would have loved having my Nikon D100 and wide angle lens for this site. It would have allowed me to get closer to the bridge and still get it all in the shot, eliminating much of the foreground. Instead, I “fixed” it with Gimp (Gnu Image Manipulation Program), a great example of free software.
Now, I’m going to try something I’ve never done out here. I’m going to post what I have, in hopes of getting a better picture this morning before I leave town. I’ll put it out here sometime today if I get a good shot, most likely before 9:30 a.m. CST.
Update: Here are a couple more pics (click thumbnails for bigger versions):
For the engineering-minded folks out there, here’s a link to the bridge’s restoration plans.
I like the B&W shot best, though I’m really impressed by your touch-up skilz. All I can do is change brightness, sharpness and saturation settings with my pics. That’s the extent of my photo-gimping abilities. Mind you, I have no real manipulative software at home, so that’s the biggest part of my problem.
It wasn’t until I got my current camera that I realised how much I now need (not want, need) a tripod. Maybe I hear sleigh bells…?
The Black and White shot is fantastic. I can almost smell the old wood. Then again, I’m biased toward pictures of old bridges, as you well know.
I’m also impressed with your photo magic. I’ve made background people and powerlines disappear in my shots, but usually when they’re against a uniform blue sky or fully chaotic leaves or something. Pattern pasting usually did the trick. I don’t think I’d be up to the task of the rock work you just did. Quite cool.
Simon and Moksha - The B&W is my favorite, too. It just seemed right for this bridge.
The photo “magic” is not tough — just a little tedious. I had to find the right little strips of existing mortar to put around the rock I copied and pasted over the hole. It still looks a little obvious because of the rock’s coloration, but I can live with that for a quick, fun touch-up.
I made it back out there, but not sure I like the additional shots any better.
I love these shots. Isn’t that the bridge that Gina Davis and what’s his name drove off in Beetlegeuse??? I was thinking even before Moksha said it that I could smell the old wood. Nice.
Feel free to try to remove 1o lbs from any picture you might have of me. That would be great. Thanks!
Amy - It is reminiscent of that seen, but this bridge is in rural Alabama. I don’t think they filmed Beetlejuice there.
I don’t have any original pictures of you to edit. It is an interesting challenge, however. I did add hair to my dad’s head once, and remove some wrinkles, with hilarious results.
I like the new shots, but neither of them touch the original. I like that the bridge looks more precarious in the new shot, and that you can see the bow in the flooring. I’m glad you went back.
Welby….I can’t believe it. I noticed a flaw in your writing. Your comment reply to Amy has the word “seen,” in place of “scene.”
I finally got to geek out and point out an error!! I’m so proud. I know…I have them in every comment, so I should shut up.
You need to find a way to get some good digital re-makes of the Swinging Bridge stuff you had. That was the coolest bridge. I think you may have blogged about it once before a long time ago, but I can’t remember.
Weren’t you there taking pictures just days before it collapsed…errrr, was torn down by careless teenagers?
I guess I have my own writing flaw thinking beetlejuice was beetlegeuse. oops.
My wife mistook a fictional ghost for a red giant star?
**sniff**
I’m so proud!!
Moksha - Yeah, I was trying to show that there are hills in the bridge’s roadway.
Charles - I have no excuse. That was bad. I was sitting in the airport waiting for our delayed flight.
I’ve been thinking about the Swinging Bridge lately, because Moksha took some great pictures and wrote up a cool post on one recently. I thought I already had posted about Swinging Bridge, too, but can’t find it in the archives.
Amy - I think the spelling is Betelguese, for the star Simon mentioned, and I’m pretty sure they got Beetlejuice from that. So, you weren’t wrong, per se.
Simon - I’m sure she’ll get a foot massage for that.
Hey, Mark -
I too am impressed with your photo retouching. I tend to be something of a purist when it comes to images, getting annoyed with people for wanting the photographer to edit out their natural imperfections - but in the case of the bridge and wall, it’s a great option. The wall didn’t ask to be defaced, right??
Sorry for the confusion on the blogroll, too - thanks for adding me back, after all! But I wouldn’t have been offended by your removal… it’s one thing to post irregularly, quite another not to post for months. You had every right to assume I had fallen down a well or something.
Hope you and your family have a great holiday!
-Erica
Wow, I love all the pics… I love old bridges like this.
Nice job for a point and click camera!