Vance64
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Contest Finalist in Magical Bridges Photo Contest by Mosaic
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QHfilly
April 25, 2013
Beautiful Shot! I was there years ago, I took a $5 plane ride over and around the Bridge. My pictures did not turn out good at all!! I think the plane had plexi glass in it. Lol! Oh well, can't expect first class or in this case real glass for $5 Again, great shot :)
floraehrlich
April 26, 2013
Absolutely gorgeous! Are you entering it into the architecture contest? It's perfect!!
Vance64
August 01, 2020
I took this photo from the observation deck at the information center at the bridge. It is one of my favorite picture.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in early April of 2013 at the New River Gorge Bridge in the beautiful state of West Virginia. I try every year to go up and visit family living there at least twice a year and I try never to miss a chance to find new things to photograph while there. This is only a hobby for me as I am a professional IT man as a profession.Time
This was taken at the observation deck at the visitor center. It was sometime after lunch as I was heading back to my uncle's house when I decided to go over and visit this location to see this bridge. Wow, what a view. It was well worth the time spent getting there as well as the climb down to the observation deck.Lighting
I always look for shots that will cast long shadows or well lit scenery. I prefer my landscapes to have a lot of cloud formation to add depth and character to the image. I find it helps set a mood to the final image. This shot was just a nice early spring day with some clouds stretching across the sky.Equipment
I used the original Sony RX100 camera. It was new at the time and I had acquired it right before my trip. The image was taken holding the camera. No tripod or additional equipment was used.Inspiration
This is one of the most photographed bridge in West Virginia and is something to see from their observation deck. The New River Gorge Bridge was completed on October 22, 1977 and at the time was the world's longest single-span arch bridge. It provides a short 1 minute drive to cross the mountain which use to take 40 minutes or longer. The steel arch bridge 3,030 feet long and sits 876 feet above the New River. It is a must see if you are in the area. It is near Fayetteville, West Virginia not far from Beckley, West Virignia.Editing
I did pull the image into Photoshop and adjusted the colors, white balance and saturation. I tried to get the colors to pop out as it did when the image was taken. A camera cannot product the stunning colors and sharpness as the eye can see. I am still developing my skills with Photoshop as I see it as a modern darkroom tool and like in the days of film some adjustments to the image are needed to produce the final desired output.In my camera bag
I normal try to always carry a camera in my pocket. Currently I carry a Nikon A as my pocket camera. I also have the iPhone 6Plus on me at all times. It too can produce some amazing images. My main camera for any normal photo trip today is a Nikon D7100. I currently carry the Nikkor 18-105mm, Nikkor 35mm, Micro Nikkor 40mm, and the Sigma 8-16mm ultra Wide Angle lens. The Sigma is a fantastic lens for anyone interested in landscape photography. I highly recommend the lens. It has no fish eye effect.Feedback
Some shots just lend themselves to be easy to photograph. I find taking many shots from slightly different angles gives me more options for the light, composition and success at capturing the image I have seen with my eye. I think to shoot this image you would absolutely want to get to the observation deck at the visitor center. Sometimes you get popup showers in the mountain areas here. So I always hope for a quick shower to drop before I get to the area I am photographing. It helps to deepen the colors and make the landscape more vibrate and also adds to having some nice cloud formations. I also like to shoot with different camera of the same seen. So a camera phone or pocket camera can be used to grab a couple of shots before using my main DSLR for the same scenery. If you are in the area do take the time to stop there and get some shots of this bridge. You might also want to go to the bottom of the bridge to shoot some shots from the river side. The visitor center can give instruction on how to get to Fayette Station Road to get to the bottom of the bridge. This road is now one way to the bottom of the bridge with lots of places to stop to take additional photos on the way down.