New River Gorge Bridge a couple weeks ago

[clfitz]

Hi, everyone...I'm a new member, stopped it to say hello and try to post a photo.
Hi, everyone! I'm new here, but I thought I'd post one of my photos anyway, just to say hello.

Below is the New River Gorge Bridge, in Fayetteville, West Virginia, USA. I'm often in the gorge with my camera, because I work as a bus driver for one of the whitewater rafting companies. I also occasionally guide there. I am also a Bridge Guide, which means I'm qualified to take people on tours of the catwalk!

Anyway, I liked the interplay between the clouds and sky, and wanted to capture something of the scale of the bridge, too. It's the longest bridge of its kind east of the Mississippi River, and is 876 feet high, high enough to stand the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument on top of each other at the center of the arch, with a little room to spare.

Standing underneath it, I could almost feel it above me. I was going for almost a silhouette of the bridge, because at that time, I wasn't worried about the details, although those are pretty cool, too. I just wanted its feel, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, comments/critiques are welcome!

Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 12-24mm zoom @ f/4.5. Shutter speed was 1/3200s.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[NRVVA]

Very neat image! I guess your shot is from the ground and looking up at the underside of the catwalk?

I worked that area, while living in Lewisburg, and watched it being built by US Steel about 1973-75 or so, and it was interesting how they built it from each side then joined it in the middle. I have taken a raft trip under it years ago and also went to Bridge Day last October. I hope to go back this Fall with a camera, so thanks for whetting my appetite to get there!

P.S. You have nerves of steel to get on that catwalk!

 

[Fred A]

Nice shot, and welcome to the forum!

 

[clfitz]

Very neat image! I guess your shot is from the ground and looking up at the underside of the catwalk?

I worked that area, while living in Lewisburg, and watched it being built by US Steel about 1973-75 or so, and it was interesting how they built it from each side then joined it in the middle. I have taken a raft trip under it years ago and also went to Bridge Day last October. I hope to go back this Fall with a camera, so thanks for whetting my appetite to get there!

P.S. You have nerves of steel to get on that catwalk!

Thank you!

I'm a native to the area, so I got to watch the building of it, too, but not closely. I graduated HS in 1975, and drove that road every weekend on the way to WVU and back home.

Fun story: I quit college and got a job hauling mine supplies. My first boss was a pilot, and had made a vow to be the first person to fly under it, which he did when the arch was completed in 1976 (I think.) There were policepersons waiting to greet him when he landed, but he didn't care.

 

[NRVVA]

I seem to remember that story about the pilot flying under it! I remember flying across it in a helicopter, from Lewisburg to Crown Hill, and seeing a fighter jet come roaring up the gorge, and the helo pilot saying he had to basically watch out for them every day because the military used the gorge as a training area for mountainous terrain flying.

I remember when Chevrolet made the S10 Blazer ads about the strength of the frame, showing a vehicle basically bungee-jumping off the bridge with a cable tied to its frame and the frame staying intact.

I am a South Charleston native and also worked in the mining industry for several years; what else was there?

I am going back with a camera when the leaves change, and try to get some shots from underneath, as you did. And I guarantee I am NOT going on that catwalk!