Cheyenne River Bridge near Hot Springs, November 26, 2009

Bridge detail over the Cheyenne River in Fall River County, South Dakota, November 2009. (Photo by Daniel Binkard)

This bridge south of Hot Springs has been closed for a number of years now. Every so often I visit and see what I can photograph with and from it. This ultra-wide view is a near-far study, with giant bolts and tiny trusses. I originally did a black and white treatment, but during a recent review session decided to rework it in color. The shadows aren't entirely natural, but I wanted to keep certain details more apparent, especially in the diagonal divide between the bolts on the left and the rest of the bridge on the right. That diagonal would normally be much darker. Here, it allows the two sides to meet, to some degree.

It helps me in the bathroom, too

Wow, these are great pictures! What kind of camera do you have? I'll bet it was really expensive. You probably have one of those professional cameras. Those can take really nice pictures. Is that the one that has the advanced auto focus? You know, those can track a jet at 1000 mph. You don't even need a tripod. That one can go to 102,000 speed. I'll bet you use that speed all the time. Everything can be in focus there! I want to get a good camera, so I can take pictures like that. I'm saving up for it. Right now I have a Sony Mavica that I got on sale. I like that it's easy to use. You just put the disk in the computer and get your pictures. They aren't as nice as your pictures, but when I have enough money saved I'll get one of those really good cameras. Maybe I'll get the one with 24 megapixels. That way I can crop it really close.