Bridge of Honor

You may have remembered I posted shortly after starting my blog about the demolition of the Pomeroy-Mason Bridge in Pomeroy, Ohio.

Recently the false-work was removed from the West Virginia Side of the bridge allowing me to get some shots of the completed span. The span is a 1852 foot long 4 lane cable stay bridge. The bridge took over 5 years to build. The first delay was caused by an unforeseen slippage. The second delay in construction was caused by concrete that was used in the Mason Tower failed testing and a 20 foot section had to be removed and replaced. Then a form of shale was found that had to be contained and resulted in the construction of the 730 x 35 foot retaining wall. The wall was designed to depict life along the Ohio River in Pomeroy. Look for pictures to come to the blog soon. The final delay came when the form travelers had to be redesigned and rebuilt after a failure on a bridge under construction in Puerto Rico. The bridge was originally supposed to cost $45.6 million and ended up costing $65 million. You can read more about the construction of the Bridge of Honor here and here.

The bridge was named the Bridge of Honor to honor four star General James Hartinger of Middleport who was the first commander of NORAD and Congressional Medal of Honor winners Staff Sargent Jimmie Stewart of Mason West Virginia, and Corporal Edward Bennett. You can learn more about General Hartinger here. You can learn about Staff Sargent Jimmie Stewart here, and Corporal Edward Bennett here.

The bridge is illuminated at night making it a spectacular structure. I stopped the other night to get a few shots.

The first shot is from close to downtown Pomeroy looking up the Ohio River. The river was calm and you can see a wonderful reflection of the bridge in the water.



The second shot is a 5 shot panorama stitched together using Hugin. Both shots were shot using a tripod and a 30 second exposure.



Enjoy

Fine Art Prints

After selling a few prints here and there, I have partnered with The Home Place in Gallipolis to display and sell my fine art prints. I have 11x14 both framed and unframed and 16x20 unframed available at the store. 20x30 prints can be ordered. Please stop by and see the prints, they are located at 844 Second Ave, in Gallipolis. They are open from 10-6 Monday through Saturday.

The following prints are available.

The Bandstand at Gallipolis.


Hocking Hills


Boggs Road at Fall


Cora Mill


The Bob Evans Homestead


The Bandstand at Fall

Enjoy

Fall Colors

Unfortunately I did not get out to get as many photos of the fall colors as I would have liked but I did get a few mornings and evenings for some shots. The weather changed quickly this fall and the colors were not as vibrant. Also frequent rains created many overcast days and stripped the trees of there leaves.

It started out one morning leaving work and heading towards Tycoon Lake. Tycoon Lake is a man made lake built from 1957 to 1960 in an old channel of Raccoon Creek. The lake is very shallow and at its deepest is around 18 feet. Tycoon Lake in 204 acres in size surrounded by the 684 acre Tycoon Lake wildlife area. More information and directions can be found on the Ohio DNR Website.

On the way out I went out State Route 325 to Eagle Road. The leaves were just beginning to change. I stopped along the way to snap the road and the surrounding foliage.



Out at Tycoon Lake the wind was calm and the reflections on the lake were outstanding. I stopped at several parking lots to get different vantage points.

The boat ramp.



The Handicap Fishing Dock





The path to the handicap fishing dock.



On the way to the lake I noticed an older barn. It was still rather dark out so I decided to try for a picture on the way back home. It is an amazing barn. I wish the owner was home so I could get closer and maybe learn some history. The cupala was very large and of particular interest.



A few days later I got out in the evening. I left the house and headed out. Not far from home there is a white fence around a field of soybeans. The leaves were changing in the background.



Next I headed to Cora Mill. Cora Mill was built in 1845 along Raccoon Creek. In the 1937 flood damaged the dam and turbine at the mill and it ceased operation.



I also headed to Boggs Road for some scenic overlooks. The light was fading fast so only a few pictures remained.





On the way home I stopped at the Northup Bridge over Raccoon Creek. This one lane bridge will be removed and replaced with a concrete span in the spring. I am not sure of the age but this style truss bridge is being replaced all over Ohio. It had become dark. I had my 3 million candlepower spotlight with me so I set up for a 30 second exposure. During the exposure I used the light to "paint" the bridge structure. Near the end of the exposure a car drove by creating the red tail lights.



Thanks for looking and enjoy.

New Look

Over the weekend I worked on a new look for my site and blog. Take a look around and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!