Arc

These are the buttresses that support I-91 in Hartford. They form a perfect series of arcs. I took the picture with my little Kodak Z915. It's dark under the highway, and this morning was cloud-ladened, so the original photo--even after the usual tune-up--was ponderous and grey. I applied the Pencil Sketch effect, then lowered the opacity enough so that the original showed through, but the whole photo looked lighter and airier, which brings out the magnificent architecture.

This would have been a good opportunity to for the mini-assignment in terms of Symmetry and Patterns; however, I've been stopped and questioned once before when I was taking pictures here of the bridge structure. I don't think I look like a terrorist, but realistically, it does seem suspicious for someone to be stopped in a nearly deserted section of the city snapping pictures of the underside of a major highway. I decided it was wiser to snag my arcs and head on to work.

I was looking for another shot that didn't work out, but I ended up under this sweep of highway. I think it's an impressive feat--strong enough to stand up to the constant traffic of a major highway through the East Coast metropolis, but still with an elegant design. Accented Edges plus Diffuse Glow brings out the lines and as something I can only describe as an awareness of the stone.

The office building where I work is situated along side of a complex series of highways and reailroad tracks. This is one of the overpasses. I was intrigued by the massive repeating supports. The switchback stairs in the distance lead to a bridge that crosses the Connecticut River. To get the lighter renditon, I used a combination of effects: Carving, Tint Black & White, and Pencil Sketch.