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When many think of structures in San Francisco the first image to come to
mind is probably that of the Golden Gate Bridge or perhaps the Transamerica
tower and San Francisco's Skyline. Granted some will instantly recognize
the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge often just called the Bay Bridge.
If you visit San Francisco, you're likely to see the Bay Bridge first as it
towers above the Embarcadero and San Francisco's skyline and can be seen
from many locations on the eastern side of San Francisco.
Built roughly the same time as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge was
finished before the Golden Gate and supports two levels with the upper level
being westbound while the lower section travels eastward towards Oakland and
the East Bay Area. While much longer than the Golden Gate Bridge, each
suspension span is smaller and the towers shorter by a few hundred feet.
The Bay Bridge consists of two main sections, a suspension section and a
cantilever section on the Oakland side of Yerba Buena island which is
currently being replaced with a modern suspension design set to open in
2013.
This very large panorama was composited using five landscape shots taken as
May 5th's Super Moon rose above the horizon beneath the massive structure of
iron beams, cables and rivets. At full resolution
(4006 x 6377 pixels) you can
clearly see the individual rivets on the superstructure. If you look closely at the full
size image, you can see four seagulls at the base of the bridge. One on
each lamppost and one sitting dead center of the base of the main tower and
one directly below him on the cement base.
There are a number of other seagulls throughout the shot though they might
be hard to see. How many can you count?
© Darvin Atkeson
LiquidMoonlight Studios