Into The Fog

We've had a lot of foggy days and nights recently, which makes for some really neat conditions for photography. So one night after getting the kids to bed, I grabbed the camera and tripod and headed out again to try to get a few pictures. The first stop was the Big Dam Bridge, which had red and green lights for Christmas that seemed to fade out into the thick fog.



I wasn't the only one out there. There was some strange creature lurking in the water that would swim around and then crash into the water, creating a huge splash. I'm not going to lie, it scared the crap out of me the first time it happened. I'm not sure what kind of creature it was - an otter, a beaver, or something like the Loch Ness Monster?? I managed to get a little video of it with my cell phone:



After that I decided it wasn't best to continue lurking by the river so I headed downtown. The first stop was at MacArthur Park and the old Little Rock Arsenal. The arsenal was built in 1841 and is one of the oldest buildings in the city.



From there I headed over to the intersection of Capitol and Main Streets, which is the location of the city's Christmas tree. The tree was overshadowed by the Union Plaza Building, whose lights shined bright in the fog.



And a wider view of the tree with the sculpture "Helios."



For some reason there weren't very many people out and about on a gloomy and foggy night, so I managed to get a shot from the middle of Capitol Avenue without having to worry about being run over.



And one more shot of the Union Plaza Building, which was loosely inspired by this photograph by Edward Steichen of the Flatiron Building.



It was starting to get late so I hurried over to the Junction Bridge. This is the view from the top of the bridge (taken by the elevator, I did not climb to the top!).



And the view from along the bridge.



And a shot of the bridge from the riverbank. Was a little surprised at how still the water in the river was, which did make for a nice reflection.



I made one more stop, at the Arkansas State Capitol.



I walked around the grounds, and then ended up crawling along the wet pavement to get this shot of the Capitol reflected in a large puddle.



It must have been a slow night for the Capitol security guards, since a state capitol police car parked nearby and watched me while I innocently walked around taking pictures.



And a shot of the front, which you can see the blue "PEACE" letters that hang in the small circular windows. The lights were first added during World War II, and have been a part of the capitol's holiday light displays ever since.



The state capitol police must have gotten bored since they drove away. So I took advantage of the lack of nearby cars and got one last shot from the middle of Capitol Avenue before finally heading home.