The fog from that morning got thicker as the day went on, and by evening there was hardly any visibility. Which was, of course, perfect time to get out and take pictures again. After getting both kids to bed I hurried over to the Big Dam Bridge.
It was a little eerie to see the bridge seem to fade out and disappear into the fog.
Despite the thick fog, there were still several people out walking on the bridge.
As I was standing here taking photos, a loud siren started to blare. I'm not going to lie, it was a bit startling. I may or may not have jumped and did a little scream. Apparently it's a warning to boaters (which there weren't any) that water was about to released from the dam.
I walked away from the siren, and followed the bridge as it passed over the Murray Lock. From here, the buildings and lights drifted off into the foggy expanse of the river.
And one last shot from the bridge, as the fog swallowed and enveloped the night.
It was another foggy night, so after getting the kids to bed I grabbed the camera gear and headed out to the Big Dam Bridge. This is the view of the bridge, and its purple lights, reflected in a rain puddle.
From there I hurried over and started walking across the bridge, which runs for 4,226 across the Arkansas River. But with the thick fog, it was hard to see all the way across the river.
And one last shot from the bridge. After this the fog just started to fade away, almost like magic.
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.
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.
It's been an awfully hot and dry summer this year. The lack of rain has dried up waterfalls in the Ozarks and the grass in my yard. And it has lowered the Arkansas River enough to where it looks like no water is going through the dam at the Big Dam Bridge, which means that there might be some good reflections of the bridge lights at night. So I headed out there recently to see if that were the case:
It was actually fairly crowded down there along the riverbank. There were lots of people out there fishing, including one guy who caught a large catfish (I think that's what it was - it was dark). He tossed it back in the river, creating ripples that briefly messed up the reflection.
Earlier this month, Little Rock's Junction Bridge was lit with purple lights in honor of Brent Renaud. Brent was a journalist who was killed by Russian soldiers while reporting on the war in Ukraine. The Little Rock native was an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and journalist, and was a founder of the Little Rock Film Festival.
After his tragic death, condolences included:
"I'm devastated by the loss of my close friend and long-time producer, Brent Renaud. The world and our profession has lost one of our greatest legends. Hug your family, your colleagues, and watch the news. People are dying to bring it to you."
- Christof Putzel, a documentary filmmaker and television correspondent
"My heart is heavy at the passing of American journalist and Little Rock native Brent Renaud. He lost his life while covering the pure evil that is the invasion of Ukraine. An award-winning filmmaker and journalist, Brent made great contributions to the culture and arts of Arkansas. Susan and I are praying for Brent's family and all those affected by his loss."
- Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson
"Today, a US journalist was killed in Ukraine. Before him, others have been targeted, murdered, injured or kidnapped. Our thoughts are with all those journalists driven by courage and an ideal: the freedom to inform. This freedom is fundamental to our democracies."
- French President Emmanuel Macron
"A talented and brave journalist, Brent lost his life while documenting human tragedy, devastation and suffering of millions of Ukrainians. With all his courage and determination, he travelled to the most dangerous war zones to film the unprecedented ruthlessness and evil, also inflicted upon our nation by the aggressor state.
The people of Ukraine, who are fighting against the Russian regime to defend their homeland and democracy in the world, are mourning with you.
We are thankful for Brent for his professionalism and commitment to the values of compassion, ethics and justice.
May Brent's life, service and sacrifice inspire generations of people all over the world to stand up in fight for the forces of light against forces of darkness."
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The Big Dam Bridge was also lit that night with the colors of the Ukrainian flag:
It was a cold and drizzly night when these pictures were taken, and there wasn't anyone else out at the Big Dam Bridge. I wasn't alone however, there was a large flock of pelicans resting in the waters of the Arkansas River. During the long exposure, they moved and drifted in the currents of the water.
Recently I made another trip to the Big Dam Bridge, which is a great place to visit (for exercising or just taking pictures if you're lazy like me). The bridge was built in 2006, and it's hard to believe that it's now 15 years old. I remember before it was built and people were complaining how it was a waste of tax dollars and that no one would bother using it. But since it opened the bridge has proven to be a popular place for visitors. There were several people out biking and walking while I was out there taking pictures.
It was dark when I was out there, so there wasn't much of a view from the bridge. You couldn't really see much, besides the huge houses on the hill overlooking the dam and the line of traffic on the nearby I-430 Bridge. This part of the Murray Lock and Dam stood out, as it stretched out into the inky darkness along the River.
My big present under the Christmas tree this year was a brand-new fisheye lens. So one night after getting the kids to bed, I headed downtown to make sure the lens worked ok. I ended up at the Clinton Park Bridge and started to set up the camera and tripod. But even though the trip was meant to test out a new lens, the first picture here is actually one taken with the iPhone (and a neat photo app called Spectre). There was a full moon that night, which is what made the clouds look so bright in the sky.
And here is the view of the bridge with the fisheye....
And the view of the bridge from the shoreline, with the Little Rock skyline poking out underneath the bridge.
And then the view from along the shore on the other side of the bridge, but for the next two shots I actually swithced over to a wide-angle lens. I was amazed at how still the river was, which created some nearly-perfect reflections in the water.
The reflections got messed up at one point because some sort of critter swam through the water nearby (it may have been an otter, or maybe something like the Loch Ness Monster?). Luckily it didn't attack anyone standing by the water taking pictures.
I headed over to the Junction Bridge and tried to get a few pictures with the fisheye lens. This is the view of the bridge, the skyline and the full moon hanging in the sky overhead.
It's amazing how many stars the fisheye lens was able to pick out in the sky (at least I hope those are stars and not just dead pixels in the camera). This is the view of the Main Street Bridge and the Junction Bridge, and in the middle is a sculpture named "The Center" by an artist named Chapel.
It was starting to get late, but I made one last stop at the State Capitol. I'm kinda surprised that I didn't get a visit from the security guards as I set up the camera and tripod right by the fancy brass doors at the front of the building. This is the shot looking straight up towards the columns, still showing off their festive holiday decorations. In the distance you can see Capitol Avenue and the rest of downtown.
I was able to get out again last night, and headed over to the Big Dam Bridge for a few pictures with the fisheye. This is the view of the bridge and the river, which also had some nice reflections (I'm guessing because the water level is really low right now).
And the view looking downriver, with the sky a mix of soft blue from the moon and warm orange from the city lights.
I switched out lenses to the wide-angle for this last shot, with some low clouds quickly moving across the sky above the Big Dam Bridge.
I used to live close to the Big Dam Bridge back in the olden days when I was single and didn't have any kids, and would always make a quick visit there to take some pictures if it looked like there would be a cool sunset or something. I haven't been over to the bridge very much since moving across the river, but last week a big dam fog had settled across the area and I hurried to make a return visit to the Big Dam Bridge.
The fog was so thick that it was actually obscuring the end of the bridge across the river. The river was running high, with muddy water splashing into the rocks that sit a few feet above where the sidewalk usually runs.
I walked across the bridge, where the fog was reflecting back the blue lights above the rushing waters below.
From there I headed back across the river and drove over to the Two Rivers Park Bridge, which was also nearly hidden under a thick blanket of fog. The bridge straddles the Little Maumelle River right by its confluence with the Arkansas River. Oddly enough, the waters at the Big Dam Bridge were running high while the waters below the Two Rivers Bridge were oddly still. The reflection was almost mirror-like, broken only by some sort of critter that swam by (I hoped it was an otter, and not a gator. I really couldn't tell what it was).
On the other side of the bridge a few trees were standing above the waters, backlit by the streetlights near the boat ramp.
And then one last shot, looking at the bridge as it disappeared off into the fog.
