Some of my favorites were of the covered bridges. You know I lived in Ashtabula County, Ohio for 32 years and never really paid much attention to the covered bridges there. I knew they existed and the county had a huge festival to celebrate them each year in October. People would come for all over the world to see our bridges, but they didn't mean a lot to me until about two years ago when we decided to take "the tour". There is a driving tour through the county that takes you to each bridge. Most of the bridges are still in use with the exception of two (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ashtabula_County_covered_bridges).
One of the bridges is the longest bridges in the US, the Smolen Gulf Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smolen%E2%80%93Gulf_Bridge). It's relatively new and Matthew's favorite. So we took a day during our vacation to take the kids to a couple of the bridges to play, for them and me!
Here is the Smolen Gulf Bridge. Below is the bridge in color, but I also tried it in black and white. I like covered bridges in black and white because it gives a feel of age. However, since this bridge is only about 2 years old, it seems kind of silly to age it. I did however turn the internal picture to black and white because it just felt right. We did take advantage of the walkways on the sides of the bridge as well. Very awesome!
This is the Benetka Road covered bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetka_Road_Covered_Bridge). I love looking through the bridges and wondering about the people who traveled through these bridges. This bridge was built around 1900 and has seen horses, buggies and a plethera of automobiles.
This is the State Road covered bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Road_Covered_Bridge). Here, the outside of one view is in color while the other is in black and white. I also looked at the inner bridge in black and white. For some reason this bridge drew me in and I found so many photo opportunities. It was almost posing, I think : ) Here are just a couple of my favorites!
While the Root Road covered bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Road_Covered_Bridge) was not my favorite, I still was able to get one good shot. This bridge was hard to shoot for a couple of reasons. First, the time of day was not good. The sun was too bright and at the wrong angle. But, that was the time we had to see the bridges so I had to work with what I had. Second, the clearing signs in front of the bridge kind of take something away from the nastalgia of the bridge. But, I still think it came out pretty good.
The last bridge we saw in Ohio was the Caine Road covered bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caine_Road_Covered_Bridge).
Each bridge is very similar, but yet they each have their own, personality. I enjoy looking at the bridges in both color and black and white. The color pictures give it a modern, current look. But the black and white give them a more "olden days" appeal. In black and white I can picture the buggies crossing the bridge on a Sunday afternoon visiting family or neighbors. Who would have known these "antique" bridges would be such a renowned success? Something that was built for necessity of travel so many years ago is now regarded as somewhat of a monument. Something many people will never experience, or understand.
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