Fine Art Photography Blog

Amgen is a California-based bio engineering firm. Steel beams woven together to form what looks something like DNA. This is clearly a metaphor; the pedestrian bridge over the railway hugging Puget Sound leads to a state of the art research complex. Stylish and substantive, the bridge itself looks as nice as the view it provides:

This is one of my favorite photos.

A bit of luck was involved here; during the two minute exposure on a dark night a train came roaring underneath, burning the image of its headlights into the frame. The intense darkness forces the shutter open for what would normally be an unfathomable amount of time. Seattle’s cloud cover reflects the city light back downward, and given enough time, the wind carries them through the sky, leaving faint blurred traces reminiscent of Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Elliot is the main avenue along the waterfront north of downtown and bordering Queen Anne. Just to the west, separated by rail lines, is a series of parks: Myrtle Edwards, Smith Cove, Elliot Bay, and, ultimately, Discovery Park, one of Seattle’s favorites. The Helix Bridge connects the Puget Sound waterfront to the rest of the city, and is one of only a few crossings in the area.

Because of the convenience - a trail runs from Kinnear Park, near my apartment, down to Elliot - I’ve walked or biked across this structure a hundred times. A labyrinth of trails lead past loading docks where herons, egrets, and even the occasional osprey hunt:

Our city’s design commission has praised the “distinctly modern and elegant signature bridge,” which fits in with Seattle’s penchant for abstract, post-modern designs and outdoor artwork in general. While the architecture is similar in style to our Main Library or City Hall, this bridge is less well known.

Here we see the moon rising over West Seattle, with Alki ( or “by and by” ) lit up across the water. Almost entirely hidden from view to the left are the grain silos, used to load ships heading out to sea. This bizarre structure can be seen in the photo that opened this post, to the right, showing barrel distortion that makes the bottom of the frame look almost drunken.

Here’s a larger view of the Amgen (Double) Helix Foot Bridge.