The Underappreciated Richmond Bridge

The Underappreciated Richmond Bridge, originally uploaded by Della Huff Photography.

The Richmond Bridge is kind of the redheaded stepchild of the Bay Area's three major bridges (the other two being the very much appreciated Golden Gate and the Bay Bridge). It was a low-budget affair when it was built, and as a result, it looks a bit like an erector set in the middle of the bay, especially when compared with the beauty of the other two bridges.

One benefit of the Richmond Bridge is the awesome views of San Francisco, Mt. Tam, the Bay, and glimpses of the Golden Gate. The other is that it connects the East Bay to my hometown, San Rafael.

I'd been wanting to get a shot that shows off the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in its best light for some time. I think I might have come close here, but I still want a few more shots with other sunset conditions.

Here are a few fun facts about the Bridge:

* The bridge first opened September 1, 1956
* It is officially called the John F. McCarthy Bridge, although no one calls it that
* The bridge measures 5.5 miles (29,040 feet) long. At the time it was built, it was one of the world's longest bridges
* The bridge recently underwent a retrofit to make it more earthquake-safe. The retrofit is intended to allow the two-tier bridge to withstand a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on the Hayward Fault and an 8.3 magnitude quake on the San Andreas Fault

Canon 5D, Canon 70-200L f//4, f/6.3@ 20s, ISO 50. No filters.

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