Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
The fourth of July, and Multnomah Falls was as busy as it gets. I waited a couple of hours for the Benson Bridge to clear, and in the last of the evening light it did — a few seconds with nobody on it. The usual frame here is vertical, taking in all 620 feet (189 m) of it. I wanted the bridge and the flora instead, with the water behind them, and a landscape format held that better. Silver and stone: it doesn't need colour to hold you — just the water, the arc of the bridge, and the gorge closing in.
The bridge has stood since 1914, crossing the creek about 105 feet (32 m) above the lower falls. What it spans is older by a long way. The Columbia River Gorge is cut through basalt laid down by lava flows some 15 million years ago, and at the end of the last ice age the Missoula Floods scoured its walls back, leaving tributary streams like this one hanging above the valley floor with nowhere to go but down. Stripped of colour, the scene resolves into structure: the arch and its balusters, the layered maple and moss crowding both edges, and the water reading as texture rather than as green.
A note on presentation: black-and-white landscape has traditionally lived on a matte surface, where tone and texture do the work. On a glossy surface the same image becomes something else — dimensional, luminous, contemporary. Metal spans the full range from matte through semi-gloss to gloss; they are different objects rather than better and worse.
ChromaLuxe Metal — Dye-sublimation suits the contrast here: the water comes off the aluminium with real brightness against the dark of the gorge, and the pale concrete of the bridge separates cleanly from the moss behind it. White Glossy is the high-gloss white base that amplifies colour, and the most popular choice for vibrancy; White Semi-Glossy gives a soft shine with rich colour; White Matte holds colour vivid with minimal glare.
Also available in: Standard Acrylic version · TruLife Acrylic version · Gallery Metal version · Fine Art Paper version
Made to order · Allow 2–3 weeks for production and delivery · Shipping charged at cost, never marked up · Shipping & Returns
The watermark shown here protects the online image only. Your print arrives clean.
The fourth of July, and Multnomah Falls was as busy as it gets. I waited a couple of hours for the Benson Bridge to clear, and in the last of the evening light it did — a few seconds with nobody on it. The usual frame here is vertical, taking in all 620 feet (189 m) of it. I wanted the bridge and the flora instead, with the water behind them, and a landscape format held that better. Silver and stone: it doesn't need colour to hold you — just the water, the arc of the bridge, and the gorge closing in.
The bridge has stood since 1914, crossing the creek about 105 feet (32 m) above the lower falls. What it spans is older by a long way. The Columbia River Gorge is cut through basalt laid down by lava flows some 15 million years ago, and at the end of the last ice age the Missoula Floods scoured its walls back, leaving tributary streams like this one hanging above the valley floor with nowhere to go but down. Stripped of colour, the scene resolves into structure: the arch and its balusters, the layered maple and moss crowding both edges, and the water reading as texture rather than as green.
A note on presentation: black-and-white landscape has traditionally lived on a matte surface, where tone and texture do the work. On a glossy surface the same image becomes something else — dimensional, luminous, contemporary. Metal spans the full range from matte through semi-gloss to gloss; they are different objects rather than better and worse.
ChromaLuxe Metal — Dye-sublimation suits the contrast here: the water comes off the aluminium with real brightness against the dark of the gorge, and the pale concrete of the bridge separates cleanly from the moss behind it. White Glossy is the high-gloss white base that amplifies colour, and the most popular choice for vibrancy; White Semi-Glossy gives a soft shine with rich colour; White Matte holds colour vivid with minimal glare.
Also available in: Standard Acrylic version · TruLife Acrylic version · Gallery Metal version · Fine Art Paper version
Made to order · Allow 2–3 weeks for production and delivery · Shipping charged at cost, never marked up · Shipping & Returns
The watermark shown here protects the online image only. Your print arrives clean.