The White Bridge, Ramsey, Isle of Man

    Can you tell why it's called the White Bridge?


Since my last posting of the White Bridge, it isn't looking so white. In good need of a coat or two of paint. Currently a rusty tinged white bridge. Head over the bridge and it takes you across the Sulby river and ito the Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve. The hill in the background is called Sky Hill. The bridge is a single file only walkway. though I have seen motorbikes and cycles attempt it. The nature reserve is a hidden gem in Ramsey, just a stop out of the main part of the town itself. 


This post is part of skywatch, and other entries this week around the world can be seen here

School House Corner, the bridge

                              Off to school


School House Corner, get its name, from the local school, Ramsey Grammar. You may wonder why such a footbridge is need in such a quiet town. You can't cross this road when the Isle of Man TT Races are in progress, unless you use the footbridge. Well you try, but you'd be arrested for causing an obstruction.  You can walk into town fine, but for those that live on the other side of the road, it does avoid them getting trapped for hours on the wrong side of the road and forced to wait out the races. Unfortunately for the kids, the footbridge connects to the school too, so no excuse for missing exams.

Should the footbridge ever be closed and you find yourself unable to cross for hours, there is a pub on either side of the road to wait out the time. Just saying.

Ramsey Swing Bridge, you're not swinging anymore

                                  Grounded


Ramsey Swing Bridge is out of action at the moment, undergoing urgent repairs to an estimated cost of  £750,000 to avert a "major failure," apparently.  Well it was built in 1892, so perhaps it needs a bit of a facelift and nip and tuck. The bridge crossing the Sulby River, is a short cut, from the shopping area of town to the local park, beach, swimming pool and residential area. It's a long walk round without it. On the plus side, a chance to photograph the iconic bridge by night under shimmering light before it returns to its normal place.

The White Bridge

Single File only

Another Ramsey landmark,  and regular haunt, the aptly (if not imaginatively) named White Bridge, situated in The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve, crossing over the Sulby river.  It's basically a single file pedestrian only bridge, although bikes and motorbikes can be walked and not ridden across. It really is quite a narrow and sturdy, but perfectly formed walkway that allows you to reach the other side of the river without getting your feet wet. 


When looking for information about this bridge,  I've  just found the vaguest reference, or uncorroborated info. How long it's been here who knows, apart from the ducks possibly who appear to live below it, coming out for a waddle and food off locals. A mystery perhaps an older local can solve.

Skywatch # 86 The Abridged Version

For those keeping count, 25.

So, I said the blog would be back this week. Trouble is we've been having bi polar weather and my camera does not go out in the rain. Far too sensitive. Trawling the archives, what do I find but yet another shot of the most famous bridge in blogland, Ramsey Swing Bridge. So the game is back on to get 100 shots of this bridge at varied angles, blah, blah each one different from the last, and drive me slowly crazy in the process. A lush blue sky as a backdrop unlike today, which has been dull, grey and April showers all the way. Also, the seagull deposited a load just after this serene image was captured, which I woud have taken had I not been trying to dodge the fallout!


For more skywatch images around the planet click here

Narrow

ABC is bought to you this week by the letter N

Deep in the Nature Reserve, Poyll Dooey, crossing the Sulby River is this cute little bridge. Guess what we call it? Yes The White Bridge. OK, that may not be the most interesting, creative name for it but who cares. It is as narrow as it looks, although I have seen a trail of motorbikes and cycles of all varieties cross over it relatively safely, thankfully it is free of all other traffic. Mainly pedestrians only, oh and the odd meandering duck waddling from one side to the other. Dog walkers frequent here too, though I'm not sure what the dogs think about the waddling ducks using it as a walkway. As for the escaped wallabies from the wildlife park, to my knowledge I don't believe they have yet to find use for this particular area and are still hiding out somewhere slightly less open. I did say wallabies and don't even get me started on the Manx Fairies. They should not be using this bridge..... they have their own named after them South of the island!


For less florid and saner posts for the letter N see here. Mrs N. see you next year.

RAMSEY SWING BRIDGE - LINE, CROSS AND CURVE

Take it to the Bridge

17/100

Let's get this out the way. Skywatch is the post below for those who are just not interested in "the cult of Babooshka's Ramsey Swing Bridge."Just when you thought it was safe the swingiest of swing bridges in all the world launches another attack on the visual senses. Actually you have this image today because I feel like crap and my visual senses are impaired and I am not able to show and tell about anything else really. Absolutely full of crappy flu nonsense and even my Friday night tipple of Jack Daniels and Coke didn't help. I know, that is how rough I'm feeling. So back to the bridge. Blah di Blah. We are up to 17 0f 100 ways to leave your... no I mean capture one subject in a cool interesting ingenious super fantabulous way. Oh alright then let's do boring photo speak - how to use one's lens and camera brain to interpret and reimagine one subject captured.... no I can't do the oooh cleverly juxtaposed/composition/angle etc tonight. I'm too pooped. It has lines, shadows, crosses, arches, triangles, circles, curves, it has geometry. That will do. Geometry. I know you can all play hunt the bridge below and I'll go hunt my bed.


Click below for a bounty of bridges.
Monochrome
Sunflare
Poop Deck
Perfect Day

babooshka http://dailyphotoisleofman.blogspot.com ramsey daily photo

Achoo!

MONOCHROME ODD SHOTS - SWING TIME

Swinging into action I6/100

Monochrome Odd shots

Back to the Cult of Babooshka's Ramsey Swing Bridge. You know the story. Challenged to take one subject 100 different ways. So one of what the bridge actually does so many times a day swing which is a oddity to a lot of people. I'm sort of used to it now but it was a little peculiar witnessing this act when I first moved here. I mean bridges don't swing around by their own volition do they? So why does the swing bridge swing?



Take a look at the harbour and how low the bridge is. Now imagine boats, ships and sail masts heading towards the bridge. Doesn't work does it? The bridge doesn't lift and separate but swings round to allow boats and ships with masts to set sail in and out of the harbour. Certainly puts a whole new perspective on the photographic opportunities around the harbour for me. Have you noticed how the bridge always seems to be changing shape, elongated at the closer end. Of coure it's not uneven in the slightest just an optical illusion depending on focal point and lens used. It is a perfectly formed bridge. I'll have to show you a full on shot in perspective of course to see just how perfectly even it is. It is another res. image though as they all will be from now on and the high pin sharp large files are for sales only.



Click Katney for your odd shot quirks. Click Aileni for your monochrome maniacs. That's it off to re classify the images. At last a new laptop. No more maxtor. So did any of you ever start a sideline project of one subject 100 different ways?

babooshka ramsey daily photo http://dailyphotoisleofman.blogspot.com/

CRITTERS SUNDAY - DUCK CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Flamming June was a flamming cold, it was not Hotter than July and August has been just plain Awful. Welcome to the world of the Great British Summer! So only one type of critter I could post today to go along with all the rain, the one creature as they say it's nice weather for is a duck.

Now what duck this is I couldn't tell you. Anyone out there in Blogland know, throw the answer this way. Do you like his quiff? Along with his bright face his head feathers brushed back really drew me to him. I think he was all spruced for his this little duckette girlfriend, which is why I was able to snap him. Poor thing she never did turn up.

I wasn't a close to the duck as it looks. For this shot I had what's called a telescopic lens. Not as scary as it sounds. It's a longer fatter lens as opposed to the shorter slimmer wide angle or portrait lens. To get the blurred out of focus background, and the focus on the foreground in this case the duck it's dead simple. Just turn the zoom on full, and focus on whichever part of the image you want as the main subject, in this case the duck. The light was really poor so I had the ISO on 600 which is not ideal. The higher the ISO the less definition you get, but you can compensate with practise by honing in as sharp as you can on the focal point, your subject. Again it's a manual shot. Auto would have just bleached the white feathers into a block of colour due to the poor light, and the background would be too dark, not allowing the duck to pop out of the image.

So was that info of any use or was it as clear as mud? Just trying not get too technical, but impart the know how as simplistically as I can.

For more wonderful camera critters see MISTY DAWN Camera critters.