Highest Blue, a photo from Midi-Pyrenees, South

Photographer's Note

My first picture was taken from south-east of the bridge, this one is a detail of a pillar, taken from just under the bridge.

Text from the Official Website & Chantiers

Français:

Le Viaduc de Millau, dessiné par l’architecte anglais Lord Norman Foster constitue le pont le plus haut du monde. La recherche d’un ouvrage esthétique a conduit Michel Virlogeux au principe d’un viaduc multihaubané.
Composé de piles minces, aux lignes élancées et d’un tablier très léger, il effleure la vallée en sept points seulement.
Dernier maillon de l’autoroute A75, il permet de relier Clermont-Ferrand à Béziers, faisant sauter ainsi le fameux bouchon de Millau.

Le viaduc en chiffres:
2 460m : Longueur totale du tablier
7 : Nombre de piles
77 m : Hauteur de la Pile 7, la plus courte
240 m : Hauteur de la Pile 2, la plus haute
87 m : Hauteur d'un pylône
154 : Nombre de haubans
4,20 m : Epaisseur du tablier
32,05 m : Largeur du tablier
85 000 m3 : Volume total du béton
36 000 tonnes : Poids total de la charpente métallique.

English:

The Millau Viaduct, designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, is the highest bridge in the world. The search for an aesthetic construction led Michel Virlogeux to adopt the principle of a multi-stayed viaduct, consisting of slender soaring pillars and a very light deck, just touching the valley at only seven points.
Constituting the last stretch of the A75 motorway, it enable Clermont-Ferrand to be reached directly from Béziers, so getting rid of the infamous Millau traffic bottleneck.

The Viaduct in figures:
2,460 metres : Total length of the deck 7 Number of pillars
77 metres : Shortest pillar
240 metres : Highest pillar
87 metres : Height of the pylons
154 : Number of stays
4.20 metres : Thickness of the deck
32.05 metres : Width of the deck
85,000 m3 : Total volume of concrete
36,000 tons : Weight of the metal structure

[Text from the Official Website & Chantiers]

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Post-processing: I cropped the original, sharpened, made it lighter, adjusted the contrasts and run it "softly" through NeatImage - especially because the size reduction made noises appearing along the wires.

I have posted the original as a WS to make it possible to compare. Maybe you would have chosen another crop?

leoj34, quetzal, Rinie_Hoff, kajenn, Coyotyto, bertolucci, dsidwell, timleahy, jafadabret has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

leoj34 (1185) 2005-04-25 12:10

waaouwwwww !!!! j'adore ce bleu zebré par les cables du viaduc,avec un commentaire a faire palir une agence de voyage!!
bravo viviane
ciao joel

gringofil (0) 2005-04-25 12:18

If not for your name below the thumbnail I'd say this looks more like an Olli shot...so imagine my surprise when I found out your shot this mgaical picture. The lines are just incredible and keep my looking and searching the image for more details. The deep blue of the sky makes for a nice contrast as well as background to the stark white of the bridge itself. Nothing to nit pick here...simply amazing photography (and good of you to keep all elements as simple as possible). Wonderful work, Viviane.

quetzal (3467) 2005-04-25 12:36

Excellent cliché, Viviane. Les couleurs et le cadrage sont parfaits. Et comme le texte est à la hauteur de la photo, tout va bien. Je vais traverser ce viaduc la semaine prochaine. Si le temps le permet, je m'essaierai à la photo.
Jean-Louis

toni_al (15873) 2005-04-25 13:45

Superbe composition, graphique et bien cadrée. La saturation des couleurs est parfaite.
Salutation
Toni

Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2005-04-25 17:45

Hello Viviane, I missed you a while!
Beautiful graphic one with a strong blue sky. Of course it reminds me of the Erasmus bridge, I can see that one every day. And unlike Fil, I thought it was from Carlos Martos, he has done some strong graphic pictures lately.
Very strong display of the bridge, Viviane it's so nice to scroll up and down.

kajenn (2406) 2005-04-25 19:18

You evidently have a special liking to blue, Viviane, just like someone here at TE has a special liking to 'Falu red' (no names!). And this is really outstanding - the way you shot it with a marvelous POV (you must have been standing on the bridge) - and then cleaning the image/colors in post process, making a great crop and framing. Everything about it is so graphic, it's simplicity in it's purest form and very mellow to look at. I understand the reference to Olli - also in the (Finnish) colors. Very well done!

I'm surprised to see that your previous upload 'Blue' isn't included in your theme.

I understand you've been to the south of France - welcome back. I'm looking forward to go there again - maybe via Le Viaduc de Millau - but I don't know when. Nothing settled yet - so many places to go. And I'd like to do a trip with my son next time - we'll see... ;o)

Coyotyto (1305) 2005-04-26 4:02

Bonjour Viviane,

Très joli détail ! J'aime bien les différents tons et ombres sur le pilier, et puis aussi ta composition, ces 'rayures' simples et puissantes, mais qui laissent une place importante au ciel tout de meme.

En revanche j'aime moins ton cadre. Enfin, ce qui me dérange un peu c'est que la partie la plus éclairée du pilier se fond complètement dans la bordure... J'aurais peut etre aimé avoir quelque chose qui les sépare, peut être un liseré bleu comme celui que tu as mis a l'extérieur.

Amicalement,
Youssef.

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-04-27 4:41 [Comment]

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bertolucci (13351) 2005-04-30 15:36

Bon soir Viviane, I like the archi-graphism a lot. The interplay of the lines is very strog here. The white & blue (fine saturated hue) conrast is great and I like the subtle shadowplay too. The framing is well adviced and daring considering the behemoth size and structure of this bridge. Well done, Bravo!
Amicalement, Bert.

keribar (43841) 2005-05-01 23:15

Bonjour Viviane,

Ici je me sens bien dans mon domaine.. Des arriere-plans simples et monochromes, et du graphisme artistique. C'est vraiment beau et même au delà.. Minimaliste peut-être. Bravo
Izzet Keribar

dsidwell (9771) 2005-05-08 22:49

What a fantastic image, Viviane! The simple and bold use of color and sky are just marvelous. Thanks for sharing!

alimo3 (6854) 2005-05-14 20:35

Bonjour Viviane,
une tres belle et tres graphique image.
bonne composition et saturation du bleu du ciel.
Bravo

Tom

cobraphil8 (82) 2005-06-24 10:08

Superbe photo, très graphique avec des gros contrastes de couleurs. Je trouve cela excellent, en plus la note est bien complète.
Félicitations & un très bon WE à vous

Philippe

timleahy (2193) 2005-09-08 19:27

Wonderful creative shot Viviane. A refreshing view. Simple but very effective composition. The colour of the blue sky is fantastic! Excellent - thank you for sharing!

.....tim

amihay_s (722) 2005-10-01 18:59

Great colors prespective & composition!

jafadabret (56497) 2006-01-20 13:25

Viviane, j'aime beaucoup le graphisme et le côté minimaliste de ce cliché. La composition est au millimètre avec un POV et un cadrage serré. Une très belle photo que j'ai placée dans le thème "Minimalism"