Morning Lights in Hoquiam

When it comes to golden hour photography, I think the early morning hours are the most magical.

^{Simpson Avenue Bridge in Hoquiam, Wash., at the dawn of an overcast day. Simpson Avenue Bridge is a drawbridge: the center span opens vertically in two pieces to allow boats to pass. It is one of three bridges over the main stem Hoquiam River.}

Perhaps it is the promise of a new day that makes the early morning so much more magical. Or the fact that there are few people out walking at that time: even in a city park you can find a bit of solitude.

^{Looking upriver from Simpson Avenue Bridge. On the horizon: Riverside Bridge and Karr Hill. Riverside Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge, which means the center span rises as a single horizontal piece between the two towers.}

Lately I've been missing the early mornings, because I've been working an overnight shift and I'm either working or sleeping at that time. But last week I upended my schedule to go out for a walk at dawn.

We're just entering the rainy season here on the Pacific Northwest coast, so it's normal to have a ceiling of clouds like I found that morning. The lack of much gold in the golden hour drew my attention to the artificial lights.

Lights on the bridges. In the homes on Karr Hill. And I couldn't help but catch the lights of vehicles rushing past on the morning commute.

Through the steel trusses, I noticed the Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad swing bridge closing near the mouth of the river, where it empties into the Grays Harbor bay.

^{The PSAP swing bridge was built in 1908 (source). It normally stands open for river traffic.}

The closed bridge did not deter this lone fisherman from heading out to the bay for the last of the salmon run.

In the railyard on the west side of the river, they were loading what looked like wrapped bundles of particle board, presumably produced in one of our local mills.

In the first photo of the series below, next to the light pole, you can see what looks like a viewing platform. That's actually where bridge operators park when they need to open the draw bridge, but it does provide an interesting angle on the bridge and a view down Simpson Avenue as it runs toward neighboring Aberdeen, Wash.

I'm not sure if this is someone's name, or if the artist just forgot the 'y' in 'slayer'.

There had already been a few sprinkles of rain on the walk, but after I photographed the graffiti it really started to pick up. I crossed the street and headed down in search of cover, but first I had to photograph this recreational area at the foot of the bridge.

^{This is one of my favorite haunts on the Hoquiam River Loop, a combination of city sidewalk and walking path that runs along both sides of the river between Simpson Avenue Bridge and Riverside Bridge. Beacon Hill provides the backdrop.}

On the ground, I ducked into a narrow, low-ceilinged pass beneath the on-ramp portion of the bridge.

^{It's fascinating to me that they're holding up all that concrete with wooden posts, but this is timber country after all. Hoquiam was established as a logging town beginning in the 1880s, and we're still surrounded by acres and acres of Weyerhaeuser timberland.}

There were too many raindrops already on my camera for comfort at that point, so I packed up and headed home for my usual daytime nap.

One final note of celebration to end this post, however: I was able to shift my work schedule from overnight to daytime hours, beginning this week, so hopefully there are more early morning photography sessions in my near future!