The Lardner Report

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Getting Close

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(Pic #1) Close-up, peeling paper and paint on newspaper box, Santa Barbara, California. Lonnie Lardner photo.

“Show me something I’ve never seen before, or something I know well – in a way I’ve never seen it.”

  — Mike Dressler, Photographer, Time Magazine

My favorite moment when capturing an image comes when I spot something interesting within a larger scene. On a run through the streets of Santa Barbara I recently I spotted this old metal newspaper box with a patch of sea green shapes on its bottom panel (Pics #1 and #2). The ripped white paper poster seems to have been sprayed by a local tagger.

(Pic #2) Wide-shot, old newspaper box, State Street, Santa Barbara.

Blown up, it became a sweet abstraction that reminds me of a pattern that might make a cool background for a comic diflucan super-hero or villain like video designer Mike Henry’s take on Batman’s nemesis, Mr. Freeze (Pic #3).

Then, near the iconic Santa Barbara pier, I saw an awful over-ground pipeline stretching out over the beach, and zoomed in there too. As I moved in closer, I could see black and white striations that turned out to be bird poop. Again, close-up, it turned out to make a really nice vertical pattern (Pics #4 and #5). Even when nature “unloads” on us, it can be a beautiful thing.

(Pic #3) Left: close-up, news-box papered front panel. Right: Batman's nemesis, Mr. Freeze, illustration by Mike Henry.

(Pic #4) Close-up, Bird poop on Santa Barbara beach pipe

(Pic #5) Wide-shot, Santa Barbara beach pipe

(Pic #6) Contemporary painting, poop-inspired?

Today’s Pic: Stunning But Deadly

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Up close: Gorgeous hues and geometric lines of the Cold Spring Canyon “Suicide” Bridge – linking Santa Barbara with Santa Ynez.

Spectacular engineering feat still haunts locals.

“Jump up — not down!” screamed a dude in a pickup truck as we began to shoot a few photos of this magnificent scene. I should have known something was up. It only took a couple of casual chats with people along Stagecoach Road to figure out what it was.

Built in 1963, the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge embodies the perfect blend of strength and beauty. The 1200-foot crossing is by far the longest steel arch bridge in the state of California — a brightly colored architectural symbol of the Santa Ynez Valley.

But its history paints a darker picture — as 55 people have plunged to their deaths from the deck of its imposing span over a 420-foot canyon below. Eight lives lost in 2009, making it the most lethal year in the bridge’s history.

For years, residents have been calling it a “suicide hotspot” — many have been fighting for the installation of safety nets — though it has become a contentious legal battle in and out of court. But last week Caltrans announced it would begin installing grid mesh barriers on both sides of the historic structure; the project is expected to be completed this spring.

Bridge in the abstract: handsome contrast in color

Highway 154 (also known as The San Marcos Pass) is a sweet 33-mile ride through a portion of the Los Padres National Forest.

Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its load partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side.

Photos  by Josh Kaplan.