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Daily Shoot 99: "Squares and grids surround us in our built environment. Focus in on some squares today and make a photograph."
This fence is a perfectly regular grid of squares when viewed head-on, but from this perspective it becomes something different...
Looking down the ship canal from the large locks gates towards the Magnolia Railroad Bridge.
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Ballard area, Seattle, WA
Kodak 66 folder
Ilford XP-2 120 roll film
Went out to the Ballard Locks. Pretty cool, I have never see Locks operate before, amazing when you think about what is going on and how they came up with they idea.
Daughter Juliette and I were at Ballard Locks near Seattle in late September 2008. The Sea Lions are having a great feast of the large salmon trying to make their way through the locks. The answer to the question at the end (Why do sea lions and birds swallow fish head first? is that it has to do with the orientation of the fish's scales; swallowing head first allows for a smooth passage with the grain of the scales.) From Wikipedia:
The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks located in Ballard provide a link for boats between the saltwater of the Puget Sound and the fresh water of the Ship Canal connecting to Lake Union and Lake Washington. The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, often called the Ballard Locks, link salty Puget Sound with the fresh waters of Salmon Bay, Lake Union, Portage Bay and Lake Washington.
Both tourists and locals enjoy watching the parade of sailboats, motorboats, tugs, barges and yachts passing through. Pass a sunny day watching boats of all shapes and sizes come into the locks, and the water level is adjusted to allow their safe passage to the lake or sound.
Stop by the fish ladder, built to allow salmon to pass between fresh and salt water. Glass panels make it possible to view the fish as they navigate their way through the ladder, adjusting to different levels of salt each step of the way. Occasionally, a clever sea lion will hang out, waiting for his next meal. For the historically-minded among you, the locks' official name is, "Hiram M. Chittenden Locks," and was built in 1911 so that coal and timber could be easily transported by boat.
A sign pointing towards the fish ladder at the Ballard Locks between Seattle's Lake Washington and Puget Sound.
this is the water channel between lake washington and the puget sound in seattle. the locks (visible in the distance) allow boat traffic to traverse this cut.
hdr image from three shots.
Photos from a walk around the Hiram Crittenden Locks (locally known as the Ballard Locks) in Seattle, Washington.
From the US Army Corps of Engineers website:
The complex of locks sit in the middle of Salmon Bay and are part of Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal. They are known locally as the Ballard Locks after the neighborhood to their north. (Magnolia lies to the south.)
The locks and associated facilities serve three purposes:
To maintain the water level of the fresh water Lake Washington and Lake Union at 20 to 22 feet above sea level.
To prevent the mixing of sea water from Puget Sound with the fresh water of the lakes (saltwater intrusion).
To move boats from the water level of the lakes to the water level of Puget Sound, and vice versa.
The complex includes two locks, a small (30 x 150 ft, 8.5 x 45.7 meter) and a large (80 x 825, 24.4 x 251.5 meter). The complex also includes a (235-foot, 71.6 meter) spillway with six (32 x 12-foot (3.7 m), 9.8 x 3.7 meter) gates to assist in water-level control. A fish ladder is integrated into the locks for migration of anadromous fish, notably salmon.
The grounds feature a visitors center, as well as the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens.
Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the locks were formally opened on July 4, 1917, although the first ship passed on August 3, 1916. They were named after U.S. Army Major Hiram Martin Chittenden, the Seattle District Engineer for the Corps of Engineers from April 1906 to September 1908. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
A sunny day pulled me out of the house and down to the Ballard Locks late this afternoon. This place never fails to deliver amazing photo opportunities.
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