Inventory: progess blog

Hoover Dam: The second camera is back on!!! This is great news. After the collapse of two highline tower cranes due to fierce winds in September 2006, both webcams had been out of service. All my captures so far have been made using the camera on the Nevada side of the Dam, but now that Arizona's webcam is up again I'm thinking of expanding the piece to a diptych. I started taking pictures right away.

This overview of the camera's reach shows a replacement crane to the left, the beginnings of the bridge on both sides of the Colorado River, Highway 93, the power plant and what looks like a multilevel parking garage. The tilt function has been restricted for reasons unknown; it is not possible to look further down into the Black Canyon.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: To my excitement, the placement of this camera allows for close-ups of the workers. At 9:21 AM, they already look heatbeat. These men are standing on a snakebed of steelcables, pipes and wires on top of a narrow concrete girder, 900 feet above ground.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: I'm intrigued by the porter-potty high up in the air. It underscores that each arch segment is like an island, only accessible by airlift. The guys arrive in a golden cage with their coolboxes stocked for the day.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Removal of the wooden forms on the second arch segment.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: This morning I checked in with the webcam for the first time in about a week. My heart stood still. Prefab steel beams have been dropped in, connecting the pillars! This is a huge change and will render much of my previous work unusable.

Soon though, my lament turns to fascination as I marvel in the spotless surfaces of the prisitine steel against the red rocks. The structure's unblemished satin finish reflects the harsh desert sun in sofisticated shades of gray completely alien to the surrounding scenery. Combined with it's sudden appearance it feels like a UFO has just landed.

And so here it is, exclusively on this blog, a requiem for the captures that will have to go unused:

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: I don't know whose birthday it was today, but it felt like mine. The guys appeared bright and early in the morning, wearing Hawaiian shirts! While they were waiting for equipment to be airlifted in, I had plenty of time to capture them hanging out at the edge of their eagle's nest. Flamboyent shirts, mirrored shades, sunburnt biceps, hard hats plastered with stickers -please meet the motley crew!

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Screendump of the day.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Red triangular segments are being attached to the beams. The camera is very busy, I get only a few captures of the men at work. Since this seems to be a pattern, my guess is that the construction company is using the webcam to monitor potentially dangerous work. Little do they know, that they hamper mine...

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: What are the odds? For a few weeks now I have been diligently stitching together the regions already captured, only occasionally checking in with the live action onsite. This morning though, inspired by beautiful shadows cast on one of the concrete pillars, I started to collect images. Just then, the golden cage arrived and two guys busied themselves loading up scrap wood...

That being done, the workers take their morning break -and so do I. When I check back in half an hour later, I can just smell that something is up. The one guy is holding on to a rope while talking on the intercom -or his cell? And then -he's gone! And with him, the scaffolding he was standing on! I get a sense of vertigo... I zoom out... I gasp. Several stories of scaffolding are swinging freely in the air, suspended from a crane, high above the gorge of the Black Canyon. The two guys are traveling with it. Then the network stalls and I loose sight of them. I hope they made it over to safety!

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Yet another mile-stone day. Early in the morning I discover unusual activity around the base of the crane. Soon it becomes clear that the spacy-looking frame is slowly being taken apart and carted away. I scramble to get some images before it is all gone!

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: The last piece of the crane is being disassembled. Quite a challenge to fit all this activity into one composite scene! The choices are tough and as always some good material will not make the cut.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: After much patient puzzling together, here the screengrabs of the result.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: It's overcast! A rare opportunity to capture cloudy skies.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Slowly I am assembling the view of the opposite side of the canyon. The composite grows outward like the bridge itself, the two structural spans reaching towards each other across the abyss.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: The days become noticeably shorter and the angle of the light is changing. Sometimes this produces beautiful effects: cables catch the last shimmer of sun light as the canyon walls are already engulfed by shadow.

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: Winter. The guys are all bundled up. I'm waiting for snow to appear on the peaks in the distance and keep a close eye on the weather forecast. When finally a big storm is on the horizon, the cameras shut down for days...

Hoover Dam -Arizona Cam: The winter light paints the mountains blue. More clouds and strange lens flares. Slowly the image is coming together. Patience! Perseverence!

send me your comments and questions

ij 08