Whalley Viaduct

Whalley Railway Viaduct, originally uploaded by Bay Photographic.

Drove over to Whalley today, mostly because I felt like it, partly because I am moderately compelled to do so every summer at least once. I took the road over the Trough of Bowland, which, oddly, is spectacular but unphotogenic in equal measure and arrived just as the sun disappeared behind some high cloud.
While I can see the attractions of the high street, the church and the Cistercian Abbey, I have previously found the railway viaduct that passes over the Ribble Valley near the school where I taught in the late 70's to be the most visually striking aspect of the village.
So, after having photographed the Abbey Gatehouse I tried to capture something of the enormity and complexity of what is essentially a half mile long bridge made of bricks.
I shot this with a Nikon 10.5mm fisheye so I could include the river and the footbridge as well as the arches of the railway bridge.
I quite like the two vanishing points and the discordant composition that ignores every rule, and thought I would emphasize it by desaturating the image after turning it into a 'pseudo' HDR file with Photomatix.
I also sharpened it twice.
Very off message, but it may be my last opportunity for a while.