A 7 vertical frame HDR panorama of the Mawddach Estuary, Gwynned, Wales. You can see clearly the Barmouth Bridge which carries the railway across the estuary. I was lucky to catch a large swathe of light against the darker background.

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742 viewings and 56 favouritings at 26th August 2011

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM Lens @ 76mm, ISO 100, f16, 3 bracketed shots for each frame -1, 0, +1 EV’s. processed in Photomatix Pro 4.02, stitched in Autopano pro and finished in CS5.

The Mawddach river rises near to Lake Bala and is joined by the Afon Wnion downstream from Dolgellau. The poet William Wordsworth called it “the sublime estuary” and reported that " it could “compare with the finest in Scotland”.

The estuary is a superb place to watch wading birds and gulls. A rail and footbridge runs from Morfa Mawddach Station to the resort of Barmouth.

Bontddu, set on the estuary hills which were the centre for the nineteenth century goldrush, experienced a brief boom at the time. Gold was discovered there in 1834 and prospectors flooded into the area. By the 1920’s the industry had all but disappeared. (Snowdoniaguide.com)

We searched hard for some Gold but alas to no avail!

The Barmouth Bridge (Welsh: Pont Abermaw) is a single-track largely wooden railway viaduct that crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach river on the coast of Cardigan Bay between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales. A footbridge is incorporated on the landward side and pedestrians can walk by the side of the track across the river on payment of a toll of 70 pence (cycles 30 pence extra). The toll is the same for a single or same day return crossing. The distance is about 900 yards (820 m). The viaduct carries the Cambrian Line, the main line of the former Cambrian Railways, which runs from Shrewsbury, England to Pwllheli, and carries passenger trains operated by Arriva Trains Wales.
The bridge was built by the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway and opened in 1867. As built, it included a lifting drawbridge section to permit the passage of tall ships, was constructed entirely of wood. The drawbridge section, at the northern end of the bridge, was rebuilt in 1901 as a swing bridge with two steel spans. (Wikipedia)

: C67GM-LQS4F-3B8UF

Featured in the ‘HDR Photography’ Group 19th April 2011