Modern building with diagonal lines
One Word Sunday,  Photographic techniques,  Themed galleries

Gallery: follow the lines

February 4, 2024 / 40 Comments

A line is a dot that went for a walk

Paul Klee

In a photo our eyes tend to do as that dot does in Klee’s description. They instinctively take a walk along the line to see where it leads. When it leads to a focal point in the image we talk about leading lines. But wherever they lead, lines can add so much interest to a photo.

And we can find them everywhere. Fences, walls, stairs, bridges: when we build we so often use straight lines. And nature too has its share of straight lines, although of course lines don’t have to be straight, and in nature more often than not they aren’t. A line is a line, whether the dot went straight or took a more meandering route.

However for Debbie’s One Word Sunday theme this week I’ve opted to focus on straight lines, as to include curves as well would potentially mean sharing almost every photo I’ve ever taken! My images therefore are, unsurprisingly, all of manmade lines.

So let’s take some dots for a walk and see where they lead us.

Modern building with diagonal lines

The Musée Albert Kahn, Paris

Another view of the Japanese-inspired building in my feature shot, which houses Albert Khan‘s photo archives. Despite appearances, this isn’t a black and white shot.

Bright yellow shipping containers used as a building

At Trinity Buoy Wharf, east London

Trinity Buoy Wharf is a cultural hub on the Thames, based in a mix of old brick warehouses and brightly painted repurposed shipping containers. It was developed on a once derelict site formerly home to the workshops of Trinity House, the organisation responsible for Britain’s lighthouses, lightships etc.

Metal girders in the sea

The remains of the West Pier in Brighton

The pier was destroyed by storms (2002) and fires (2003).

Road running under concrete beams

High Level Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne

This is a double level bridge with the railway on the top level and this road running beneath it.

Symmetrical image of bridge arches and suspension cables

The Brooklyn Bridge, New York City

In my view (and that of many others) the most beautiful of the bridges spanning the East River and linking Manhattan with Brooklyn.

Looking up at a suspension bridge with people on it

Near Kailashnath Mahadev in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Kailashnath Mahadev is the second tallest Shiva statue in the world and is built on a hillside. Pilgrims and tourists cross this suspension bridge over the road at the start of their walk up the hill. I grabbed this shot from the car as we passed beneath it.

Looking along a narrow bridge among trees

Hanging bridge, Costa Rica

One of eight hanging bridges on the three kilometre walk through the cloud forest in Selvatura Park.

The stairs up the rock of El Peñol in Colombia

You can see my husband and our guide waving to me as I opted out of the climb and waited below!

Zigzag stairs up a rock face
Diagonal lines on a wall and a tree in front

The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø, Norway

A close-up look at part of the wall; the concrete slabs are designed to suggest shards of ice or maybe an iceberg.

Fence near Newhalem, North Cascades, Washington State

Near the Gorge Powerhouse at the start of the walk to Ladder Creek Falls.

Lichen covered fence
Small section of railway line and old carriage

At Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village, Washington State

A restored Great Northern Railway caboose sits on a short length of track, going nowhere but offering a good example of ‘leading lines’.

Silver coloured railroad car

Old railroad car at the Santa Fe Railyard, New Mexico

The railyard is an arts, culture and community space developed around the Santa Fe Depot.

Tracks of a vehicle on a snow covered road

A snowy road in the Lofoten Islands

Taken on a brief visit to the islands on the last day of May, the eve of meteorological summer!

Simple fence on a beach with plants growing

Fence on the dunes, Praia do Faro, Portugal

What a contrast to the previous photo, and this one taken in mid April!

Wooden planks with a lizard peeping between them

Our deck at Iharana Bush Camp, Madagascar

The little creature peeking out is a day gecko.

Leaded window with squares of coloured glass

A window in Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, Oak Park, Chicago

Wright designed his house and studio in Oak Park to showcase his distinctive Prairie style.

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