Skip to content

Pennybacker Sunset

I was sitting down to watch the evening news last Monday when I noticed that the clouds were starting to turn color. I made the mistake many times before of staying in my seat instead of taking advantage of the ideal skies. I was not going to make the same mistake again. So, I got my camera, lens and tripod and headed out to the Pennybacker Bridge lookout point to photograph the sunset. I’ve had my eye on this location for some time. I am so glad I decided to go. What a beautiful sunset! I’m not sure the image below properly reflects what I saw but it was one of the more vibrant sunsets I’ve seen in Austin. And, the calm waters were a bonus!

The Pennybacker Bridge (a.k.a as “The 360 Bridge” but actually named the Percy V. Pennybacker Jr. Bridge) was completed in 1982. The bridge spans across “Lake Austin” (which is actually the Colorado River, Texas version) and connects the northern and southern sections of the Loop 360 Highway (a.k.a. Capital of Texas Highway). I like Loop 360 as it’s one of the more scenic roads in Austin. Ok, so who is Percy Pennybacker? Well, he designed bridges for the Texas Highway Department in the early 1900’s and was a pioneer in the technology of welded structures. So, he got his name on the bridge as a result of his pioneering work in bridge making. Now when you go across the bridge you will know more about it.

Pennybacker Bridge - Colorado River
Pennybacker Bridge – Colorado River

This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5DS using my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 Lens set on 29 mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/20, shutter speed at 1/10th of a second and the ISO set at 100. This is a 7-image panorama cropped down to a 3×2 format. I stitched the panorama in Lightroom and finished the processing in Photoshop.

This image is best when viewed large. Click on the image to enlarge it. Also, you can access other images of Austin by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.

T Kahler Signature
© 2016 T. Kahler Photography

PS: Please don’t respond to this message as it will not reach me. Either post a comment or forward your response to my email address (terry@tkahler.com)

4 thoughts on “Pennybacker Sunset”

  1. Great shot all around. Calm water to capture great reflections and the colors with that sunset is just awesome. I am always looking for opportunity shots , sometimes I get lucky.

Please share your thoughts or comments:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.