While on vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota I had the fantastic opportunity to take a tour of the carving that included being taken to the top of the arm. This project looks pretty big from the visitor center but you really get a sense of how large the completed monument is going to be when you stand next to the head. I am not sure I will live long enough to see this completed since it has taken almost 50 years to get this far. A lot of that time was spent just moving tons of rock to block out the profile of the carving. Maybe there will be move perceived progress now that that is done.
This is a view from the top of the arm looking back toward the visitor center. It was taken with a Sigma 15mm fisheye.
Here is a closeup of the completed head.
This image gives a sense of scale to the project. Notice the large earth moving equipment that is on the lower ledge. This was taken from the visitor center parking lot just before the night time laser show.
IMG NOTICE: [NOT AN IMAGE URL, NOT RENDERED INLINE]
, 135mm f/2.0
