For this new look at a San Francisco standard, Ross Barringer had to go high—very high. "I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to take a 'tower tour' of the Golden Gate Bridge south tower," he writes. "Just as I was about to take the long elevator ride back down, I saw an approaching cargo ship and I quickly set up my tripod for what was my very last shot atop the iconic bridge."

This photograph was submitted to the 2015 National Geographic Photo Contest.

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