Westwego Camera

What this camera sees

The Westwego camera looks out from the West Bank levee across the Mississippi River. A two-lane road runs along the base of the levee in the foreground, and the mowed grassy slope rises to meet the water, so the river opens up wide beyond it. On the far bank, the tall blue gantry cranes of a container terminal stand over a long warehouse and a wharf, with a low treeline stretching off in both directions. Concrete mooring cells sit out in the water toward the near side, a streetlight arcs over the road at the right of the frame, and a big Louisiana sky does most of the day's changing overhead.

What to watch for

• Ships and barge tows working the river between the two banks
• The container cranes across the water as they load and unload
• The river's surface and color — flat or wind-chopped, and rising or falling with the season
• Weather rolling in: clouds stacking over the far bank, fog on the water at first light, and storms building on a summer afternoon

Best times

Midday, when the sun is full on the levee and the far-bank terminal, and clear evenings when the light comes in low across the water. Overcast and stormy days are their own show — you can watch the weather cross the river long before it reaches you.