Some people look at a cactus and see only a prickly plant they prefer to avoid. Others look at the same cactus and are swept up in awe that nature has created something so uniquely adapted to survive in the most challenging environments imaginable.

Power lines and substations share a similar dichotomy. Some people prefer not to look at or be near them. Others admire them and recognize what a triumph of engineering these really are.

INMR presents a collection of photos assembled over 33 years visiting power lines and substations across the globe. Whether intriguing and evocative, all demonstrate that while some decry power infrastructure as a blight on the environment, this is not at always true. Like buildings, power infrastructure can sometimes complement nature, adding the human factor.

The silhouettes of this ±500 kV line in northern Alberta, Canada greet the spectacle of the unfolding winter morning.

This image was captured on a smoggy December morning near a town in central China. In the foreground, as for centuries, an elderly yet plucky figure relies only on the power of her back. Looming behind her, shrouded in the morning mist, a mammoth 1000 kV substation delivers enough power to light the homes of millions. How do you beat such perfect juxtaposition?

Birds and power lines have always had an ‘uncomfortable’ relationship. Birds can impact power line reliability but have also themselves been victims and in staggering numbers. In this extraordinary image taken in the desert near Namibia, a power pole provides the only available structure to support a colony of sociable weavers. These extraordinary birds build the world’s largest nests, housing hundreds of families each, and broad enough to give the only shade available in this area of the Kalahari. A rare case of symbiosis of the avian and power engineering worlds.

The line of 400 kV transmission towers connecting to the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark are a unique example of Danish design, even when it comes to power engineering. But if looking for the real inspiration behind these stylistic towers, it is perhaps necessary to arrive on an early August morning, just in time to see the local reindeer herds prancing the lush meadows beneath.

The Kunlun Mountains provide the dramatic backdrop for one of one the most daunting power line projects ever – the ±400 kV link between Qinghai Province of China and Lhasa in Tibet. Average height exceeds 4000 m and, with permafrost, intense UV and nothing but kilometer after kilometer of remote wilderness. This image captures the majesty of the rugged alpine wilderness as well as the bold structures engineers have designed to traverse it.

The steppes of Mongolia have for centuries been trod by the thunderous hooves of Genghis Khan’s armies and the generations both before and after. So feared was the power of these hordes that China built the world’s largest man-made structure in a failed attempt to keep them out. Now, the once mighty Mongol horsemen are but a passage in history and the only power crossing these ancient, tranquil grasslands comes from this solitary line.

The Swedish countryside is dotted with towns separated by swaths of forests and lakes. A tiny country measured by population, Sweden nevertheless rose to become an electrical engineering powerhouse. Here, against the backdrop of the setting sun, three towers stand like soldiers, saluting this tradition.

The HVDC line linking the South and North Islands of New Zealand passes myriad natural landscapes and also vast stretches of pastoral meadows – a constant reminder that in this country sheep outnumber people 20 to 1.

It’s hard to imagine a more tranquil setting than this exquisite, multihued area beside a dam near Stellenbosch, South Africa. Nor is the peaceful solitude disturbed by the simple yet elegant line that passes through it. If anything, the poles receding into the distance only welcome you into this magical valley, carved from the rugged, craggy mountains that frame it. Here, nature maintains supremacy, even as it accepts power infrastructure.

People everywhere see lattice transmission towers. But it’s good fortune indeed to arrive at the precise time they are being erected. This image from a remote area in north-central China shows the intended finished structure looming over workers too engaged in their work to notice the unlikely presence of a foreigner photographing them.

While driving Germany’s famed autobahns, out of the corner of the eye could be seen activity around some transmission towers on a distant hill. The next exit and searching the country roads to find this place, the reward was to arrive just as this worker was ascending to the cross-arm. The late afternoon sun and dramatic pinkish clouds made it appear he was scaling to the gates of heaven.

Anyone fortunate enough to drive the length of the beautiful Florida Keys may be tempted to stop at one place marked for only fishermen. Here it is only the fish, the birds that live on them and a plucky line daring enough to transport power across this sea of salt.

The Eagle Tower design in Denmark is one of the most photographed power structures in Europe. But perhaps no image offer this perfect angle and against such a background of sky. It really does appear that the structure is about to unfold its wings and fly away.

The Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute is one of China’s longest serving and still most influential design and testing institutions. If visiting on a smoggy summer afternoon, the outdoor infrastructure can be truly amazing, especially viewed against the iridescent sky.

This is a favorite image. Taken near Germany’s famed ‘porcelain town’ of Meissen, it is at once simple and profound, combining a spectrum of colors, textures, shadings and rolling perspectives. If only a French impressionist painter could have been there …

Capturing the full scale of transformer bushings would be a true challenge and require the photographer to be positioned inside the transformer. Not so in the case of this spare at the Converter Substation near Geermu in China. The area lies at high altitude and, being surrounded by a vast desert, the sky is a clear and of a pure blue rarely seen elsewhere. A perfect backdrop for these sweepingly elegant silicone-housed bushings.

Another power line image worthy of a French impressionist is South Africa’s first application of concrete towers. Everything works in this image – from the fence, to the golden wheat fields to the purplish-hued clouds to the faint moon gazing serenely down over all the tranquility.

Another favorite image showed a line passing over the sea that surrounds the southern tip of Florida. Yet as challenging as that environment might be, this plucky tower dares stand in the center of a concentrated body of alkali chemicals located along a salt sea in the vast Chinese desert. With the early morning dew, this must be one of the most severe environments imaginable.

Here is another wonderful juxtaposition. A farmer tills his small plot by hand in the shadow of a monumental 1000 kV tower – a visual reminder that human progress can pass over some segments of society.

These strange towers, seemingly standing alone in the plains of Africa, could almost be a mating pair of mythical horned creatures – the male tall and lean and the female sturdy and stout.

This image taken from the perfect vantage point, show a transmission line near Den Haag, in the Netherlands. What is remarkable, and abundantly evident from this perspective, is how little of the sky it interferes with and well its structures blend into the environment on both sides of the substation.

What could be simpler electrical infrastructure than that shown in this exceptionally serene yet colorful image taken in the Kalahari Desert?

This rural line passing near the Painted Desert in New Mexico conveys a mood of tranquil beauty yet majesty, due to the distant rocky outcrops. Bird protective devices only add to the virtual sea of different hues.

Imagine being reduced to the size of an ant? One certainly gets this feeling when gazing up at this 500 kV phase transposition tower. The huge tower is likely a contender for world record number of insulator discs supported on only one structure – 896 in all.

The sky is the only ‘victim’ in this photo of a virtual army of towers marching past the 765 kV Sterrekus Substation near Cape Town. Yet, in spite of the carnage to the landscape, it’s hard not to sense that these behemoths are actually the allies of progress.

‘Towers on Stilts’ is perhaps the most suitable title for this photo taken in the vast farmlands near Bakersfield, California. The towers seem to want to have nothing to do is what is going on beneath them – perhaps to protect their precious cargo of power against the onslaught of agricultural chemicals?

Only a few transmission towers worldwide are equipped with elevators but none more imposing than this structure, one of two such ‘twins’ across the straits near Cadiz, Spain. This unique perspective along the elevator’s route conveys a wonderful sense of what its occupants might see and feel as they rise to the top.

Environmentalists no doubt did all they could to keep power lines out of the Grand Canyon. But they did not succeed, as evident from this solitary line that drops suddenly and dramatically to serve the power needs of people hardy enough to hike down to the canyon floor. It’s the most amazing backdrop imaginable for any power pole, in this case equipped with a device to keep the park’s many raptor species from nesting on it.

Simplicity and endurance of power line design from bygone days is the essence of this recent image of a line in Germany. The setting sun adds drama to showcase how much has changed but also how little has changed.

Only mountain and tower share this lonely stretch of desert near Monument Valley in northern Arizona. This photo showcases one of nature’s greatest achievements alongside one of our own.