|
Building Bridges- Amateur Photographer
It’s funny how we take some things for granted on our travels. We get in our cars or on a train and travel to our destination, hopefully without too much stress or hold ups. We travel through towns, across countryside and probably travel over a bridge of one form or another. It’s the bridges that today we do just take for granted.
Bridges have been built by man in various forms over hundreds of years, with the sole intention of crossing a gap where ordinary tarmac can’t be laid. As merely a joining of a road, getting you from A-B, their purpose is purely practical, but there is something quite powerful about them. Whether spanning another road or a stretch of water, as a child I remember the anticipated excitement of knowing we would be crossing over a bridge on our car journey, the bigger the better of course, but even the small humped-backed ones that make your tummy jump if Dad went fast enough, were great fun.
Photographically for me, they still have great appeal. Built in all shapes and sizes, there are some very bland ones, but there are also many that can be described as architectural masterpieces. The engineering that goes into designing and building them is astounding. The sheer size, combined with the huge weight and tolerances that they have to withstand makes you wonder how they ever stay up.
I’m sure we could all name a favourite bridge of ours, or even a memorable one that you have crossed during a journey, be it the Forth Road Bridge, tiny Ashness Bridge in the Lake District or the famous Tower Bridge in London. All of these make perfect subjects and our many bridges are some of the most photographed manmade structures.
The key however, is photographing the bridge to look at its best. To do this you first need to identify what its prominent features are. Is it its sheer size for example, or is it its stunning location? In both cases you will probably want to photograph it in its surroundings to reveal these qualities. What type of bridge is it? Is it solid concrete built, girder or the suspension type? Does it have a strong graphic shape? Perhaps therefore, it’s better shot as a silhouette against a stunning sunset? Does it look better during the day, or is it beautifully lit up at night? Whatever the answers, all these factors need to be taken into consideration to make the most of the bridge’s potential.
Due to their location and positioning, you’ll often find that some bridges can only be shot from a distance and therefore a telephoto lens will be required to photograph it. Others however, are easily accessible and you can usually get down to the base on one or both sides. If it’s a huge structure, then this will enable you to illustrate its size from a low angle. You’ll probably need to fit a wide angle lens to fit the bridge in the frame from this low angle, but because the bridge will be leading away from you, this will of course produce a good composition in the picture, with the sweeping lines drawing the eye into the picture.
As with buildings, photographing an old bridge may need a different approach compared to shooting a newer one and it will probably need to be more sympathetically lit to show its full potential. Early morning and late afternoon produces a soft, warm light, ideal for lighting old stonework. A more modern built structure can also look good with this type of lighting, but it may also benefit from the stronger, harsher light of midday for a more graphic shot.
Once you have shot the bridge in full, then try fitting a longer lens and pick out the finer details of its construction. This could be the bridge’s intricate ironwork or just the repeating pattern of the supporting legs. Think abstract and many different compositions should appear by selecting small parts of the bridge. Think also about the film you are using. If your usual format is colour, try loading with black and white instead. Shooting graphic shapes on this medium often creates more powerful images than colour can achieve.
Next, you should make your way onto the bridge itself. Do remember for safety’s sake however, to keep well on the path and away from the road, but then you can begin to look to the upper reaches of the bridge for some new angles. This is a great way of photographing a suspension bridge for example, where its strong, graphic lines will look great against a polarised blue sky.
Although as mentioned, you will be sensibly trying to avoid the traffic yourself, don’t forget to include it in your pictures. Even in the daytime, a blurred shot of moving cars will give a great sense of drama to your picture and at night the rush of cars and trucks will be replaced by bright, car light trails, adding a splash of colour to proceedings. You’ll need to fix your camera firmly onto a tripod for the night-time shots, but you may also need to weigh this down with your camera bag, due to the vibration from the traffic.
 Speaking of night-time, this is when you will find that nearly all types of bridges, even the less attractive ones, can come to life. All it takes is a few carefully placed spot lamps and even the most mundane bridge becomes a thing of beauty. Additionally, if the bridge stretches across a river, then you have the added benefit of the lights reflecting in the water, greatly adding to the picture. Even if you don’t get a perfect reflection of the bridge and lights, any movement in the water will blur the lights, leaving an abstract of colour instead, which is equally appealing. As with most night shots, its better to shoot when there is still some colour left in the sky rather than wait for pitch-blackness. This will allow the bridge to stand out more, instead of disappearing into the night sky.
You should look upon a bridge rather like a great building. Check it from all possible angles, shoot it creatively and show angles that most people wouldn’t even notice. 
Shoot it low, shoot it wide and then pick out its finer aspects and shoot close. Using these ideas, you’ll soon have a great collection of pictures of our magnificent bridges.
|
