Ever since I started my Bridgetown project however many years ago that was, I have been more keen in my observations of bridges. At first it was just around town, but that has expanded to include the cities I visit around the world. For me bridges have become fascinating subjects. Some bridges really stand out, they are beautiful works of structure and architecture. Other bridges are much quieter, easier to miss in the crowd. The Granville Street Bridge can fall into that category. If you are driving over it, it is so wide and with relatively little superstructure that you could easily pass over it in a daze, blinking and having gone from start to finish without even realizing it was there. But you get at it from other angles and it starts to make its presence much more felt. Within its shadows, for example, is Granville Island. On a nice, weekend day this place teems with humanity. It is a destination that many drift toward. And this bridge plays a definite role in that scene. It was interesting to explore it at night after all the people had left but the bridge was still there. It always is. Ultimately I think that is what I like about bridge photos such as this; people come and go but bridges remain a consistent presence.

Hasselblad 500C
Kodak TMax 400

Tags:   Hasselblad 500C Kodak TMax 400 Vancouver, BC British Columbia Bridgeworld Granville Street Bridge night urban fragments 6x6 zaahphoto Canada film photography black & white bridge bridges Granville Island Nikon Coolscan 9000 Scanned at Blue Moon Camera

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I was thinking of a specific other image I had once made of this bridge on a similar snowy night as I made this one. I wanted to make sort of a companion image to that previous photo but from the other side of the bridge. Something similar but different. I take it as a good sign that over the years that other photo has stuck with me as much as it has.

Hasselblad 500C
Kodak Tri-X

I'll post the other image in the comments below in case you are curious to see what I am referencing.

Tags:   Hasselblad St Johns Bridge snowy night urban Portland Oregon Kodak Tri-X black & white monochrome bridge suspension bridge Pacific Northwest winter film 6x6 Medium Format

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Ok, I wasn't going to post a third image from this bridge but I totally forgot to mention one really cool bit of trivia. One of the first photographs ever made included this bridge. Louis Daguerre exposed a plate as a test of his new process in either 1836 or 1837. For a history sucker like me, that is candy. To photograph one of the first structures ever photographed is pretty cool. Here is the image, by the way.

Also, my little excerpts of this bridge don't really do it proper justice in terms of appreciating the whole thing. So click over to Google maps and take a stroll around and across it. I have started you on the quai under the bridge, if you turn around you will see a very familiar scene if you have been looking at my other images of this bridge. ;-) As the camera is set right now, you are staring right at the composition for this photo. But anyway, take a stroll, enjoy Paris for a bit. It won't take you long to see why I loved walking along the quai so much.

Tags:   Paris France Pont Neuf bridge mascarons Europe Hasselblad film square Kodak Tri-X Blue Moon Camera

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Some days I feel like a really mature six year old, and that makes me happy. :-)

Let me explain. It is a grand thing to be amazed by something amazing. It is an incredibly different thing to be amazed by everything. I have stood under towering waterfalls feeling like even if my feet were bound to that spot for 500 years, my heart would beat no less quickly in amazement. I have watched tall mountains swallowed by even taller clouds, only to come lancing back out within a breath. I have witnessed sunsets that turned the sky to fire. I have seen the most delicate of moments collide into something incredible and endearing. I have witnessed the miracle of both birth and death. The list of amazing events I have encountered can go on and on.

But I still see the world like that even when I am standing under a noisy bridge. Or peering at the pattern an electric cord has melted in the snow. Or talking to some homeless man with bad eyes about a camera as old as he is, that is on my shoulder, and handing it over to him and seeing the timid gentleness with which he accepts it. In other words, it is all amazing, and it all feels so fresh. I sometimes am envious of my four and a half year old son, Owen, as he experiences so many things for the first time, and it is all so new and he fills the many gaps in his experience with his imagination. And then I realize, we don't have to lose that as we grow older, but we can choose to lose it. And so standing under a wide swatch of concrete, I can look up and be startled and amazed by what I see. I can still see gaps begging to be filled with imagination.

And so I do. As often as I can help it. And I hope to never stop.

Tags:   bridges bridgetown night urban square film city Vancouver Glen Jackson I-205 light flare Hasselblad Washington shadows imagination spooky I kept hearing things in the bushes around me And they were big things Sometimes imagination also sucks structure Pacific Northwest spaceship stellar travel Blue Moon Camera

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I admit, I am awful at photographing in bad weather, but not for the reason you might think. Nah, my excuse is that I don't consider any weather bad weather. Cold? Love it. Snow? Love it more. Rain? Keeps places uncrowded, I like that too. Wind? You know, I really love the sensation of wind, windy days make me feel alive. Wind + Rain? Ok, bit more challenging but that is why we have Holga and pinhole cameras. Wind + Cold + Freezing Rain? Now you sound like you are getting into bomb cyclone territory and I was really envious to be on the wrong coast and miss out on that one.

But seriously, is there really "bad" weather or is there just weather you don't like? And what happens if you like all weather, or rather you see opportunity in all weather? I will admit though, that preparation is key. Get some warm gloves, a waterproof jacket and boots, a hat (do not forget the hat) and that will make a world of difference.

But yes, I don't ever seem to make any photos in bad weather. If I ever eventually find some bad weather and make a shot thought I will let you know.

Hasselblad 500C
Kodak Tri-X

Tags:   Hasselblad St Johns Bridge snow night Kodak Tri-X Hasselblad 500C 6x6 flash snowing Portland Oregon Pacific Northwest Cathedral Park cityscape urban

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