Bridges Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

This is an everyday (twice daily) occurrence from spring to late fall during the boating season when boats go to the lake. They have to raise all the bridges spanning the Chicago River to let the boats pass - one time in the morning and another in the afternoon. It used to be that the raising of the bridges was anytime. If there is a tall boat that needs to pass, they have to raise the bridges. The bridgemaster used to run from one bridge to another to do this. Today, because of traffic consideration, they schedule the raising of the bridges. The streets affected are the main thoroughfares going north south direction. For example, in this picture, the bridges raised are the Michigan Ave. bridge (the upscale shopping street of Chicago also known as the magnificent mile) and the Wabash Ave. bridge (lots of bars in this street).

Photo was taken during a cloudy hazy spring day in 2000; back then, I didn't care much about the technical - taking a picture was enough. I was using the cheapest film (Fuji ASA 100) - lighting conditions this day was uneven and I didn't perform any compensation in the camera. Scanned from a picture taken with zoom lens. Had to do some dodge and burning in some areas because of uneven lighting. Sharpened.

Note added after several critiques: after seeing the original, please view Ebbe's workshop. THAT is the picture I wanted to arrive at.

WorldGuru, WichardGraas, ymrk has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

avigur_11 (21271) 2003-11-22 11:32

OH, how I love these kind of bridges! Sharpness is not the best, and contrast a bit too harsh, but how I love those bridges. Thanks!

nwoehnl (118) 2003-11-22 11:41

I really like this one a lot, Ken. Not only because of the great architecture and the activity on the Chicago river we can see here, but also because it reminds me I want to see Chicago again. Lighting and the reflections on the water are great, but I agree with Yitzhak about contrast and sharpness. Also the picture should be slightly tilted to the left, and maybe a bit of the bottom could be cropped. Keep on bringing more of those!

Ebbe (9571) 2003-11-22 11:55

Good timing - the bridges are in a very dramatic angle. Your composition is fine but it still needs some adjustment, see my WS.

[workshop] [compare]

Liora (1857) 2003-11-22 12:29

Good timing and good composition, make for a very nice photo. A little over-exposed, but still intersting view.

Clochette (8076) 2003-11-22 12:44

A bit over exposed, but taking into account the very bright background, it was undoubtely difficult to balance.
The view would need a slight rotation toward the left.
Nevertheless, in a whole a very pleasant shot.

[2]

ninadev (5225) 2003-11-22 12:52

Quite interesting. Almost like the bridges are giving a salute to the boats. I didn't know there was a river in the middle of Chicago or so near highrises.

Gatis (899) 2003-11-24 11:50

Very impressive picture!

WorldGuru (172) 2003-11-24 20:51

Educational story with a beautiful picture! The buildings so close to the river is something I never knew existed in Chicago. It has a Venice like feel to it. Very intriguing! Great picture!

emax (893) 2003-11-25 19:40

Very good pic Ken. Beautiful combination with much water and the skyscrapers. The scene seems like from of Venice. The traffic on the river makes the pic alive. The raised brigdes makes a good composition.

whereami (1427) 2003-11-25 21:07

I like this shot. It's quite dramatic and the structure of the bridges complements perfectly the structure of the surrounding buildings. Yes, there's a tilt and it could be sharpened, but that's easily fixed. A good photo for sure.

Rhiannon (1726) 2003-11-27 9:42

A very nice photo with good timing. I like theese photos of those big cities with scyscrapers! We don´t have that in sweden and it fascinates me.
For me it looks unreal with the water and the boats in a city like that! Love it!

pascalbene (1730) 2003-12-25 17:52

Very interesting view. I didn't know such gates were existing. Two siecles seems to be there (XIXè et XXIè). The bottom could be cropped.

pamastro (7213) 2004-01-04 13:37

This photo has a real retro-futuristic look to it. It reminds me of the 1920s era art deco posters showing what a futuristic city would look like. Chicago has always given me this retro feeling with the way the skyscrapers run right up to the edge of the river and the numerous raising bridges and this photo really captures that feeling. The boats in the river, and the mechanical raising bridges, add a strong feeling of vitality and movement that also contribute to this feeling of how people at the time envisioned the clean and mechanical future. And because of that it also has a comic book feeling to it making it more Gotham than New York.

Technically it could be sharper but you couldn't really make the haze go away so it's a moot point. And as for the contrast, some say it's too much but I think it works well, the glittering water vs. the dark city.

[2]

roconnell (327) 2004-02-23 1:26

This captures the essence of the industrial Mid-West cities, like Chicago and Cleveland. The bridges add so much to the landscape and in the upright position there is much action as well.

jsec (2074) 2005-02-28 21:44

Wow, this is a giant image. Looks like something from the future. Magnificent!

thebig_d81 (777) 2005-03-31 12:27

You have the right idea. i like this shot. Never seen this before. Maybe just to rotate your picture a few degrees CCW.