Bridge through the reeds Photo

Photographer’s Note

Smith Point Bridge in Shirley New York.

THE ORIGINAL SMITH POINT BRIDGE: At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a one-quarter mile-long wooden bridge connecting Mastic Beach on the Long Island mainland and the eastern end of Fire Island. Several years after it was built, the bridge was wrecked by ice flows in Great South Bay. The bridge primarily provided access to the old Smith Point Hotel, which ultimately was destroyed by fire.

THE NEW SMITH POINT BRIDGE: In July 1955, the Shirley-Mastic Chamber of Commerce invited 12,000 people to break ground for the new Smith Point Bridge to Fire Island. The new one-quarter mile bridge represented the first step by Suffolk County to preserve 810 miles of shore frontage for public purposes. Included in the bridge project was the development of Smith Point County Park, a facility with a beach frontage of 6,000 feet along the Atlantic Ocean. Although the new county park was not of the same scale as the state parks developed by Moses, the park was to include bathing and camping facilities.

The 1,216-foot-long bascule drawbridge, which has a main span of 80 feet, has a double-leaf, steel-deck design. In the closed position, the span has a vertical clearance of 22 feet. The bridge carries two lanes (one lane in each direction) over its 22-foot-wide roadway, which is flanked on each side by sidewalks. The entire structure was built on concrete piles, with a reinforced concrete roadway laid on a steel beam superstructure
The new Smith Point Bridge, which is the southern terminus of the four-lane William Floyd Parkway (Suffolk CR 46), opened on July 4, 1959. At the dedication ceremonies, Robert Moses, who did not play a direct role in the span's construction, praised Suffolk County officials for their efforts in preserving the beach for public purposes and for building the bridge.

However, there is speculation that Moses may have played an indirect role in the bridge's construction. In the 1950's and early 1960's, he planned an eastern extension of the Ocean Parkway eastward from Robert Moses State Park along the 32-mile-length of Fire Island. The Smith Point Bridge may have provided an eastern access point to the proposed Ocean Parkway Extension, which was killed in 1964 with the establishment of Fire Island National Seashore. Hints of the proposed parkway are found at the western end of the dual-carriageway Fire Island Beach Road (Suffolk CR 75), where there are "roadways to nowhere."

claudeD, kiwi_explorer, JorgeCK, tedesse, plimrn, josepmarin, ahmetgedikli, dmarizz, steliosk, Charo, zhelach has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mehmetemin (7217) 2008-04-21 23:11

Hi angela
excellent sunset
Amazing view and colours!
It is perfect...!
Greetings
Mehmet Emin

claudeD (11332) 2008-04-21 23:44

Hello Angela,

very good sunset shot from NY.I like your excellent composition and the good warm colors.You have realized a picture with much atmosphere.Very well done.

With regards from Luxembourg

Jean-Claude

siggi (1419) 2008-04-22 0:13

Hi Angela,
very nice sunset with beautiful colours and composition. I like the low pov!
Thanks and take care!

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2008-04-22 2:04

Hi Angela,
Nice use of the grass as your foreground silhouette ... creates framing and interest. Good depth and contrast .... I like the way you controlled the exposure here. Well captured and composed. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

JorgeCK (2596) 2008-04-22 8:50

Hi Angela,
Wonderful sunset scene. Excellent composition, nice warm colors and very good sharpness.
well done
take care
joRge

tedesse (13166) 2008-04-22 11:52

Hello!
Fantastic golden sunset!
Excellent composition and good sharpness.
Very well done.
Greetings
Tadeusz

plimrn (19664) 2008-04-22 13:54

Hi Angela,
I've tried shots like this but haven't ever captured quite as well as you have here; I think the key must be your rapid shutter speed which made the grass silhouettes very sharp against the firey glow of the sun. Well done, fascinating note as well.
HLJ, Pat

gunbud (27891) 2008-04-22 18:57

Hi Angela,
Beautiful soothing golden sky seen above the wide span across Long Island Sound. Very pleasing peaceful detail to this lovely image. The tall grass of the foreground gives very effection definition to this image.
Regards, Tom

trekks (14314) 2008-04-23 8:05

hi Angela

Superb sunset light captured nicely and great inclusion of the soft stalks as FG, giving the shot extra mood.

tfs, bill

sacavem (8289) 2008-04-23 9:29

Olá / Hi Angela,

Great composition and POV. Excellent colour with a fantastic backlighting, and contrast.
Well Done
regards,
Filipe

romanaa (2551) 2008-04-23 13:12

Hello Angela,
great evening shot full of plaesant colours and good composion.
Well done
Best regards
Romana

toto (18709) 2008-04-25 1:58

Bonsoir,
belle photo de ce levé de soleil sur ce pont magnifique.
Ces herbes a l' avant haébillent bien votre prise et lui donne une bonne profondeur de champs.
Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté et beau reflet dans votre prise vraiment superbe.

Amitiés Thomas

dumbo (4358) 2008-04-27 3:59

Hi Angela,
Beautiful sunset photo with nice colors and great composition.
I like the black shapes of those reeds.
Well done!

Best wishes,
Eino

josepmarin (33785) 2008-04-27 11:21

Hi Angela,
Spectacular capture of this sunset in a well managed backlighting, with beautiful silhouettes of the grass in foreground, and with the Sun in the sky and shining on the water. I like the warm tones and the luminosity of the photo, and the way since you have done the setting.
Beautiful photo.
Friendly regards,
Josep

Greg1949 (8507) 2008-04-29 2:03

Nice one Angela, the hot sun works well in this instance and the silhouettes are nice and crisp. Great capture.

Greg

Vames (4356) 2008-05-02 15:16

Hi Angela,magnificent view!Worm colours nad good sharpness!
Greetings ,Vaios

gilou530 (35242) 2008-05-03 12:54

salut angela
une belle image de ce coucher de soleil, des couleurs dorées qui donne une belle ambiance a cette photo
amitiés
gilbert

ahmetgedikli (21913) 2008-05-03 22:16

Hi Angela,
Very nice sunset composition. The colors, light and sharpness are excellent. Excellent work.
Have a good sunday.
Ahmet

dmarizz (2368) 2008-06-03 2:49

Hi Angela,
this is a very classical sunset shot, whose best feature, according to me, is the double spot of light: the sun itself and the strong reflection on the seashore. They give to the composition a well balanced and pleasant lighting. Congratulations, Dario.

colibriav (1568) 2008-06-07 15:29

Hola Angela:

Muy bonita la fotografia, la luz del sol sobre los cereales hacen de ella una toma especial.

Me gusta:

Un saludo desde España:

Pablo

Estelle (2319) 2008-06-11 8:03

Hello Angela,
That's a lovely sunset and your POV is very well chosen.
Well done
Estelle

ekinokswest (2974) 2008-07-01 14:33

this one is really unique. the way these plants move with the effect of nature , sun s presence and its reflection on the water surface all three make this a unique moment nature provides us I believe.

steliosk (4784) 2008-07-19 3:57

Hi Angela,
I see you love nature much, but I picked this picture to comment first for the atmosphere.
Very good composition no doubt, and the warm colours add feeling to it, the background is excellent and so is the framing and the title for the final touch.
Nice one

Regards
Stelios

Charo (31671) 2008-07-24 0:26

Hello Angela,
Bella composition of this beautiful sunset that through herbs leaves us see a great prospect. Excellent POV.
Best regards,
Charo

zhelach (3590) 2008-08-07 9:21

Hello Angela!
Wonderful sunset! Beautiful colors, lights and silhouettes! Nice frame!
TFS, Best regards
Zorica

jrj (34779) 2008-11-16 8:55

A most moody and attractive photo Angela. Superb use of the foreground grass combined with a fine off centered placement of the sun. All set in a well balanced frame. Well, simply very good work here...