I was looking through my portfolio of fine art photographs and it struck me. These two bridge photographs look strikingly similar.
The straight on angle and high contrast black & white processing create a visually similar look of two structures that are completely different but in some ways the same.
All bridges are built to serve the need for getting from point A to point B. Usually over some body of water. A bridge is the shortest way over something, rather than going the long way around or perhaps getting out of one mode of transportation – a car or train and getting into another such as a boat or ferry.
But the first image was taken in rural Vermont, way up north in the Northeast Kingdom region where railroads a century ago snaked through the valleys of Vermont to haul lumber and farm goods to market. The Fisher Covered Bridge, built-in 1908, it originally carried the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad over the Lamoille River. It was built from wood harvested locally. It’s tall design and vents allowed smoke and steam to escape and its roof ensured a longer life to the wooden structure by keeping snow at bay. This bridge is no longer in use except as historic relic.
The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City connects the NYC boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, spanning the East River and is very much in use today. Famously it was used as a pedestrian bridge after 911 as people in the World Trade Center area escaped on foot across the bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is actually older than the Fisher Bridge. Construction started in 1869 and it took fourteen years to finish it in 1883.
One metal and one wood. One grand and ornate – an iconic image of a city and an engineering marvel of its time. Built to show the power of an emerging America. The other perhaps built out of necessity and purpose. The application of local materials put to use in the most efficient manner. A perfect blend of purpose and engineering to get the job done. The Brooklyn Bridge was built to be both a showpiece and display of technology advancement. The Fisher Bridge also shows signs of use of the latest technology no one at the time expect it to be seen or appreciated by anyone other than the railroad it served.
Two bridges. Two very different purposes and scale but somehow akin to each other visually.