The Bay Bridge Re-opens, Part 2

A few weeks ago, the new Eastern Span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge re-opened and I posted about a dozen images.  The response was quite intense, with several hundred comments and emails.  Many requested to see more, so I’m posting a few of the more abstract ones and a few digital capture images, too.

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View 26n-130830a blog resThe empty, forlorn old cantilevered eastern span, closed forever.  Note the complexity of the heavily girdered span.  It’s remarkable it has lasted 75 years (except for those few weeks in 1989 after the earthquake) handling many more times the traffic it was designed for.  Don’t you wish the traffic looked this good–even just once in a while?

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View 32n-130830a blog resThe warm glow of twilight casts a magenta color to the drab gray old span, while the new span has the bright white LED illumination.  A stark difference between the two is clearly visible in this view.  Notice the warm sodium vapor lamps at the end of the old span.  This part of the bridge was lit as they removed over 1000 feet of the old span Labor Day weekend to tie in the new span to the roadway in Oakland.

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View 33n-130830a_B blog resI spent several hours on the old cantilevered section, as I knew I would not be able to shoot from this location again (K-Rails have closed it off on the west end and the east end has already been demolished).  Typically, I shoot with the sunset over my shoulder, as I like the warm glow on the subject, as in the previous shot.  With a clear sunset, and no fog, I had to make this shot into the sunset, from the old bridge, looking at the new span with the Golden Gate Bridge behind.

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View 34n-130830a_A blog resI made this image immediately after the one above, as the sunset was so stunning–a rare warm, windless evening on the Bay.  Note the lights spilling onto the waters of the Bay from the new bridge.

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View 35n-130830a blog resI had the liberty to drive back and forth to find the vantage points I wanted–a wonderful luxury.  My car is just to the left, 10 feet away with access to all my gear.  There is still a touch of the sunset in this view, that shows the repeating cross-sections of the hot riveted sections of the old span and the crossing down-cables of the new span.

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View 36n-130830a blog resIn this abstract night shot, the hard light on the eye-bars and the shadows from the rivets make for some interesting texture.  There were only a few lamps on the old structure that evening.  I balanced for the sodium vapor lamp, making the light stanchions of the new bridge in the background turn blue/cyan.  That bit of color helps the image, along with the red primer paint on the right, as I almost decided to make this a black and white image.

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View 44n-130831a blog resOn my last post, I had a comment that the new bridge seems busy visually when he drove across it the first time.  In this image, you can see how visually busy the old bridge was.  At this section, the two sections are quite close as the old section connects to the tight S-Curve and into the Yerba Buena Island tunnel.  I have a feeling the old bridge will be forgotten quickly after its demolition.

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This series was all shot in 4×5, as I’ve mentioned several times before, but on this week, there was only so much film I could load and carry, and the situation called for additional shooting digitally.  This magical time was limited and the the door was closing forever, and I wanted as much imagery as I could get.  Here are a few digital images shot on the last night before the bridge opened.

130902542a_bog_resShooting with a vantage point like this was a challenge, and best suited to a smaller camera.  The tripod is within inches of oblivion.  I liked the overlapping of the old and new bridge and the illumination of the construction lights below.

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130902534a_bog_resIt was all about the flashing lamps of the many California Highway Patrol vehicles and the lights reflection off the guardrail on the right, mixing with the cloudy sunset.

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130902539a_bog_resSometimes, its the whimsy of seeing things that few others see.  Notice all the triangles in this view.  The brand new highway ready for traffic that is a just a couple of hours away…

15 Responses to The Bay Bridge Re-opens, Part 2

  1. Bob Wilder says:

    Superb! Beautiful shots as always Tom! You might just have a future in this picture taking biz!!

  2. Kathy Pryzgoda says:

    Beautiful. I can’t wait to see for myself.

  3. David Green says:

    They are all so wonderful. I’m happy that you had this opportunity to document a piece of California history.

  4. Absolutely stunning photos! Good job Tom!!!!! What an opportunity!
    My boyfriend wants to know if there is a new troll. An iron worker made an iron troll sculpture and put it on the old bridge while it was being built.

  5. Paul Gansky says:

    Love these shots, Tom! Thanks!

  6. Kathy Booker says:

    Thanks for the additional pictures. Your original posts inspired me to drive across it when I was in the area earlier this month. Great experience.

  7. Barbara says:

    More gorgeous photos. The bridge and we onlookers are so lucky to have you documenting it.

  8. Dan says:

    Triangles? What triangles? LOL. Tom, you crushed it. Saving the best for last. All great. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th were mind bending. The colors were just sublime. Do me a favor and show those in BnW just for kicks.

    Dan

  9. MichaelT says:

    Wonderful compositional contrasts between old and new! And the usual Tom Paiva beautiful, creamy colors. I look forward to the book! I was going to pick a favorite from this series but they are all incredible. I would also love to see prints of this body of works. Any plans for an exhibition?

  10. As usual Tom, your images are exquisite and powerful. I love your narrative of each shot which allows us into the intricate mind of your artistry. You have inspired me: I bought a Toyo 4 x 5 this past week and am anticipating really getting back to basics. Wonderful, beautiful work. It’s a pleasure and an honor to have been a student of yours.

  11. Hi Tom, enjoyed seeing these! Hope all is well! Daryl-Ann

  12. Liz Paiva-Lowry says:

    Gorgeous, Dad! I love that one with the teeny Golden Gate in the background 🙂 Super cool.

  13. juanita jimenez says:

    GORGEOUS

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