Tom Paiva's Night Photography Blog

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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The 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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The 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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I 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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I 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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I 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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In 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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On 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.

Shooting 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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It 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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Sometimes, 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…

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Last week was a momentous one, with the San Francisco Bay Bridge re-opening with the new Eastern Span.  As part of my five year photographic project, being there for the last days of the old cantilevered section and the events and formal opening was important.  It’s not just for the photography, but to be there for the historic transition that I felt part of.

In this first shot, the day before the closure, you can see there was still lots going on on the new span.  The signage is not done, and there is still a lot of equipment on the new bridge.

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That last evening before the bridge was closed was a warm and windless one–rare on the Bay Bridge.  The late afternoon light was bright and clear and the white bridge reflected that warm tone.

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By the peak of twilight, that magical 15 minutes for photography, the bridge looked majestic.

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The reverse angle at twilight shows the old bridge on the left.  This evening, the uplights on the new bridge were not on.  The lighting company was working on the system.  I had to come back another day to get the full effect of the lighting.

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The virtually unlimited access to the closed bridges was one of the perks I had.  Bridges flex, move and vibrate with traffic, making view camera photography all but impossible.  This view on the old section looking east on the westbound lanes shows the new bridge on the left.

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Quietly shooting from the old bridge enabled me to find more abstract compositions.  This was a luxury I rarely had.  This view with a section of both bridges shows that the old cantilevered section has its own grace and charm.  It will be demolished over the next 2-3 years.  It served us for almost 77 years.

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The warm magenta glow of sunset/twilight shows that the eastbound roadway is clear, stripped and the signage up and working.

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This afternoon shot shows the incomplete bike/pedestrian lane that will go between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island.  At this point, it’s only open to the tower.  The old bridge will have to be removed to complete this section in a year or so.

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Here is a section that no one will miss–the westbound “S” curve of the temporary structure.  Potholes show the wear and tear on the old bridge.

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In this ultra-wide view you can see the empty old and new bridges, including working cranes on the Bay, below.  This view shows the stateliness of the 525 foot tower.

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Here on the westbound lanes you can see the eastbound lanes and how they cross over to enter the tunnel on Yerba Buena Island.  The afternoon glow really makes this shot work.  The transparency is even more stunning.

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This view, taken from a utility access platform again shows the transition of the westbound lanes on the left, climbing into the tunnel.  There still is another year of work with the details and landscaping, even though the bridge is open.  The new bridge is a seismic upgrade replacement of the older structure.  The aesthetics and details will come soon.

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This is a reverse angle of the image two up.  They worked 24 hours a day getting the bridge ready for the Labor Day opening.  They are power-washing and repaving the tunnel roadway in the background.

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This is the last 4×5 view I made with the bridge lights on, equipment removed and ready for traffic.  The LED lighting makes for a cool, white light.

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These images are only a portion of what I shot, in both 4×5 and digital, too.  I put in many hours this last week, as I knew the window of opportunity was closing–quickly.

Others have been shooting on bridges for as long as photography has been with us.  Here is one I found on the internet of an unknown photographer shooting on the Manhattan Bridge (one of my favorite bridges) in NYC in 1908.  Hardhat?  Safety vest?  How about railings?  Things have, indeed changed in the last 100+ years.

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Mike Halberstadt, a photographer buddy, was with me two of the nights, making his own documentation and simply revelling in the moment.  Shooting on the bridge when it was closed was a dream of his.  Here is a shot he did of me making the fifth image, above.  I feel a kindered spirit with the gentleman on the Manhattan Bridge.

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On another note, I entered a contest on bridge photography with the American Society of Civil Engineers earlier this year.  There were hundreds of entries, and I won a prestigious place in the calendar for next year.  At this point, they are choosing the best “People’s Choice Award”.  They didn’t choose a Bay Bridge image (I submitted 3 images) but it would be great if you could click on the link, http://ascelibrary.org/page/viewerschoice and vote for my image.  The shot is of the Tempe Town Pedestrian Bridge in Arizona, engineered by the same company that engineered the new Bay Bridge, TYLin International.  It’s in the third row, on the right.  Below is the image.  Many thanks, and for following my blog, too.

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A couple of weeks ago, I visited and photographed the new Bay Bridge again, possibly for the last time before it opens.  It was scheduled to open in early September, on Labor Day weekend, but that was changed this week to early December this year because of the infamous broken bolts issue.

Visually, it looks like the bridge could open on time, as so much has been done since the last time I visited last winter.  The construction elevator, stairways and platforms have been taken down from the tower, as has much of the construction stairways and ladders for the rest of the bridge.  The catwalks on the cables are gone, too.  Even much of the signage has been installed, as in this image, showing the Oakland City Limit/Alameda County Line sign on the eastbound side.

I’ve climbed onto what will be a maintenance platform, hanging out over the bay, looking back towards Oakland.  If you look closely at the base of the vertical concrete columns, you can see small gray rectangles.  Those are 8 foot steel doors for access.  This give a sense of scale in this view.

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Here is the back of the freeway sign on the westbound skyway, looking east.  The tower is clearly visible as well as the existing 1935 cantilevered bridge on the right.  This section of the roadway is already paved and ready for striping.

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Work is still being done painting the main cable bundle.  The main cable has been tightly wound with a steel wire to keep out the typically damp weather on the bay.  This enclosure is to keep the paint from splashing and to keep it warm, too.  Note the high winds on the bay that day pushing against the plastic.

Here is a snapshot of me doing my best to shoot with 4×5 in the 30+ mph winds.

I almost lost the darkcloth (the silver/black cloth used for viewing the ground glass on the back of the camera, by blocking out the ambient light) several times because of the high winds.  We also used the darkcloth to block the wind when not shooting directly into it (as in the view above).  My “assistants” said it was like holding a sail!

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In this view, you can see the ‘cradle-like’ feeling of the suspender cables above, radiating from the top of the 525 foot tower.  The red crane really makes this shot work.

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Here, the early evening light casts a warm glow on the white tower.  This was shot seconds before the sun went behind Mt. Tamalpias.  You can see all the light fixtures on the main cable.  This ought to be a beautiful bridge at night when it’s lit up.

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This twilight shot illustrates how the suspender cables pull the main cable outward from the bridge.  The area just to the right of the white fence is the pedestrian/bike lane.  I know a lot of people who are anxious to be able to be out on the bay without being in a car!  One can see how popular the Golden Gate Bridge is with its access to pedestrians and cyclists, especially on weekends, enjoying the views.  Unfortunately, this access will only go from Oakland to Yerba Buena/Treasure Island—at least at this point, but a bike lane all the way into San Francisco is being studied.  It also won’t be open when the bridge finally is, because the existing bridge is in the way of part of it.  The existing bridge will be dismantled and recycled when the new one opens.

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In this late twilight shot, the lights of the existing bridge are reflecting through the suspender cables, off what is still the steel flooring of the eastbound lanes.  Walking for hours on this hard steel ‘floor’ is really tough on the feet!  At this point, the only lights on the new bridge are the red safety lights.  At this point in the evening, all the workers have gone home, and we have the bridge to ourselves.

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There is still a lot of equipment on the bridge deck, as they still have plenty of work to be done that is not visible up on the roadway bed.  The wind was so strong on this shot, that I had to shoot several 30 second exposures to make sure I got one that worked, even with my escorts holding the darkcloth to block the winds.  I lost about 20% of what I shot in these two evenings due to the wind howling and vibrating the camera.

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I made sure to really soak in the sights and views this visit, after nearly 5 years of shooting the evolving bridge.  I feel this might be my last time visiting the bridge with only a couple other people, in its construction phase.  Even with all its politics and engineering issues, it is still a beautiful structure that will easily outlive us all.  Some engineering problems should be expected on a unique structure such as this.  They will be solved and dealt with.  This new bridge will be another icon of the Bay Area when it’s open and operating.  That’s a testament to those who designed, engineered and built it.

For those of you who do not know, I will be having a book published of my images of the Bay Bridge project coming out this fall, published by Nazraeli Press.  It will be a selection of images shot over the last 5 years.  I will be talking about it here more over the coming months.

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