Cross this bridge at a walk

Cross this bridge at a walk
Kodak Monitor Six-20 Anastigmat Special
Kodak Gold 200 (expired)
2013

I won’t soon forget the day I made this photograph. Margaret and I were still dating, and I took her to Bridgeton to see the bridge.

Bridgeton had always been a private place for me, a place I go when life has knocked me around hard and I need to reconnect with the good in the world. At first it was because the people of Bridgeton had kept the original 1868 bridge in good repair. Later it was because after arson destroyed that bridge, those same people rallied to build a new bridge.

It was this day I shared this little piece of my heart with her. Funny it felt that way, because some years before I told the world about Bridgeton on this blog here.

It was a truly lovely day. Margaret packed a light picnic lunch, which we shared on a grassy area alongside the bridge. She asked a passerby to photograph us with another film camera I had along. I can’t find that photograph!

If you’re wondering why this photo on Kodak Gold 200 is in black and white, it’s because Dwayne’s processed it in black-and-white chemicals by mistake. On this photo, at least, it worked out fine.

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Comments

13 responses to “single frame: Cross this bridge at a walk”

  1. brandib1977 Avatar

    I was thinking the other day how strange it is that I sometimes tell stories on my blog that I’m not ready to share in real life. I’m rather introverted and there are some things that are hard to say aloud or that I hold sacred in some way so they aren’t shared with many. I suppose writing is easier and sharing with my blog audience is simply storytelling to mostly strangers- not necessarily letting them in too far.

    This is a great picture. Love the black and white!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      It’s almost like telling stories on a blog is casting them to the wind. It’s easy to forget that real people do read them!

      1. brandib1977 Avatar

        Precisely!

  2. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    its similar to bridge at Conner Prairie in Indiana.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I’m sure I’ve seen that bridge but it’s been 15 years. There are a ton of covered bridges in east-central Indiana, in Parke and Putnam Counties. Here are some of the ones in Putnam County:

      https://blog.jimgrey.net/2010/09/06/17-bridges-in-putnam-county-part-2/

  3. Heide Avatar
    Heide

    What would possess someone to burn such a beautiful bridge?! Thank goodness those fellows were willing to rebuild it, and restore this place that has been so important to you. Lovely photo and post, Jim.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      My memory is dim but I think it was a fellow who just liked burning things down.

      Here’s a sad page that shows the original bridge burned: http://www.angelfire.com/tn/southportcavers/bridge.html

  4. fishyfisharcade Avatar

    The black and white tones on this are lovely. A happy accident indeed.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I especially love how the sky rendered, all full of clouds. I feel sure that if I were shooting regular b/w I’d’ve gotten a white sky.

  5. Photography Journal Blog Avatar

    It took a minute for the whole color vs. black and white bit to sink in. That’s really interesting, glad it worked.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Me too. It would have been a real shame if that film had been washed out in the b/w chemistry. At the time 620 film was hard to come by. The Film Photography Project hand-rerolls 120 film onto 620 spools now and sells it through their site, making it easier to get.

  6. Ric Bell Avatar
    Ric Bell

    Very interesting article. We too have a bridge in a nearby town slated for demolition that has a close connection to a lot of people. It is about as wide as your bridge and was the only crossing of the Columbia River for many years. Two vehicles could only pass with inches too spare. It was built in 1912, a little younger than the bridge in your article.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Here’s hoping it can be saved, even if a new bridge has to be built alongside it.

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