50 Fantastic Bridge Photographs

The sheer awe and beauty invoked by natural landcapes often outmatches even the most dramatic cityscape. Our normal architectural endevours often engender more apathy than awe. Occasionally, however, true masterpieces of architecture and design can ignite our imagination. These examples of creative human endeveour deserve their proper recognition. Today, we’ll be looking at 50 images of an object that does just that: bridges.

To my mind, some of the most fascinating pieces of human architecture come in the form of bridges. The might and strength of these human constructions, combined with the romantic connations surrounding journeys and traveling, make them wonderful photographic subjects. Below you’ll find a fascinating collection of images that capture some of the beauty and power of bridges, but first here are a few simple tips for getting the most out of an architectural subject.

Timing is Everything

As with almost all photography, when shooting architectural structures timing is everything. Get up early and catch the morning rays of sunlight or wait until dusk and catch the gradual shifting of colours. The drama and intensity of a shot is drastically altered by the time of day and the conditions, overcast skies and flat light rarely make for stunning photographs.

Shooting at night can also add great impact to architectural images. Some key pieces of architecture will be intentionally lit at night, while others will be lit by streetlights and other incedental light sources. The dramatic shades of surrounding light and colour can make for truly enigmatic photos, but be certain to use a tripod.

Get Creative

As always, it’s vital to get imaginative with your photography. Architectural lines don’t need to be just aesthetic, they can also provide dynamic movement and motion to your shots.

Practically, it’s good to look for symettry that enhances the strength of the composition or focus on reflections and shadows that soften the strong lines of the structure. Hopefully the photos below will give you some inspiration and provide you with a wide variety of perspectives and approaches to bridge photography.

Photo Inspiration

Anirudh Koul

Thomas Hawk

Hamed Saber

MorBCN

b k

Jes

terence

Christopher Harriot

Bagini

Amarit Opassetthakul

Kõvan Nis

Chris

marco

MorBCN

Mike Behnken

Diego Torres Silvestre

Thomas Hawk

paul bica

Lorenzo Cuppini

Spreng Ben

Evan Leeson

ecatoncheires

b k

Sam Ilic

Mike Behnken

Bert Kaufmann

Thomas Hawk

Angelo Amboldi

Evan Leeson

paul bica

Dave

Kees de Vos

Michael McDonough

Thomas Hawk

Patrick Bouquet

chantrybee

Steve Webel

Jim Crossley

Thomas Hawk

Joel Bankhead

Sam Ilic

Terry Chay

Andy Morris

Reto Fetz

See-ming Lee

Ian Sanderson

Imara Photography

John Vance

ƒole Wind

Marc Soller

Further Reading

Here are a few links to really useful tutorials and articles that will teach you more about this type of photography:

• 9 Tips for Making Lovely Landscapes
• Achieve Beautiful Landscape Photos with a Neutral Density Filter
• 80 Amazing Abstract Architecture Shots (And How to Shoot Your Own)
• 50 Beautiful Examples of City Skyline Photography
• 9 Architectural Photography Tips

Share Your Own Images!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photographs and that they’ve inspired you to go out and capture something amazing for yourself! We’d love to see your favourite shots of bridges – just post a comment and link below. Also, feel free to link to any resources that you’ve found particularly helpful in this area.