Gotta cover the bridge…

As soon as we got our second project assignment for Intro to Fine Art Photo at KSU, I knew the first thing I would photograph.  The assignment was dubbed “Picture Within a Picture”.  The jist of it was to use framing, camera angles, reflections, shadows, openings through objects or other devices to create any kind of a picture within a picture.  This could include murals or old signage.  We needed to turn in our six best prints, based on meeting the criteria and achieving a good range of tonal grays, along with balanced contrasting of black and white.

I had at least one good candidate covered.  Literally.  This would be my first attempt at a black and white photograph for the class, so I really wanted it to be something I thought was pretty cool.  Centennial Bridge, a restored covered wooden bridge just south of Salem, would be perfect.  Initially, I thought shooting a photo down the length of it’s rectangular tunnel would be the best, with my outer picture being the bridge’s exterior and the inner being the view out the other end.  Just to be safe, I took a bunch of extra pictures from just about every angle.

After spending some quality time in the darkroom, I was surprised that my favorite photo of the old covered bridge wasn’t any of the images I’d planned with the assignment in mind.  The most successful one was an upward shot of the somewhat awkward phrasing painted on one end of the bridge.  I had been attracted by the snow on the branches next to the weathered wood and taken a few backed by gray winter sky.  The antique styled lettering just added more interest and provided the contrast I needed to meet the assignment requirements.  I think of all the six I submitted, it’s probably my favorite.  Hopefully in the next few days, I can post the remaining five.  Thanks for looking!