Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Paul Simon
A favourite song from one of my favourite songwriters opens this post about bridges. The symbolism of a ‘bridge over troubled water’ speaks to us all. Whether a literal bridge helping us to cross a river, railway or other obstacle, or a metaphorical one helping us navigate difficult time in our lives, we all rely on bridges.
And as photographers I think we are also drawn to them as interesting and often imposing structures. Beth asks us to feature them for this week’s Lens Artists challenge. I’m keeping it simple as it’s a particularly busy week for me. So here is a gallery of some favourite bridges. Some are close to home, others are from my travels around the world. You’ll almost certainly have seen some of these photos before but I was keen to include a wide selection in terms of style and location.
My feature photo is of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, taken from the Ponte alle Grazie
Bridges over the Tyne, Newcastle, north east England
(from front to rear: the Tyne Bridge, the Swing Bridge, the High Level Bridge and the Metro Bridge)
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge at night from Newcastle Quayside, north east England
Do you need me to tell you that this is Tower Bridge in London?
(not London Bridge!)
Punting under the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge, England
The Pont des Arts and Institut de France, Paris
The Pont Neuf and Île de la Cité from the Pont des Arts, Paris
The Pont Mirabeau, Paris
The Pont Alexandre III, Paris
Hohenzollern Bridge over the Rhine and Cologne Cathedral, Germany
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
The Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
Bamboo bridge over the Nam Khan river, Luang Prabang, Laos
The bridge is washed away each year during the monsoons and rebuilt afresh afterwards
The Shinkyo Bridge, Nikko, Japan
The Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An, Vietnam
7 Comments
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Great photos all of them, but I like the Newcastle ones best. Not that I’m biased or anything …
Egídio
Fantastic collection, Sarah. The bridges (and reflections for some of them) are so beautiful. There’s definitely something very romantic about bridges.
Marie
Lovely collection of bridges.
Wandering Dawgs
Sarah, I love your beautiful collection of bridges! You have shown us a great variety of bridges from around the world. My favorite is your featured image of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. I recognized the Tower Bridge. Thank you for taking part in the bridge challenge.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Beth 😊 This was a fun challenge!
Sue
What a wonderful set of bridges, Sarah! Love the Parisian ones and that bamboo one looks perilous to say the least!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Sue 😊 The bamboo bridge is only intended to last six months or so, and I gather it always does.