The next pic of the week presents us with a word of advice for bridge photography: If your bridge photo is dark enough that you cannot see the features but light enough because of the background, try using the Seppia format. The format has a grey background with a shady, brown background and when used, the photo looks like one that was taken over a century ago.
This one was taken at a crossing in Meissen. It’s a Luten arch span that crosses the River Triebisch; the last one before it empties into the River Elbe, 60 meters away. In fact, it was taken along the shores of the Elbe facing the historic old town. It was close to dusk with a dark blue background with lights illuminating from the adjacent buildings on each end of the bridge. The structure carries Hwy. 6 between Dresden and Torgau and is the primary throughfare not only for Meissen but also along the River Elbe. In fact, over 200 kilometers stretch along the Elbe into the Czech Republic, providing travelers with gorgeous mountainous landscapes and many beautiful bridges.
The bridge was widened to accomodate an increasing load in traffic thus providing restrictions pertaining to a side view of its arch. In fact, even though the bridge can be seen from the opposite bank of the river, it would have been impossible to get a sniper’s shot with the camera, even if the sun was to shine directly on the bridge because the shadows would have covered the arch.
The seppia experiment was done improvisionally because it was getting dark and it had rained earlier in the day. Basically it took a close-range shot from the banks of the Elbe followed by some extreme editing, which included brightening it as far as possible without losing the object and then applying the seppia. All of this can be done via Instagram, but one can try other photo programs to make it work.
The end result- a finished product that looks like one produced over a century ago! Not all bridges photographed qualify for that finish. Sometimes you have to experiment from different angles of a chosen bridge in order to have the perfect product. But after all the time invested, it will be worth it. While this bridge may have been rebuilt a while back, the arch and the historic buildings in the background warrants such experiments, even done with improvisation. And sometimes even the best pics come when they are unexpected and when one experiments.
Note: Meissen is also well-known for its Christmas market. To learn more about it, check out the Flensburg Files’ Christmas market guide on this historic town by clicking here.
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Saatwinkler Steg (Hasselhorst) ©MTHerzog 
Having been to the same school as one of the two engineers who designed it (Sir Benjamin Baker), I have always had a special affection for what, three years ago, was voted Scotland’s greatest man-made wonder, the truly remarkable and iconic Forth Bridge.
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