Robert H Clark Photography Blog

Bridge and Stones, Savannah River Watershed. Shot with a Canham 4 x 5 and a Schneider 90mm XL lens. Image exposed on Fuji Velvia 50 at f22 for 15 seconds.

Hi everyone. Today’s post is one from the vault. I love rivers and bridges on a foggy morning. I have always found this time of the day to be peaceful and serene. This shot is of the Highway 29 bridge just outside of Hartwell, Georgia. The bridge passes over the Savannah River which flows below the Lake Hartwell Dam. On this morning dawn broke with a grey overcast sky and a light fog along the river. The fog was almost ghost like as it shifted up and down the rivers edge. The river below the dam is slow moving, almost still in fact, and allows for capturing reflections. On this morning I wanted to pick up the reflection of the treeline and the bridge in the river but also feature the foreground rocks. To make this work I used a Heliopan Circular Warming Polarizer. I set the polarizer wide open and began to slowly turn it to reveal the rocks just under the rivers surface. I took this out to just about 1/3 in to the scene. The result I think worked very well. I was able to capture the leading lines of the bridge and its reflection and contrast these against the rocks and treeline.

Every time I look at this image I feel the calm stillness of that morning. It was cool for July but the hint of the days coming humidity was thick in the surrounding air. Occasionally a lone car would pass overhead, the repetitive thump, thump, thump, of tires striking the expansion joints reminding me that I was not alone. As the car moved on silence returned to the river. Wouldn’t it be great to start everyday this way.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob