A different view of a Boston icon

This is a view of Boston's Tobin Bridge shot from the waterfront in Charlestown with an EF 15mm f/2.8 Fish Eye lens. Any thoughts? I tried some more conventional angles but kept coming back to this shot as the one I liked.

Tom,

I like this shot for architectural and artisitc reasons. You have isolated the powerful aspects of the steel against the sky. This gives a clear focus of subjects, reactions, thoughts and significance.

The diagonal with the curve effect, gives increased power and energy.

There's no distraction.

I'm not sure how it would be improved. What else do you shoot at the same time that you might share?

Thanks for sharing.

Asher

I like the shot. I've seen this or similar many times going home from MIT. Nice to see the bridge without the traffic.

i like that anthropomorphic bulge the fish-eye gives the belly of the bridge )) makes me feel as if a Star Wars creature is walking over/by me!

Tom,

This is an interesting view of this long standing structure here in MA. The thing that I like the most about your image is the color - the nice blue sky serving as a background for the green structure.

But I think there's something missing. If you hadn't told me this was the Tobin Bridge I would not have recognized it as such (I'm also a resident of Taxachusetts and have driven over this bridge many times) or even as a bridge or roadway for that matter. So while your angle is interesting I think including something to suggest what this was would help. Maybe a little less directly beneath the structure would allow you to include some of the vertical, curving sides of the bridge that would identify it as a bridge? Not sure is this is possible or not.

Maybe your intention was for something more abstract in which case disregard the above comment.

Joe,

My take was this was an attempt to go beyond the actual context of the particular, especially the location. The angle, the bulge and the lack of identifying landmarks to register where one is not make the image more powerful and it transcends the ordinary or the documentary to become metaphorical.

Asher

Asher,

My take was opposite of yours and was primarily driven by Tom's comment that

"This is a view of Boston's Tobin Bridge shot from the waterfront in Charlestown"

which identifies not only the structure but it's location. If the idea was to transcend the ordinary into the metaphorical then why identify both the structure and location? And what is this a metaphor for?

On the other hand maybe my simplified view of the world is showing through.

Joe Russo said:

Asher,

My take was opposite of yours and was primarily driven by Tom's comment that

"This is a view of Boston's Tobin Bridge shot from the waterfront in Charlestown"

which identifies not only the structure but it's location. If the idea was to transcend the ordinary into the metaphorical then why identify both the structure and location? And what is this a metaphor for?

On the other hand maybe my simplified view of the world is showing through.

Click to expand...

Joe,

Asher's interpretation is closer to my intentions. I was trying to focus on an architectural form while being deliberately ambiguous about its function. I was hoping to stirr the viewer's imagination to see an ordinary structure in a different way.

I was really pleased to see Marian Howell's comment about the shot looking like a mechanical creature from Star Wars. That was exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping to get.

I shared the name of the subject and my vantage point for anyone familar with the area who might have wondered where the shot was done. I agree with you this would be a poor "Chamber of Commerce" view of the Tobin Bridge. The angle makes it hard to identify the subject and the fish eye lens makes it even harder to get your bearings. But that was the point.

The Tobin Bridge does not enjoy the same relationship to Boston as, say, the Golden Gate Bridge has to San Francisco (or the Harbor Bridge to Sidney). The Tobin Bridge is a commuter route. Thousands of people cross it every day and most never even see it. You won't find it in any tourist brochures. There aren't guided tours of the structure. It's just there. The only time you ever hear about the Tobin Bridge is when something bad happens (usually a traffic jam). Yet it has some interesting lines. That is what I was trying to accomplish -- capturing some of those lines in an interesting way.

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for replying with your intentions with regard to this image.

Tom Henkel said:

I was trying to focus on an architectural form while being deliberately ambiguous about its function. I was hoping to stirr the viewer's imagination to see an ordinary structure in a different way.

Click to expand...

Based on the responses you have received (excepting mine) then I would say that you have accomplished your goal.

Joe,

Without your comment, the discussion would lack honest criticism. Your comments provide groundin!

Asher