{"id":1379,"date":"2013-02-15T13:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T18:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=1379"},"modified":"2013-02-15T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2013-02-15T18:36:21","slug":"eries-portage-bridge-another-view","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/eries-portage-bridge-another-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Erie\u2019s Portage Bridge\u2014another view"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Erie<\/a><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an unpublished image from my archive. In the gloom of early morning on April 7, 1989, I made the hour and 15 minute drive from Scottsville to Portage, New York to make time exposures of the old Erie Railroad Portage Viaduct. I featured this pioneering tower-supported viaduct in an earlier post (see: Erie Railroad’s Portage Bridge May 12 2007<\/a>). Blessed by a stunning setting and significant history, the old Portage Viaduct has been a favorite subject on many occasions over the years. For this image, I used my Leica M2 rangefinder with 50mm Summicron lens to make a long exposure (about 8 seconds) in the pre-dawn twilight. The predominantly blue light combined with Kodachome\u2019s spectral sensitivity to produce a near monochromatic view. The roaring Genesee falls have taken on an otherworldly ethereal quality, while the dark sky lends a nightmarish cast. This image exists only on film; at the time of exposure, it seemed very different to my eye. Later in the morning, an eastward Delaware & Hudson freight eased over the bridge at restricted speed; I followed this for several hours, making numerous images of it, mostly in black & white.<\/p>\n

I discuss the history of this bridge in my book North American Railroad Bridges<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more post on the Erie Railroad route see:\u00a0Erie October Morning<\/a>,\u00a0Curiously Seeking Erie Semaphores<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Erie Semaphores Revisited<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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