Newport Bridge at Night

Nov 29

Newport Bridge, opened in 1934 and spans the River Tees. It was the first vertical lift bridge in Britain, allowing river traffic access to Stockton. Operated by 10-12 full-time employees, it could lift a 2,700-ton span in 7 minutes. As you can see, the bridge is illuminated at night, casting a warm and inviting glow that transforms it into a captivating and picturesque subject for a photograph, at least in my opinion. The interplay of light and shadows adds depth and dimension to the scene, creating an enchanting and alluring ambiance that beckons the viewer to pause and admire its beauty.

One of the down sides of the bridge as a subject is access to shooting positions. The bridge has to be photographed from the river bank and from this viewpoint it is impossible to get a complete reflection of the bridge in the river below so you lose some of the symmetry. We were really lucky on this evening as although there was wind creating some movement in the sky the river was completely still. This did change later in the evening as sleet moved in.

This close to the bridge there is a metal railing along the edge of the footpath so in order to get this shot with the required shutter speed I had to braise the tripod over the railings clamping two legs on one side and the third leg on the other side of the railings. It still took a couple of shots to capture the image without any camera shake.

Moving up on to the bridge itself there is a footpath on either side of the road giving you a vantage point from which to take long exposure light trails. The bridge is pretty busy at all times of the day so you shouldn't have long to wait for some vehicles to pass. One word of caution there is also a fair amount of foot and cycle traffic on the footpaths with joggers and people travelling to and from the nearby industrial sites.