by Jim Zuckerman
There is a new landmark in Charleston, South Carolina that I found intriguing. It is very different than the famous historic ante-bellum architecture that most people associate with this southern city. It is North America’s longest cable stay span bridge connecting Mt. Pleasant with Charleston, and it is truly a stunning achievement. Driving over it fills you with awe, and I was compelled to photograph it. At night, it’s especially dramatic. There is a walkway/bicycle way on one side of it, and I was able to get some dramatic wide angle shots. The lights on the bridge are turned off at varying times (I found the time to be unpredictable), and on the night I took this picture I had walked the mile up to the center of the structure and just as I was setting up my tripod at 11:50pm,, they suddenly went out.
It turned out, though, that they weren’t necessary for dramatic results. Because I had such an unusual sky with moon-lit clouds, and I used an ultra wide angle lens (16mm), I was able to get a compelling shot with good graphic design and, with the long exposure, enough ambient light for a successful shot.
Earlier in the evening, I did capture the lights on the bridge from a distance and I've uploaded that image as well. The orange glow in the background is from the sodium vapor lamps in the port area of Charleston.
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