Day 177 - Electrical doo-dads in front of a river scene

A detail from the old railway bridge (now a walking bridge) across the St. John River in downtown Fredericton, this photograph captures the shapes of the electrical connections that run the length of the bridge's infrastructure.

I like this photograph for many reasons, not the least of which is the monochrome nature of the image that is created by the cloudy day. I also like the horizontal lines of the steel beams, marked by the outcroppings of the electrical doo-dads themselves. And I like the fact that there is a beautiful river image somewhere back there which is all but obscured by the industrial gadgets in the foreground.

Light balance is the key to this shot. You want to get enough light in to make the doo-dads visible but not so much that you lose the detail in the background. Without direct sun, this means sacrificing something. I chose to let the doo-dads go a little darker so that the river in the background stands out as beset it can. The doo-dads become slightly more than shapes against the lovely scene.