Tips for shooting covered bridges

[kwsanders]

Now that I have the Canon DReb XT, I suggested to my wife that we should drive around our area (50 mile radius) and get some good photos of the covered, wooden bridges before they are gone forever. She was all for that. :)

Now, could some kind soul give me some tips for shooting outside assuming the weather will be mostly sunny this Saturday.

My glass library is the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens, an EF 28-80mm kit lens that came with my Canon Rebel G, and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM II.

I have always been a point-and-shoot photography less-than-hobbyist. Now that I have the XT, I want to learn more about using the manual modes and how different f-stops and shutter speeds affect the results of the photo.

I know it is diffcult to give parameters like this due to unknown environmental conditions, but I thought I would get some tips from others, like I said, assuming mostly sunny weather, etc.

[robertwgross]

When I think back to all of the covered bridge photos that I've seen, just about all of them are shot at a three-quarters angle. That way, you can see one end and one side and the roof, all in a single shot. A few of them are shot at a low angle so that you can see the river or else some horizon under the bridge. The best ones have some kind of fall color showing, such as a yellow and red tree leaf in one upper corner. Very few have the silky water effect.

---Bob Gross---

[Scottes]

I have to agree with Bob - all of those suggestions should work.


One thing that can be tricky with covered bridges is the range of brightness between the sky and the inside of the bridge. Cloudy days can help, and framing so that the sky isn't in the image (or barely).

Another thing or two you might wish to try is to get multiple exposures in order to expose both the sky and the inside of the bridge correctly. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/blended_exposures.shtml may give you some ideas of the possibilities.

Also, Phosotoshop CS2 and Photomatix can do something called HDR - High Dynamic Range images. Basically you take many exposures of the same subject and blend them to get a shot with far more dynamic range than is possible in a single shot. Check out http://www.hdrsoft.com/ for a quick idea of what it's all about.

Even if you don't blend the images now it might be nice to have them for a rainy day exercise.

[Snapman]

This post reminds me of a lovely film called The Bridges Of Madison County starring Clint Eastwoon and Meryl Streep. In it, Eastwood plays a photographer photographing the covered bridges, I think for National Geographic. A gentle film with wonderful acting performances from both stars. I've an idea Eastwood also directed.

[PacAce]

All the above suggestions are good ones. However, if you want to get away from the usual "landscape" shot, there are a lot of interesting shots you can get from within the covered bridge itself. Some of the woodwork I have seen in them are pretty neat. :)

[Hellashot]

Before the bridges are gone? Just come to Ohio and Ashtabula County. There is probably 20 or so in that county and next year they hope to replace an older one with a new one around 1 mile in length.

You'll probably want a tripod since you'll need a small appeture to get the entire bridge within your DOF.

[kwsanders]

Before the bridges are gone? Just come to Ohio and Ashtabula County. There is probably 20 or so in that county and next year they hope to replace an older one with a new one around 1 mile in length.

Yes, some of the bridges in this area are not being maintained. We lost one to a fire a year or so ago. :(

[kwsanders]

Also, Phosotoshop CS2 and Photomatix can do something called HDR - High Dynamic Range images. Basically you take many exposures of the same subject and blend them to get a shot with far more dynamic range than is possible in a single shot. Check out http://www.hdrsoft.com/ for a quick idea of what it's all about.


Thanks for the link. I was planning to buy Photoshop Elements 3, because I cannot afford the full CS2 right now. The biggest feature that I would be missing is HDR. I can get Photomatix for the HDR work and still spend under $200. :)