How to hide a covered bridge’s flaws in a photo

Yesterday I drove to Vermont for a small photo trip. Nothing major, just a quick 2+ hour jaunt to Woodstock, Vermont to capture some covered bridges with my cameras.

My original plan was to photograph the Middle Covered Bridge in the heart of Woodstock, and after driving around the little town green 15 times to eventually find a parking spot, I shot the bridge with my Rolleiflex Automat MX camera and some Fuji Velvia 100 film. No, it’s not developed yet. I’m shipping the rolls off tomorrow. Be patient.

But on the way home, I saw another covered bridge – one in West Woodstock. Apparently this one is called the Lincoln Covered Bridge, and like the Middle Covered Bridge, it spans the Ottauquechee River.

Okay. Let’s pull over and get a photo.

As I parked my car and looked at my photography options, I saw another traveler get out of her car and snap a shot. Well, if she’s going to do it … then so am I.

And if I can get past those DOT signs about bridge height and weight requirements … I could get something that would be at least a consideration for Competition Season 2024. Let’s try to get a photo straight-on and see what my options provide.

You know … the STOP sign smack dab in the middle of the bridge is a nice touch … but I think I can do better.

There’s a walkway down to the river shore. I scurried down there, figuring I could get a nice photo from the river perspective.

Ugh. I’m not showing you that perspective. Because if you think the signs ON the bridge were annoying … you should see the painted graffiti and tagging on the bridge’s stanchions. Seriously, Vermonters? You are aware that people travel here every October for the fall foliage and the covered bridges, and you’ve got some clown with a spray can and a penchant for naughty words tagging your bridge stanchions? Yeesh.

Okay. One other possibility. I walked inside the bridge … saw a tiny sign describing the bridge’s history – and man, this sign was TINY. And water-logged. I think it was assembled by a Boy Scout to earn a First Class merit badge, if I’m being generous. But it does explain that this bridge, the Lincoln Covered Bridge, is the only surviving example of a Pratt Truss bridge in the United States.

But I need to find a shot that will at least show off this bridge and its beauty … rather than its desecration.

And eventually, I found that shot.

Here we go.

This I can work with. A hint of fall foliage, a carefully tapered angle so as to hide the graffiti-coated stanchions, a perspective that keeps the DOT signs at a minimum … I’ll put it in the Competition Season 2024 pile as a dark horse entry.

And who knows? Maybe the shots I took from the Fuji Velvia 100 in my Rolleiflex Automat MX may have some sweetness to them.

But I won’t find THAT out until I send in the film.

Give me some time on that. 😀