I’ve been working on a project to get me to shoot 4×5 film exposures around the city I grew up in. Manhattan is an island, which is easy to forget because it is so connected to the outer boroughs and the rest of the world. The ways it connects to the rest of the world by road and by foot interested me, because they are the only physical passage ways out of the center of the city.
Bridges are a great metaphor for the connections to other worlds and overcoming the obstacles that prevent us from getting there. They cross the natural borders that inhibit free movement, supporting our journey into a new area. There are 15 foot, rail, and car bridges out of manhattan alone, plus tunnels. I’ll save the underground and the dark for another time, but for this project I’m photographing the full 15 bridges. I can’t wait to get the film back.
