It was a day full of wandering the bridges on the northside of Chicago, some old–the bascule (drawbridge) bridges of Webster and Cortland which are most representative of the type of bridge this city is known for, afterall Chicago has the largest variety of drawbridge’s in any city in the world, to the more modern Damen Ave Bridge.
For some reason I find photographing the drawbridges a bit difficult, it’s hard to find an interesting perspective or angle on the heavy, clunky design. I tend to prefer more modern designs, with cleaner lines and more of an opportunity to create geometric scenes within the frame of the camera, but that’s just me.
You may remember I’ll be teaching a class at Out of Chicago’s Summer Conference on June 28 (there’s still time to register!), well they recently featured one of the other presenters, Marie Laigneau, who is a street photographer and often uses the many drawbridges as the backdrop for her street images. Click here to see some of her amazing images and for some more fun facts about Chicago’s history with bridges thanks to the wealth of knowledge Wendy Bright brings to the articles.

And the rest are the Damen Avenue Bridge