Pont Alexandre III Photo

Photographer’s Note

This is a close up on the beautiful old iron bridge passing the Seine north of Hotel des Inalides. I think I have identified this as Pont Alexandre III but if you know better please tell me.

Construction of the bridge, designed by the architects Résal and Alby, took almost 3 years. It was first prefabricated in a factory and later transported and assembled by a large crane. One of the requirements for the bridge was that it should not obstruct the view on the Invalides and Champs-Elysées. This resulted in a very low 40 meters wide bridge with a single 107.5 meters long span and a height of only 6 meters.

In october 1896, the first stone was laid by the Russian Tsar Nicolas II. It was named after his father, Tsar Alexander III. Construction only started in May 1897 and the bridge opened just in time for the Universal Exposition of 1900.

torben, avigur_11, mogens-j, eelliott305, jhm, CVTJan, manny, Clochette, kajenn trouve(nt) cette note utile

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torben (3084) 2004-03-15 15:54

Very clever cropping, and exactly half an arch, the engineer strikes again!. The colors are very relaxing and smooth, but I'm not a big fan of using the muddy green for the frame, and while I'm critiqueing, there seem to be sharpening-haloes around the iron-fence in the foreground.
But it is a very fine shot, giving a good feeling for the structure of this bridge

bfly (5737) 2004-03-15 16:13

Beautiful picture..I loved the dirtiness of water contrasting golden and white bridge details mentally but harmonic in colors...everything is "touched" in this picture..even water does not feel like it...(I mean "touched" in life..not in post of course..:)

dominique (11403) 2004-03-15 16:37

always an interesting framing, the light is very good, it is well seen.

mogens-j (56) 2004-03-15 17:10

Very nice picture of part of the bridge. Nice stron composition - as allways. Lots of details in the decorations of the bridge. Thanks for sharing.

eelliott305 (776) 2004-03-15 18:04

Your composition of this shot is excellent. I love the sweeping curve of the arch and how it is so dark below. The details of the carvings have been caught nicely . The only thing I am not sure about is the coloured frame.

CVTJan (1244) 2004-03-16 3:52

Dear Ebbe, rare composition for the bridge and very well done. I like the return of the white in the water. Great note :) The frame would work better the other way round I think, with more black and a small olive border in it. Thanks for sharing. Jan

avigur_11 (21301) 2004-03-16 6:16

Ah, very effective crop, Ebbe. The bridge is beautiful, and there is a total darkness under it, which I found very very good for you composition. I think that there is a very slight distortion on theupper part, but it is almost invisible. Well done.
Good note!

manny (21378) 2004-03-16 8:02

This is a perfect crop. The details are also very well-seen. Good composition as the bridge fill the frame on the right. Good work.

Clochette (8076) 2004-03-16 15:28

Thank you Ebbe, for showing the wonders of Paris. The rich details of the bridge are so nice.
Good perspective and a clever framing ! Just one thing, regarding your title : I think you meant "Pont", not "point" ;-)

kajenn (2325) 2004-03-16 17:10

A beautiful bridge, Ebbe, and you've made a beautiful composition with the span running as a diagonal through the picture. This combined with the bowing garlands, the upright pillars and the lone "what-ever-it-is" makes it a beautiful picture in contrast to the muddy waterflow. But...

...I think you've made a far too thight framing at the top and that cripples the bridge - although it shouldn't stick out too much, according to your excellent note, I don't think it was made to "squat" either! So, I'll try a workshop with an even thighter cropping to change that attitude!

[workshop] [compare]

AJMOA (921) 2004-03-17 18:27