Home > Culture > Gallery > The Art of New York's Bridges

The Art of New York’s Bridges

Follow your passion. That’s the dictum that great photographers have always followed, no matter the difficulty. Because 2006 is the 75th anniversary of the opening of the George Washington Bridge, it seems appropriate to celebrate both the bridge itself and the passion of ASMP member Dave Frieder, the bridge man.

More photos are in the Bridge gallery.

Dave Frieder atop the GWB, at the Will Rogers - Wiley Post aviation beacon When I started this bridge project back in 1993, I had no idea how I would climb and photograph the 15 to 20 New York City bridges required to complete this fine-art coffee table book. I also had no idea how complex the project would be. It all started when I saw some fantastic images that John Sexton and Ron Wisner took from atop the Golden Gate Bridge. I thought to myself, “Where is there a higher concentration of large bridges than anywhere in the country? Answer: Only a few miles away from my New Jersey apartment, right across the Hudson River in New York City.” So, after many phone calls, letters and meetings with people from three bridge authorities, I began scaling and photographing. It’s hard to believe it’s now been 13 years. I have always loved architecture, and bridges represent the pinnacle of civil engineering. It follows that, during the course of this project, I have had the good fortune to meet and befriend many people in the art and engineering worlds, and I would not have it any other way.

I first started photographing the bridges with a 4x5 monorail camera, but soon realized that this would not work for photographing on the bridges’ main cables and eyebars, which was my ultimate goal. I have no fear of heights. I also used a Leica for 35mm slides and some close-up work, taking advantage of the great depth of field that camera offers, but I needed a bigger format for extreme enlargements. I then decided to use my Hasselblad 2000 FCW with a 40mm Distagon lens, which became my workhorse camera. And while it did provide a larger negative, I still had to contend with bridge vibration and wind. Fortunately, I spotted an ad for a camera gyroscope and hoped that it would correct my camera shakes. I rented the Ken-Lab KS-8 Gyro and it worked perfectly, so I purchased it immediately. Problem solved; I could now walk the cables and eyebars and stand anywhere on the bridges, amid high winds and vibration, and get clear, crisp shots. Finally, for ground views of the bridges, I use large-format cameras such as 4x5, 5x7 and 8x10.

Now that I had the proper equipment to take the photographs I needed, I had to battle other problems. For all the bridges, I needed insurance to protect myself and the bridge authorities from any dangerous situations, such as dropping a lens or getting hurt myself; fortunately, because I take safety very seriously, I have never had any problems. For the New York City bridges, I also needed a permit, even to access the land on which they are situated. (For the Port Authority and TBTA bridges, and the Hell Gate Bridge, which is owned by Amtrak, all that was required was insurance.) And each time I went up on the cables or towers, I had an escort or two to accompany me.

At times, the project has proved challenging and frustrating in other ways. The two most difficult bridges to climb were the Queensborough and Hell Gate railroad bridges, both of which were designed by the great engineer Gustav Lindenthal. On occasion, I have encountered large ships or boats, debris or other foreign matter, or airplanes in my field of view. I have been attacked by peregrine falcons; many of them build nests atop the bridges and they are very territorial. Moreover, when I started this project, some of the bridge authorities decided to upgrade and repair part of the city infrastructure. This meant that a lot of bridges were covered in canvas and scaffolding for structural repairs and repainting. Finally, it’s fair to say that the biggest problem I have had is being grounded since 9/11. The bridge authorities have given me very limited access to the bridges since the World Trade Center attacks, and I truly hope some of these restrictions lift so I can fulfill my vision of these great bridges. While I understand some of the stated reasons for not allowing me up on the bridges, I believe my work is strictly fine art and in no way poses a threat to the safety and security of the bridges or any buildings.

In addition to all this, there have been many times when I was ready to go to a bridge site and then changed my mind because of weather conditions, or got to the site only to discover a change of construction conditions. I also recall climbing to the top of the Manhattan Bridge on one occasion, figuring it would not be too cold at the top of the tower. It turned out to be freezing up there, so I exposed only one roll of film before I had to return to the warmth of my car. All of that said, I am persistent and do not give up easily. Even though I may not have the access to the bridges that I had prior to 9/11, I do have at least 90 percent of the images I need for this book, and the rest I can obtain from ground level. At this stage of my project, I predict I will have all the images in about four or five more years. Since any artist working on an important project has to fulfill his or her inner vision, until I accomplish this for myself, I will not rest.

The George Washington Bridge at 75

George Washinton Bridge An absolute engineering marvel, the George Washington Bridge was designed by the great Swiss engineer Othmar Ammann, whose findings during that project made possible all other large-scale suspension bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Ammann went on to design many other bridges in the New York City area, including the mighty Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened to traffic in 1964. The Bayonne Bridge, another of Ammann’s masterpieces, was the longest above-arch bridge when it opened in 1931, modeled as it was after the Hell Gate railroad bridge in New York. The Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia also took its design from the Hell Gate, but the Bayonne Bridge is 25 inches longer than the Sydney span.

When the GWB — or the “George” as it is sometimes called — opened to traffic on October 25, 1931, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, at 3,500 feet. And while it can no longer claim that title, it is the only 14-lane suspension bridge in the world, and the busiest. Originally, the upper roadway had only six lanes, and the center section ofthe deck was unpaved. In 1946, the center was paved and the upper roadway expanded to accommodate eight lanes of traffic. In 1962, the lower roadway was completed. Although originally conceived for four lanes of light-rail traffic, the popularity of the automobile prompted planners to design it for six lanes of cars. The George’s great steel towers were similarly subject to the vicissitudes of history: They were originally to be encased in stone and masonry, but the Depression thwarted that plan. In leaving the stonework off, the Port Authority saved $1 million and opened the bridge eight months ahead of schedule.

Some of the other facts of the GWB are impressive:

The George Washington Bridge also holds the largest free-flying American flag, suspended from the NJ tower on holidays and special occasions. It is 60x90 feet and weighs 450 pounds.

Dave the Bridge Man — Photographer

GWB view from the cables, with shadow I have been photographing New York’s bridges since 1993. As of this date I have climbed fifteen of New York’s great bridges.

I have working with the following agencies: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, Amtrak Inc., New York City Department of Housing, United States Coast Guard, National Park Service.

I have been in the following publications: The New York Times (twice), the New Jersey Bergen Record (numerous times), New Jersey Star Ledger, Dallas Morning News, Engineering News Record, B&W, Time-Out NY, U.S. News and World Report, Roads and Bridges, Bridge Design and Engineering, Shutterbug, Leica-View Magazine, Jobo Fototechnic Quarterly, Hasselblad Forum Magazine, and Photo-Techniques. One of my photographs was on the front cover of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 150 Years of A.S.C.E.

I have appeared on “Jersey’s Talking” with Lee Leonard (twice), the Learning Channel (twice), New York’s M.S.G. Metro-Guide “New York Now,” New Jersey Cablevision’s “No Limits,” and WNBC’s “Today in New York.” I’ve been interviewed by NY 1 and Channel 5, and I was interviewed by Morry Alter of WCBS-TV on top of the Brooklyn Bridge for the CBS Evening News. Other interviews have included WCBS-AM, WFUV-FM (Fordham University), Brent Sterling on PBS’ The Souls of New York, and Modern Marvels on the History Channel.

Seven of my photographs were in the exhibit “Six Bridges.” This exhibit featured 73 photographs of the six bridges built by the world-renowned Swiss engineer Othmar Ammann. The exhibit began at the PaineWebber Art Gallery in New York in 1996, traveled across the country, and concluded in April 2000. The exhibition was supported by S.I.T.E.S., the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

My work has been in numerous other exhibits throughout the New York - New Jersey area.

My work has been published in two recent books, The Creation of Bridges and Six Bridges: The Legacy of Othmar Ammann.

I have studied under John Sexton, personal assistant to Ansel Adams; and Jeff Nixon, workshop assistant to Ansel Adams; and Morley Baer, a well known photographer who has extensively photographed the Big Sur coast of California. I am a member of ASMP.

You can see more of my work at my website, www.davefrieder.com.