The Colorado Street Bridge
By Sherry Davis Johnson
17 Jan 2008
Today's sunset chasing ended at the Colorado Street Bridge. I'm not sure what turned my car this way.
I searched for an angle that would give true perspective to my image. There are eleven large arches. I stood 150 feet from the bridge road in the gorge below near the footing of the bridge. What a site this must have been while being built. It opened December 13, 1913.
I am new to photography, not yet wise to the tricks of the trade, nor my camera. I snap hap-hazard, half hearted photos wishing I had my tripod in the vanishing light.
I remembered that this bridge has a nickname, Suicide Bridge. More than a hundred lives have been lost under the 1,486ft span. I felt a cold chill. My eyes noticed that I was in the gorge alone...I didn't feel alone. I snapped a few more shaky shots and hurried to my car as the darkness enveloped me. In the background I noticed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a place where lives are impacted throughout each day.
I once asked a photographer if he could explain the white spheres on my photos, both digital and film. He said," Many think they are spirits". The lighting wasn't unusual, but for the second time this year I found those spheres.
When I showed my daughter the pictures she said, "Did you know somebody jumped two days ago?"
Maybe, I wasn't alone.
