Bridge the gap

Wires in the sky
Shanghai, China
May 2012

I'm sure we all look back at periods of our childhood and cringe a little at the things we used to do and say. In some cases, we never live it down thanks to friends and family with elephantine memories.

My private shame is this: When I was about 11-12-ish years-old, I was fascinated by bridges. Couldn't read or learn enough about them. Gave speeches about them, incessantly, at a public speaking course at school. Wrote essay after essay about different designs, engineers, and projects. Became known as "the bridge guy" because it's all that ever came out of me for a few months. Probably scarred some of my friends for life in the process, as they never fail to remind me, to this day, about my long-ago love for bridges.

Despite the fact that tech journalism has, um, nothing to do with the study of long-span structures, I still get a little zing of geekitude whenever I see one looming on the horizon. And as we get closer, I instinctively reach for my camera as my mind dissects the possibilities of capturing the spirit of a massive structure in a tiny photographic frame. I guess the fascination never fully left me.

And as we made our way home from the conference on a smoggy/cloudy late-afternoon in traffic-choked Shanghai, I couldn't resist an out-the-window shoot to try, in some way, to bring this one, the Nanpu Bridge, home.

If we're being honest, cable-stayed box girder designs rank among my personal faves. I'm not sure why: Perhaps the 12-year-old kid in me would be able to explain.

Your turn: Ever been obsessed?

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More bridge pics here, here and here.