Photo Friday: Twilight and Blue

The last time that I drove to Pakenham, specifically to photograph the Five Span Bridge, was Friday, December 15, 2017. I arrived in darkness and pulled into the small, snow-covered parking lot of the conservation area, just before you cross the Mississippi River.

It was about 6:30 in the morning and the village was still asleep. Only the occasional vehicle would cross the narrow stone bridge and make its way toward the Trans-Canada Highway. I set up my tripod and captured several images before my feet began to freeze and I had to turn back to Ottawa.

It was a work day, after all. I was in the office by 8.

This time, the weather was much warmer and I didn't have to get up at an unruly hour to capture this old bridge. I had plenty of light as I set up and lots of time to explore different perspectives from which to set up my equipment.

My favourite time of day to shoot pictures is either just before the sun rises or just after it sets: twilight. I also love the blue hour, the time just before twilight (in the morning) or just after (in the evening). For me, this is the time when the light is at its best.

I parked my car on the west side of the bridge, in Five Span Bridge Park. With about a half hour until sunset, I was one of only two vehicles in the lot. Kayakers were strapping their crafts to the roof of their vehicle—this could have been DW and me, and may be in the near future.

Before I grabbed my gear, I walked the shoreline, starting at the northwest end of the bridge and the rapids that were too shallow to navigate by boat. Because the river was so low, I could walk under the westernmost span and see the view from the other side.

Both spots offered plenty of angles from which to capture the fading light and bridge, so I returned to my car and grabbed my camera bag and tripod.

I captured dozens of images on both sides but my two favourite shots were on the southwest side, capturing the last of the pinks and peaches of twilight and blue hour, when the lights under each span lit up the rippling Mississippi.

For this post, I couldn't decide which one I liked the best, so I've posted them both.

Which one do you prefer? Click one of them to enlarge it, and then use the right and left arrow keys to toggle between the two. It's kind of like turning a light switch on and off (I literally did that a few dozen times while I tried to pick one of them).

Happy Friday!