Disappearing across the Estuary, a photo from Gwynedd, Wales

Photographer's Note

"The Barmouth Bridge (Welsh: Pont Abermaw) is a single-track largely wooden railway viaduct that crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach river on the coast of Cardigan Bay between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales. A footbridge is incorporated on the landward side and pedestrians can walk by the side of the track across the river on payment of a toll."
(The toll booth was not open on the day that we crossed the bridge by foot.)

"The Barmouth bridge is one of the largest surviving timber viaducts in Britain.

The bridge was first opened to horse drawn carriages on 3rd June 1867 . Locomotive services began in October of the same year.

The bridge stretches almost half a mile across the Mawddach estuary.

The iron section of the bridge was originally constructed with a rolling 'cock-and-draw' or 'over-draw' section which could be opened to allow tall sailing ships to continue up the Mawddach estuary.This section was replaced at the beginning of the 20th century with a steel swinging span. The swinging span was last used (for testing purposes)in April 1987.

The bridge is still in use today. The viaduct carries the Cambrian Line, the main line of the former Cambrian Railways, which runs from Shrewsbury, England to Pwllheli, and carries passenger trains operated by Arriva Trains Wales."

The bridge is owned by Network Rail.

Calls have recently (nov 2013) been made for a 146-year-old railway bridge to be listed as a World Heritage Site.

For the history of Barmouth Bridge see:
http://www.barmouth.info/barmouth-bridge.html#.Up7yU4e4b9l

chrislo, timecapturer, holmertz, Romano46, Royaldevon, jhm, SnapRJW has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

chrislo (4099) 2013-12-04 2:17

Hello Trevor,
A very well composed image with a perfect viewpoint and a beautiful deep perspective. The viewer's eye is drawn into the far end of the shot along the railway and the bridge. The delicate red flowers are a nice FG element and add a highlight that makes the image even more beautiful. Well done.
Kind regards,
Christian

timecapturer (49288) 2013-12-04 4:28

Hi Trevor
I love this! It is a lesson in composition, intrigue and stunning beauty. Proof that grey skies can make for effective and compelling imagery. Superb! It is an inspiring piece of photography.

Regards - B.

adidas5nb (5743) 2013-12-04 5:51

what an amazing pov.love the elements in the frame.great great place.great light.
regards
dwaipayan

dta (98848) 2013-12-04 9:10

Hello Trevor ,
A s you say , the bridge seems to disappear in the far . The composition is excellent , with an attractive diagonal and the beautiful red centranthus in the FG .
Regards

holmertz (102042) 2013-12-04 9:43

Hello Trevor,
This is a rather superb composition. You found a fine foreground of red flowers and a green hedge, "fastened" the railway-tracks in the corner and had the viaduct make a diagonal across the water into the thick haze. There's lots of nice green in the lower part, contrasting very pleasantly with the grey sky and the sea which has just a pinch of blue.
Kind regards,
Gert

Romano46 (18472) 2013-12-04 11:48

Ciao Trevor
splendida nella composizione e nella realizzazione.
Mi piace anche la cura che hai dedicato al colore che trova una bella macchia di vivacit� nei giori in primo piano.
Perfetta la ripresa.
Complimenti
Ciao e buona serata
Romano

Royaldevon (85638) 2013-12-05 2:39

Hello Trevor,

A lovely composition where the f/g is anchored by the flowers, then the curve of the railway line sweeps round, across the frame, guiding viewers to a strong vanishing point. The decreasing visibility adds to the sense of depth.

Have a lovely day,
Bev :-)

jhm (211734) 2013-12-05 4:08

Hello Trevor,

You chose a very nice angle, this creates depth and perspective.
Lovely the railway rails, and bridge disappear in the fog, this is very pleasant.
Lovely colours and sharpness.
Also lovely perspective and depth picture.
Excellent captured, nice composition.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

SnapRJW (31631) 2013-12-05 23:41

Hello Trevor - I love the way you have composed this shot and managed to capture the misty mood. The bridge slowly disappearing into the fog gives the depth and perspective that highlight the weather conditions and the Fg contrast of colour provide by the flowers add just enough of a contrasting colour to add that final interest to the shot. Nice to see a shot that doesn't really on bright colours and sunshine! Warm regards rosemary

npecanhuk (79329) 2013-12-07 3:05

Hi Trevor!
I really like this one too!
Light was difficult, but you managed it quite well!
I miss a bit of more sharpness, though. Nothing too serious, of course!
Soft colors, horizontal format, chosen pov and composition are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

fabbs99 (17179) 2013-12-08 1:29

Hi Trevor,

Great shot of this historical railway bridge.Truly magnificent.A great use of colors and light. The deep depth of field is perfect.Keep sharing.

Cheers
Farhat