Second Severn Crossing

The Second Severn Crossing

The Second Severn Crossing also known as the 'new' bridge was completed in 1996 and carries the M4 motorway between England and Wales over the river Severn.  Being close to home its something I've photographed several times but never during the winter.  It's a small project right now, as during the winter the sun sets to the South and under the arches thus I'm confident there is a good photograph waiting to be made!

Earlier this month the sky looked promising but, as is so often the case, a 25-30mph wind blew from the West buffeting me and the camera.  None of the resulting images were pin-sharp and, rather annoyingly, a patch of cloud rolled in at sunset obscuring the sun; the light changed from blindingly bright to grey/blue with no colour. :-(  This weekend, the sky again looked promising and, this time, there was little to no wind. :-)  

The bridge has a semi-circular shape and is best viewed from the North side where it lends itself to a panoramic format and that's what I spent the golden hour doing.  Several images later and some time after sunset I packed-up and started walking back to the truck feeling happy.  Under the bridge tho, I just had to stop.  The sky still had some nice colour and this was catching the side of the bridge, perfectly illuminating its concrete panels whilst the bridge, deck lights illuminated the water.  It was a lovely scene and hadn't gone un-noticed by a couple who were taking pictures with their mobile phone.  My version was a ISO 200, 30 second exposure at f16.  A shorter exposure at f8 would have worked well too, but I wanted to blur/smooth the fast flowing water and thus went for the longer exposure time.

Andy