[16/86] - Life, Death and Resurrection - Important bridge

Edition: 1/1

GPS: 47.114449, 37.559276

Date: 02/08/2009

Story

Homeless people or photographers are maybe those two kinds of people who you can find more often under the bridges. In retrospect, I try to understand what attracted me and my camera to such strange and unsafe places. This is where I learned how to build symmetry in my shots, learned how leading lines work in composition, but as you can see I didn't succeed in everything mentioned above. Lol. Nevertheless, I like this shot, even if it is not perfect. It was taken with my first "serious" Canon EOS 30D camera with a Sigma 10-20 ultra wide angle lens mounted on a cheap aluminum Velbon tripod that I still have. I would like to work on my mistakes here with my new gear and my accumulated experience in shooting architecture.

This bridge over the Kalchik River is one of the biggest in the city, it connects the industrial part of the city to the center. After the russian attack in 2014, this bridge was mined, and I couldn't find any newer photos of it online and I do not know if this bridge exists today, as many bridges were blown up during the defense of Mariupol from the russian occupiers. Anyways I'll visit this place again and take new photo on this exact spot to show you how it looks today.

There are several reasons why this place is of strategic importance. First, it is a land route from russia to occupied Crimea. Secondly, it is a major metallurgical center. Thirdly, it is a major seaport. Based on these objectives putin did not spare the soldiers and civilians lives and for 86 days tried to capture the city at any cost. The defense of the city was terminated after a direct order of the Ukrainian commanders to lay down their arms to save the lives of the remaining heroic defenders.

Here is an article by Washington Post about the importance of Mariupol: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/21/ukraine-russia-mariupol-fall-maps

Please visit this project's website for more info and share it with your friends: https://www.lifedeathandresurrection.com