The Long Road to Rutland
Introduction:
Like my other trips, this one started with a 5:00 AM wakeup call from my trusty alarm. Knowing this drive would be longer than previous outings, I forced myself out the door and was on the road by 5:20 AM, beating my target departure time by ten minutes.
To keep me company on the drive, I queued up a new audiobook: The Unredeemed Captive by John Demos. I actually learned about this book following my recent journey to the Greenfield Bridge in Massachusetts. I was shocked to discover that someone had written such a detailed account of the infamous 1704 raid and its aftermath.
The Journey
After about two hours and forty minutes of driving, I arrived at my first stop: the Sanderson Covered Bridge. Aside from a few friendly waves from passing locals, I had the entire structure to myself. I’ll admit, standing there with my camera on the tripod, I initially struggled to find the specific story I wanted to tell with my frame.
Next up was the Hammond Covered Bridge, a structure that has clearly seen better days. However, the path leaving the Sanderson bridge took me down a network of dirt roads, which is easily my favorite way to travel. I can never get enough of the remoteness you feel when driving through these parts of northern New England. It felt remote enough that I could safely jump out of the truck a few times to capture the landscape.
The final stop of the day was the Depot Covered Bridge. Much as I did at the Sanderson bridge earlier that morning, I struggled at first to find the narrative arc. But I always try to remind myself in this craft: you never really know what you have until you get back to the studio and start reviewing the files.
The biggest challenge in photography here was getting a decent profile shot of the bridge. While there were signs indicating a walking trail, it was obvious nobody had mowed the path in a very long time. To get the angle, I had no choice but to dive straight into the waist-high grass, fully expecting a few hitchhiking ticks to try and hitch a ride out of the “jungle.”
The Triptych
The image included in this newsletter is one of the individual panels from my final triptych of the Depot bridge, which I titled “10” 6’”. While I was actively shooting, I originally assumed the surrounding fields would serve as the bookends for the three-image series, with the bridge being the main star.
However, my plans shifted when I reviewed a shot featuring two trikes heading into the bridge, a frame I initially worried I had completely missed. By pairing a profile shot from the weeds, looking up, with another shot of the trikes, I photographed a tunnel shot of the road disappearing into the distance. It might not be a groundbreaking concept, but exposing both the dark inner trusses and the bright landscape on the other side of the bridge in a single frame is no easy feat.
If you want more, please read the full field journal to explore my behind-the-scenes lens notes, discover the bridge’s conflicting history, and view the complete high-resolution triptych on the official site.