Bir-Hakeim bridge
This year, I got a summer job on a big company in Paris. The weather was really great and I was able to do plenty of pictures after my hours. I worked on a subject that I appreciate a lot : the “Métropolitain”, the subway of Paris. But I didn’t want to portray the rolling stock or a famous station. In fact, I stood on the shore of the Seine river, near the Bir-Hakeim bridge.
Some History
Bir-Hakeim may not mean a lot for some of you. Maybe you should have a look on your school book if you still have them! Bir-Hakeim was an oasis in the Lybian desert, Northern Africa. In 1942, the French Army under the command of the General Koenig was able to slow the german troops of the famous General Rommel. This gave enough time to the british to fall back and win the El-Alamein battle a few days later. It’s in memory of this Second World War event that the Passy bridge took the Bir-Hakeim name in 1948.
The Passy bridge has been built in 1905. It replaced a footbridge that crossed the Seine river somewhere in the South-West part of Paris. Several faeatures are making this viaduct unique. First, it has two levels. The lower is designed to allow people and cars to cross the river. The upper level is used by the subway line number 6.
An elegant architecture is another strong feature of this bridge. The upper level stays on iron columns and a stone arch with sculptures hangs over the middle of the river.
For me, Bir-Hakeim is not just a bridge. It’s also a whole environment: the quays and their typical boats, the Eiffel tower, the trees ton the shores of the river and their shadows during the summer days.
About the pictures
There are subway trains every five minutes. It gives plenty of opportunities to do creative pictures. I did some last summer, walking around the bridge to find the right angle, to try different compositions. You can discover my work on the following gallery.
Toutes mes excuses à Grégoire pour les soucis techniques lors de la première publication.
I apologize for the technical problems when this article was published for the first time.
Je tiens à remercier tout de même Laurent Dufour pour le prêt du 24mm TS-E sans lequel la photo 9 n’aurait jamais eu ce rendu si particulier !
Sympa ce photo essai mêlant architecture et histoire dans un des coins les plus photogénique de la capitale. J’aime bien la multiplicité des cadrages et notamment celle prise à partir du bateau mouche. J’aurai bien vu pour compléter la série une photo du viaduc prise depuis la Tour Eiffel.
Salut!
je me disait bien que la 9 ne résultait pas que d’une PDC très basse! Sympa
De très bonnes choses là dedans, c’est bien aussi d’avoir pensé à le prendre… de l’intérieur!
Bravo
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