Discussion: Bridges of the World July 2026 (page 7 of 18)

Same here, I usually watch the horizon line, but this time it slipped by me. It's better now (edited again):

It’s way better than the previous dyke and all the cars that used to park right at the foot of the peninsula.

Okay, but the new parking lot is scary! Even when it’s almost empty...

Ah! Those terrifying parking lots at super touristy spots in India or Thailand! I don’t remember where, but on my last trip to Thailand, when I saw the parking lot—full—I told the driver: let’s get out of here! He didn’t understand me at all.😏

Still, (Pagal if you're reading this 😉) the horizon is tilted and that bothers me a bit.

😏 I didn’t dare say it... I’m a bit picky about crooked or even slightly tilted horizons. Yet, it still happens to me sometimes—either from carelessness and lack of attention if I’m too focused on my main subject, or because my eyesight’s playing tricks on me as I get older...

😂 😂 There are three of us—I also struggle with tilted horizons... I always keep the level in my camera’s viewfinder, even if the horizon can be fixed later 😊

Same here, I usually watch the horizon line, but this time it slipped by me. It's better now (re-edited):

It's almost there...😉 😏 I'm nitpicking for fun. It's still leaning just a tiny bit to the right. Or maybe it's my eyes...😉

I always leave the level in the camera viewfinder even if the horizon can be corrected later 😊

I’ve been doing this for 50 years and now it annoys me—it distracts me...

Same here, I usually watch the horizon line, but this time it slipped by me. It's better now (re-edited):

Yeah, it's better 😊 If I may, I’d crop a bit more from the foreground and bring out the sky. Here’s a suggestion—what do you think? The file manipulation made the quality drop again, but it’s just for the idea.

Oh yeah!

Same here, I usually pay attention to the horizon line, but this time it slipped by me. It's better now (edited again):

Yes, it's better 😊 If I may, I’d crop a bit more from the foreground and highlight the sky. Here’s a suggestion—what do you think? With the file manipulation, the quality took another hit, but it’s just for the idea.



As the Little Prince said, "It’s exactly how I wanted it." I also thought a slightly dramatized sky would create a nice effect, even with the risk of a little deterioration... I had picked a photo with that kind of "dramatized" sky but gave up on it for the contest precisely because of that deterioration.

With this framing, the sky took on its full power—it’s what draws your eye to Mont Saint-Michel. The texture is there, but by just intensifying the whites and blacks, the dark clouds guide your gaze toward the white clouds and thus the subject 😊. The eye always goes to the brightest point, so you just need to lighten the subject and darken the rest.

The bike version

The bike version



Oh, that’s awesome! I like this one better than the one you picked now that I see it.

Château Bridge...

This one’s a smartphone photo. It’s a lot less sharp.

Don’t always have time to take a photo with the "proper" camera on the spot.

The same—Pont Château—at Chenonceau, spanning the Cher River, seen from the other side...!!



(Nicknamed the "Château of the Ladies").

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Hello,

Two "Genoese bridges" in Corsica:

- Near Ota/Porto, a classic single-arch Genoese bridge:

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- Between Corte and Aléria, on the Tavignano River, the so-called Genoese Bridge of Altiani (3 arches).



Puma2A

New York...

Bridges at night,







during the day,





up close.

You make me laugh—you remind me of myself, so proud to share my photos and show them off elsewhere (except mine are so much less beautiful and spectacular). We’re always proud of our work, of our talent (I wouldn’t dare call it talent in my case), when we know it’s real and justified. The greatest artists are happy to give their all for their audience.

At first, it annoyed me that you posted your photos. I thought: Shouldn’t the contest organizer observe a kind of “duty of restraint”? Stay a little in the background, like a judge who can’t be both judge and participant? Then I wondered: Are you jealous because she takes better photos than you? And then I analyzed what was going on in my head. No, it wasn’t jealousy—it’s just that I didn’t dare post mine after seeing yours.

And now, seeing these stunning photos, I understand your pride in your work and your desire to show it off, to share it. And you’re absolutely right to treat us to them. It’s a feast for the eyes. So I’m telling you: keep showing us your magnificent bridge images...

You make me laugh—you remind me of myself, so proud to share my photos and show them off... elsewhere... (except mine are so much less beautiful and spectacular). We’re always proud of our work, of our talent (I don’t dare call it talent in my case), when we know it’s real and justified. The greatest artists are happy to give their all for their audience. At first, it annoyed me that you posted your photos... I thought: Shouldn’t the contest organizer observe a "duty of restraint"? Stay a little in the background, like a judge who can’t be both judge and participant? Then I wondered: Are you jealous because she takes better photos than you? And then I analyzed what was going on in my head. No, it wasn’t jealousy—it’s that I didn’t dare post mine after seeing yours. And now, seeing these stunning photos, I understand your pride in your work and your desire to show it, to share it... And you’re absolutely right to treat us to them. It’s a feast for the eyes. And I’m telling you: keep showing us your magnificent bridge images...

Hi Jean Marie, I’m actually a little embarrassed by this message. Thank you so much for appreciating my photos 😊. The truth is, I post my photos on VF because it gives me a way to "do something with them." For a few years now, I’ve been passionate about photography and try to take photos that I feel are somewhat successful. The problem is, I don’t show them because I’m never completely satisfied with the result. I’m barely on social media—just a Facebook with a few friends. I don’t enter photo contests or do exhibitions, so all these photos stay tucked away on my hard drives. I’ve really struggled with the idea of participating on the forum. Every month, I ask myself whether to show my photos, and (yes, probably out of pride) I post a few, never knowing how they’ll be received.

At first, it annoyed me that you posted your photos... I thought: Shouldn’t the contest organizer observe a "duty of restraint"? Stay a little in the background, like a judge who can’t be both judge and participant?

On the contrary, for me, the organizer should inspire the contest, bring ideas to the discussion thread. Often, I think of certain photos when I see something similar in the contest or the discussion (like the undersides of bridges, for example 😉).

No, it wasn’t jealousy—it’s that I didn’t dare post mine after seeing yours.

That’s something several people have hinted at, and it really bothers me. It’s one of the reasons I hesitate to keep participating in the contest. In fact, I don’t post photos in the contest when I’m organizing it because the chosen theme is inevitably in my favor.

I love taking photos—it’s become a real passion. I’ve done a lot of workshops and training to learn, always listened to feedback to improve, and I still have so much to learn. I don’t dare offer to help participants compose or enhance their photos. This is the first time I’ve shared my vision for the Mont Saint-Michel photo. I wouldn’t want to pretend to be better, but when I see photos with strong potential, I can’t help but want to improve them.

Have a great day, and don’t forget to post your photos! 😉

Hi Isabelle, You don’t (don’t you?) have to feel embarrassed. What I wrote, I truly mean it. As always, I don’t hold back. I first got into photography when I was very young, back when I was a teacher. I joined my high school’s photography club—developing, printing, and all that. It really started to interest me when my first daughter was born, 55 years ago already. Back then, it was only black and white.

Over the years, I’ve accumulated hundreds of thousands of photos. I’ve lost or thrown away most of the ones from before the 80s, but I must still have around 150,000 or 200,000 left on my hard drives. For a long time, I protected them with copyrights and other ways to keep them from being stolen when computers and electronics started becoming a thing. But now, at the end of my long life’s journey, with whatever time I have left, I’m not going to bother with those little details anymore. And since people have often told me I take beautiful photos, like you, I decided to show them instead of leaving them stupidly stored on a hard drive. I couldn’t care less if someone steals them.

That’s why I opened an account on YouPic, where I explain my approach to sharing photos. I’m happy to show them, and it satisfies me while satisfying others. And I’m not chasing “likes” like you see on social media, especially Instagram.

I’m not a professional. I’ve never taken a class or done a workshop—just the tinkering from my younger years. And I know my photos often have flaws. I like it when people point them out, as long as it’s done kindly and tactfully. But I do get silly about it depending on how the criticism is delivered.

I’m treating this contest like a game, but just like in any game, the goal is to win, right? Just for fun, to enjoy myself. And also, mainly because it gives me a social connection.

I can’t decide on the three photos to submit for the contest. Initially, I had 153 selected, then narrowed it down to 53. And now I’m left with about fifteen that I can’t choose between.

P.S. For about a year now, I’ve gone back to black and white. I find it aesthetically enhances a photo, especially portraits. While I think post-processing is part of a photographer’s art and creativity (when it’s not ridiculous or in bad taste), I really dislike AI.

Hi everyone!

In the upper Var Valley near Guillaumes, there's an old bridge that used to carry a tramway:

Le Pont de la Mariée: (photos by an amateur).

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Puma2A