Earlier in the week when I was chatting with my friend Anna, the topic of his bridge came up. She thought back to the movie Blair Witch Project and said it sounded spooky. I scoffed at this but perhaps there is something to it. The first covered bridge was built in 1829. It was torched by an arsonist who claimed that god had told him to do it. Then in 2011, a later version of the bridge was heavily damaged by Tropical Storm Irene. The bridge reopened in 2015 and I hoped that I could manage to get through my shoots today without any bad luck myself.
I counted and before beginning my official quest to photograph all 54 of New Hampshire’s historic covered bridges, I had only photographed twelve. And these twelve were the low hanging fruit. I’d taken their pictures when I was on travels for work or other things. Somehow, my boss never seemed to notice when I detoured a bit to shoot a photo of a covered bridge.
With forty-two bridges left, I decided to try to get four in a day. All four are within a half an hour’s drive of one another in the central part of the state between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. Sunday, I got up and out the door by 4:30 AM to head off to the Blair Bridge in Campton, NH about an hour and a half away. I like the strategy of going to the furthest bridge first and then working backwards so that the drive home seems a bit shorter. Unfortunately, this meant the drive there felt long especially after not driving all that far for three months due to coronavirus.
I arrived there just after 6:00 AM. The bridge sits on a rather calm and shallow section of the Pemigewasset River. The bridge is 292 feet long and 20 feet wide. The odd thing about the bridge is that it’s on a road connecting the highway to a state road. Like most covered bridges, there is only one lane. If a car is coming through the bridge, you have to wait for it to come through before going ahead. It’s a busy road for a covered bridge but it must work for them to continue the tradition of having a covered bridge on this site.
nice relaxed Friday afternoon with a glass of beers..
Yes! Have a great day.
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure. Thank you.
I’m struck by how much green foliage there is in the first photo of the Blair Bridge. I’ve never seen a covered bridge photo framed this way. I really like it! I love the interior shot as well.
Thank you, Liz. I tried a few different vantage points on the river’s edge and liked this best. I’m glad you liked it. Have a great day.
Covered bridges have a magical quality. Have you ever read the messages carved in the wood? They all have a story to tell. 👁👁🍃
No! I’ll have to look for wood carvings now. That could add to the photos. Thank you.
We have a County in Indiana that has a Covered Bridge Festival every autumn. 💜
Nice! I ran a road race in Vermont years ago that went through or by 3 covered bridges.
How cool is that?! 👀🍃
It was fun and very popular. I want to check you the covered bridge festival. That sounds cool 😎
4:30 a.m. groans, you are an up and at em but! waves cheeerfully.. have a good one!
With an early get up, I can perhaps get better light and deal with fewer people. Have a great day.
Thanks for sharing it, Sir
My pleasure. Thank you for your comment.
I’m so excited to follow your progress on this passion project! I’m an early riser too. Best time of day is before sunrise in my opinion. Beautiful shots Chris and I love the backstory you share. Take good care.
That last photo is beautiful. In this day and age with everyone in so much of a hurry–to keep that tradition…my hat is off to them! Covered bridges should be enjoyed, not rushed through. Great photos, Chris.
I agree. If you have to wait for oncoming traffic to clear the bridge, you definitely have a moment to enjoy the bridge. Have a great day, Lois.
Buon fine settimana 😉
You also. =)
These bridges are a real treasures. You captured them with so much detail, great shots👍🏽
Thank you so much. They are like treasures.
brilliant images, Chris!! I like how you offered verious perspectives of the bridge, the inside is striking… yep, when I read Blair Bridge I immediately thought of the Blair Witch movie too lol… but thankfully this looks nothing that scary 🙂
Thank you, Alex. I saw a photo of this in fog and it looked very scary.
I almost missed this! Gorgeous captures my friend!
These bridges have a lot to say. Wish they could talk. But photos like yours how their magical ways!
Thank you so much.
The Covered Bridges around here are not quite that long. There are 3 or 4 of them still standing. They are kept in good repair at all times. They are also known as “Kissing Bridges” from the day’s of Horse & Buggy’s. One of them not far from me is told be be Haunted by Spirits from the past. I never saw anything. Sometime I should make a re-post on what is around here.
Thank you. That’s really interesting. A repost of the covered bridges near you would be interesting.
That’s a very clever plan on how to tackle all these bridges, Chris! Hope you take a thermos with nice hot coffee with you? 😉 Four bridges in one day is a lot! How much time do you spend on one approximately? The Blair covered bridge is wonderful- does anyone control that no one drives faster than a walk? 😉
One bridge takes about 15-30 minutes to shoot. I try to get different angles and often getting to the rivers edge is a trick. To get to one bridge last week, I had to hike about a kilometer to get to it and then find a way down to the water’s edge. The faster than a walk sign is now a historical relic and nobody takes it seriously.
That’s quick!!