KU Medical Center
Broadway Bridge
Artist: Charles Porter , Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
Category: Photography
These photos were taken over the 2020 summer, the blue sky photo is of the Buck O'Neil (Broadway) Bridge, built in 1956 over the Missouri River. The black and white photo is the Rock Island Bridge, built in 1905 over the Kaw River. Both are multi-frame composites shot from a tripod, not single frame images. As we were spending the summer on COVID-19 mandated Staycations, Paul Dorrell, owner of the Leopold Gallery in Brookside presented his idea of making a series of photos of bridges from the West Bottoms and downtown Kanas City. His father had a business in the West Bottoms so Paul knew the area and guided me on a generally off-road tour through the area on mountain bikes. He was confident that I'd find some opportunities for high impact photos as we toured the area that would look great in the Leopold Gallery in Brookside that he has owned and operated for 25 years. I was dubious but flattered because he seemed confident that I'd find fine art opportunities in the railyards. The Broadway Bridge was a challenge as it's fundamentally unapproachable unless you're on it. I videoed the bridge driving both directions and found on stop frame analysis a spot near the downtown end where I thought a panorama had possibilities. We biked to the bridge one Sunday morning when traffic was light, Paul stood behind me to make sure oncoming trucks saw me while I set up a tripod on the 30 inch wide median and got the shots I was after. Once I'd seen the Broadway Bridge shot from mid-bridge, the Rock Island Bridge caught my eye. I tracked down the owner Mike Zeller to unlock the bridge gate. Mike is planning to bring the Bridge back to life as a multi-use Public Space (rockislandbridgeproject.org/about-us) so the view you see in this photo may not be around long. Mike met us, told us the story of his great idea for the Bridge and let me shoot as I wished. I still don't have all the views I want from the bridge but the one I've submitted for this show is a fine start. I'm having these printed on metal and will soon have them on display at Paul's Leopold Gallery in Brookside as part of my "Heavy Metal" series. Moral of my story is that our area offers great opportunities for striking photography but it's necessary to see the city with eyes looking for the interesting and unrecognized.
Broadway Bridge
Artist: Charles Porter , Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine
Category: Photography
These photos were taken over the 2020 summer, the blue sky photo is of the Buck O'Neil (Broadway) Bridge, built in 1956 over the Missouri River. The black and white photo is the Rock Island Bridge, built in 1905 over the Kaw River. Both are multi-frame composites shot from a tripod, not single frame images. As we were spending the summer on COVID-19 mandated Staycations, Paul Dorrell, owner of the Leopold Gallery in Brookside presented his idea of making a series of photos of bridges from the West Bottoms and downtown Kanas City. His father had a business in the West Bottoms so Paul knew the area and guided me on a generally off-road tour through the area on mountain bikes. He was confident that I'd find some opportunities for high impact photos as we toured the area that would look great in the Leopold Gallery in Brookside that he has owned and operated for 25 years. I was dubious but flattered because he seemed confident that I'd find fine art opportunities in the railyards. The Broadway Bridge was a challenge as it's fundamentally unapproachable unless you're on it. I videoed the bridge driving both directions and found on stop frame analysis a spot near the downtown end where I thought a panorama had possibilities. We biked to the bridge one Sunday morning when traffic was light, Paul stood behind me to make sure oncoming trucks saw me while I set up a tripod on the 30 inch wide median and got the shots I was after. Once I'd seen the Broadway Bridge shot from mid-bridge, the Rock Island Bridge caught my eye. I tracked down the owner Mike Zeller to unlock the bridge gate. Mike is planning to bring the Bridge back to life as a multi-use Public Space (rockislandbridgeproject.org/about-us) so the view you see in this photo may not be around long. Mike met us, told us the story of his great idea for the Bridge and let me shoot as I wished. I still don't have all the views I want from the bridge but the one I've submitted for this show is a fine start. I'm having these printed on metal and will soon have them on display at Paul's Leopold Gallery in Brookside as part of my "Heavy Metal" series. Moral of my story is that our area offers great opportunities for striking photography but it's necessary to see the city with eyes looking for the interesting and unrecognized.