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I have to admit that when I heard the subject for the recent WWP event was bridges, I wasn’t particularly enthused. After all, how interesting can banal bridges be? But as with the initial WWP Equinox event in March, once again I was surprised by the diversity and beauty captured by VR photographers worldwide. And although I had only planned to take a quick run through some of the panos, I found this impossible. Several hours later I had viewed each and every pano and read the accompanying text written by the photographers, some of which were merely descriptions of the bridge while others were mini travelogues that revealed the photographer’s personality and humor.

The concept is simple yet brilliant: One day, 187 photographers, 37 countries, and 187 dramatically different bridges. During the week of the Equinox (September 22nd for most parts of the world) photographers everywhere participated in 'Bridges - A World Wide Panorama', the third is a series of events around the bi-annual soltice and equinox. The theme for this event was Bridges and was open to anyone who wanted to participate and produced a usable panorama. The site is now available, with 187 VR panoramas that literally span the globe. New interactive maps by Markus Altendorff make it easy to navigate through the 37 countries represented.

Like all WWP events, this one was organized by Don Bain, Director of the Geography Computing Facility at the University of California Berkeley, and Landis Bennett, a Petaluma, California based cartographer and panoramic VR photographer. The events are sponsored by the Geography Computing Facility at the University of California Berkeley and the website is hosted by The Geo-Images Project. It is a non-commercial project, done simply to create enthusiasm for VR photography, and provide an outlet for the collective creativity of VR photographers.

(For those who want to participate in the next WWP event - the subject will be 'Sanctuary' and whatever that word represents for you, to be held December 18-21, 2004 - join the Yahoo Groups list for all the details.)

The website is extremely easy to navigate, fast to download and remarkably well-organized, especially when one considers the logistics in gathering and presenting such a large number of panoramas coming in simultaneously. The panos are listed alphabetically by the photographers’ names, by thumbnail graphic, as well as regionally.

So, grab a coffee and settle in for a couple hours of exploration and travel. Prepare to be awed with the beauty and diversity in the world, and to see the mundane with new eyes. And prepare to wonder at technological feats accomplished since ancient times, throughout many lands, and to be impressed with the photographers who went out of their way to capture them.

Tudor Jenkins, Garden bridge over River Windrush, River Windrush, Bourton on the Water, Gloucestershire, England, UK
“The River Windrush is a trout stream the rises from aquifers in the Cotswolds, and flows through Bourton on the Water, The Barringtons, Burford and Whitney before joining the River Thames before Oxford. The river is a natural breeding ground for brown and rainbow trout as well as grayling.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/TudorJenkins.html

John Blake, Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge, Colorado, USA
“The Royal Gorge is the highest suspension bridge in the world. Built in 1929 at a cost of $350.00, it is 1053 feet above the Arkansas River. The bridge is 1,260 feet long and 18'
wide. Each of the two suspension cables consists of 2100 strands of wire. Each strand of wire was flown across the canyon one at a time by helicopter during the bridge's construction.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/JohnBlake.html

Fiore Cappone, Hannibal's Bridge, Scigliano, Calabria, Italy
Hannibal’s Bridge, also known as ‘The Bridge of Saint Angelo’, is regarded as a national monument. It's located in Scigliano in Calabria (South of Italy).

“In 1961, the bridge’s age was evaluated by analyzing the limestone rock of which it is made. Tests proved that it is more than 2,000 years old. Along with Fabricio’s Bridge on the Tiberinia Island (69 B.C.) and the Emilio Bridge (179 B.C.), both in Rome, the Bridge of Saint Angelo (to use the other name) has been documented as one of the oldest and most important Italian bridges.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/FioreCappone.html

Samir Ahmed Gulzar, The bridge in a city within a city, Media City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
“On November 4, 2000 Sheikh Mohammed officially launched Dubai's Media City. Dubai's investment in the Media City is approximately $800 million. The city houses cutting-edge technology, including production and transmission facilities.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/SamirAhmed.html

Arnaud Guyomard, Pont Couvert de Saint-Placide, Saint-Placide, Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada
“The covered bridge in Saint-Placide was built in 1926 to span the river of the Bras du Nord-Ouest (Northwest arm). Its “town québécois” architectural style is the last of its kind in the greater Quebec City region! The covered structure is to protect the wood from rain and snow.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/ArnaudGuyomard.html

Hans Hagen, Mountain Bridge, Dyrlandsdalen/Seljord, Telemark, Norway
“The bridge of Dyrlandsdalen is a traditional built bridge in the mountain area of Norway. This bridge was made fully in stone and is about 100 years old. You can also see the foundations of the older bridge 20 meters behind the standing bridge. The water temperature of the river should be about 8-9 degree Celsius at this time of the year.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/HansHagen.html

Bruce Hemming, The Pooh Sticks Bridge, Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, UK
“In the 1920's Alan Alexander Milne bought a holiday cottage in Hartfield Village on the edge of Ashdown Forest. Christopher Robin, his son, was then four and a half years old and his father invented a make believe world inspired by the rural landscape to entertain and delight his young child. These stories were published in a series of six books, but it is the two volumes Winnie-the-Pooh and The House At Pooh Corner which are best remembered.

Pooh Bear and the other animal inhabitants of this fairytale world are well known from the Disney films based on the books and this bridge is famous for the game invented by Pooh. To play Pooh Sticks you require one stick for every player, easily identified one from another, and a bridge and flowing water. Simultaneously drop the sticks into the upstream side and then run to the downstream side to see whose stick emerges first and is the winner. Not particularly difficult, but then it was invented by a Bear of very little brain!”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/BruceHemming.html

Jacques Joffre, The highest bridge in the world - Le Viaduc de Millau, Near Millau, Aveyron, France
“The Millau Viaduc reaches a height of 343 meters over the river Tarn, which makes it even higher than the Eiffel Tower. The viaduct is currently under construction. It will be the highest bridge in the world once it is opened in January 2005. The search for an aesthetic construction led the design architect to adopt the principle of a multi-stayed viaduct, consisting of slender soaring pillars and a very light deck, just touching the valley at only seven points.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/JacquesJoffre.html

Yann Leroy, 5in1: The Montreal's St-Lambert Lock System and other bridges on the St Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
“In the background, you can distinguish the Champlain bridge (1960) and the Jacques Cartier bridge (1932). On the island, you can also recognize the F1 racing circuit of Montreal. In the foreground, facing Montreal's skyscrapers, the Victoria Bridge (1859) crosses the St-Lawrence River and is split in 2 parts to cross the lock in order to allow an uninterrupted way of circulation for both trains and cars.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/YannLeroy.html

Oliver Mann, Jungfernbruecke (Virgin bridge), oldest existing bridge of Berlin Spree, Berlin-Mitte, Germany
“This bridge was built in 1689. The folding mechanism was added 1798. Once, this bridge was connected to the streets of the old Berlin. Now it looks a little bit lost between the monumental building of the Reichsbank - built in the "Third Reich" - and an even monumental residential building of the former GDR.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/OliverMann.html

Joan Maricle, Raising the Causeway, Underneath the JFK Causeway, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
“JFK Causeway links Corpus Christi, Texas to Padre Island, and is the only overland link to the mainland. The Causeway provides safe evacuation during times of hurricane.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/JoanMaricle.html

Erik Olsen, Building Bridges, DUMBO area of New York City, New York, USA
“When I heard about the bridges concept, I immediately thought of this park in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, where there is a great view of both the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges. This was the day after George Bush spoke at the United Nations to justify the Iraq War, and I thought it would be interesting to work that event into the bridges theme. I looked around my apartment and found these two figures - the Bush doll and the French Taunter from Monty Python's Holy Grail, and I realized they'd be perfect for the project. Given our current relationship with the rest of the world, not to mention the French, we can probably all use a little more ‘bridge building’.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/ErikOlsen.html

Rodolpho Pajuaba, Ponte sobre a Rua João Negrão, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
“This bridge is a part of one of the oldest railroads in Brazil. It´s the beginning of the Curitiba-Paranaguá railroad. Currently it’s out of service, being used strictly on christmas time, when an old locomotive stays over it, covered by Christmas lights.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/RodolphoPajuaba.html

Jeff Pelletier, Granville Island, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
A beautiful night view of Granville Island taken from under the Granville Street Bridge. The island is a popular attraction with its shops, restaurants, theaters, galleries and hotel.
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/JeffPelletier.html

Ammannati Maddalena, Cristina Andolcetti, Yuri Pozzi, "Ponte Vecchio" view from S.Trinita bridge, Florence , Italy
One of the world’s most famous and photographed bridges, the Ponte Vecchio originally housed food merchants but they were replaced in the 15th century with gold and silversmiths. It is the only bridge in Florence to have survived WWII.
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/YuriPozzi.html

Paul Stewart, The Bridge at Wat Preah An Kau Sai, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Three children enjoy the day on the Siem Reap River.
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/PaulStewart.html

Bernhard Vogl, Abandoned bridge, "White brook valley", Austria
“I found this abandoned bridge during a hike through the mountains in Upper Austria. It must have been built about 100 years ago for forestry purposes and given up because it no longer withstood the weight of the modern machines. “
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/BernhardVogl.html

James Yang, Lupu Bridge, Shanghai, China
“Lupu Bridge is world's longest arch bridge built in June 2002. During its opening ceremony, Yao Ming, the Chinese NBA basket player, led the first group to run across the bridge.”
http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp904/html/JamesYang.html
Related Articles:
- AN INTERVIEW WITH WORLD WIDE PANORAMA ORGANIZERS
- WORLD WIDE PANORAMA - A DAY IN THE LIFE OF 180 PHOTOGRAPHERS