Arranging transportation to the Green Bridge was only one of the obstacles I faced on this shoot. As I discovered after my arrival in Pembroke, the area lies within the Castlemartin army tank range, and on certain days, tourist access to the area was closed because of tank firing. I’ve photographed some rather inaccessible places and had traversed steep, winding cliff paths to get a shot, but the Green Bridge was beginning to feel impossible.
Panorama from 3 vertical shots, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 24mm, aperture f/8, shutter speed 60 seconds, ISO 64, ND 5-stop filter, tripod.
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There was no schedule that I could find regarding the army training, and I certainly didn’t want to inadvertently find myself in the sights of a tank gunner. Eventually I found that the Pembroke tourist office maintains a schedule for the tank range within the nearest two or three days. The tourist office informed me that the Green Bridge was open to tourists for at least the next day. Finally, it seemed I would reach my destination after all.
I photographed the bridge from every possible angle, hoping that I’d be satisfied with at least a few of the shots. As it happened, I’d picked a good day to see the bridge. It was early in the day and the bridge was shrouded in mist from the crushing waves; it made for a particularly atmospheric image. Again my mind wandered to distant worlds.
One day, the same forces that created the bridge will bring about its end. Time and the inexorable power of the sea will wear away the stone arch, or possibly send it crumbling into the bay. But that time was far away, and for the present, I was content to have the ancient formation to myself and to look out over a misty seascape from my rocky overlook.
