Everyday I drive over the Q bridge into East Haven, and I look out over the fuel depot that sits right on the Quinnipiac river, and I see the most beautiful sunsets behind such a harsh landscape of pollution and contamination. Today I was about an hour early for sunset, so I decided to stop and take some pictures.
Let me start by saying it was 15 degrees out, and I was standing on the middle of a bridge. Needless to say, I wasn’t prepared for the extreme temperatures. After an hour of snapping away waiting for the sun to get lower, my fingers were about to fall off, and the police arrived.
Just a note: people call the police when someone is pointing their really long lens at any kind of factory, but they get extra nervous when you’re taking photos at, near, or around an oil depot.
I stood beside my camera as it sat atop my tripod, warming my hands with my mouth, watching four young cops walking down the sidewalk of the bridge towards me. I tried not to look suspicious as they looked at me looking at them. I knew they would come, and I knew why they were there. So, to answer their question “What are you doing?” I said “Look at that,” as I pointed to the sunset. I went on to explain myself and gave them each my business card. I have to say that they were surprisingly nice since their first thoughts when they received the call was they might get to bust a terrorist.
Well it was cold, but it was beautiful.
bscphoto.com
Matt Branscombe
