The Harbour Bridge crosses the Sydney Harbour and connects Sydney’s central business district and the North Shore. The construction of the bridge took 1,400 men eight years to build and was completed in 1932.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the sixth longest spanning arch bridge in the world and is the tallest steel arch bridge which is 440 feet from the water level to the top of the arch.

The two photos below were taken from the Sydney Tower Eye and they help to get a perspective of the scale of this bridge.

total length of the bridge is 1,149 meters (3,770 ft.) and its arch span is 503 meters (1,650 feet). The bridge carries eight vehicle lanes, two train lines, a pedestrian pathway and a cycle lane. The bridge accounts for more than 160,000 crossings every day.

I always like to take photographs from several different places when I photograph something as large as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The next few photos of the full bridge were taken from the following locations:

Thornton Park

Milson Point

Circular Quay

Both sides of the bridge from ferry boats

Sydney Observatory Hill

A pair of 89 meter (292 feet) high granite faced pylons are on each end of the arch. The pylons were dubbed the original Sydney lookout because of its position as the highest viewing point in Sydney when the bridge opened. There are 200 steps to the pylon lookout which is 87 meters (285 feet) above sea level. The Pylon Lookout provides nice views of the Sydney Harbour, Botanical Gardens and of course the Opera House.

The following set of photos are of the left and right set of pylons. The pylons don’t look that large in comparison to the size of the bridge but notice how small the cars are in some of these photos and it helps to put the size of the pylons in prospective.

The main structure of the bridge is the steel arch which makes the bridge one of the most iconic landmarks in Sidney. Seeing the bridge from the land or passing under is it on a ferry is nice but going on a bridge climb tour allows you to climb to the top for an unforgettable experience of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I am always looking for unique photo opportunities during my travels. Sometimes I find landmarks to include in a photo and sometimes the photo is created by things completely out of my control. The next few photos materialized when things out of my control created a unique photo.

The two photos below happened when I was on a boat leaving Circular Quay at sunset.

The next two photos happened when a ferry and a seagull came into the area making for a more interesting photo.

I really like sunset or times when the sun is just below the horizon. I think that this is the time of day that produces a mood that can be felt in a photo. The photos below were taken just before sunset, during sunset and slightly after sunset. When I look at these photos, I can still feel the mood that I experience when I took the photo.

The Dust on My Shoes

The Sidney Harbour Bridge is a perfect complement for the Sidney Opera House. Both of these structures implore a person to look at them from different places. Every angle give a new perspective. Different viewpoints allowed me to see the proportion of the bridge, see new details and how the bridge became part of the city scene.

This bridge has a ruggedness to it that other bridges don’t possess. The exposed steel painted battleship gray and the granite pylons all combine to give this bridge the feeling of being built by the “working class man” (song by Australian Jimmy Barnes).

The bridge was built during the great depression and it is easy to visualize the construction being done during hard times. It is a beautiful bridge but it feels raw with no frills

The Dust on My Shoes