These two men are responsible for the maintenance, safety and lifting and lowering of the center panel of the Okawa lift bridge. They open the span for 30 minutes in every hour, to let fishing boats in and out of the Chikugo River mouth.
The bridge was originally built in 1935 for trains, and was the largest lift bridge in Asia, but it now serves as a pedestrian only bridge.
In this photo, you can see the center section of the bridge returning to its 'open for pedestrian crossing' position.
Nice candid portrait! I'm a big fan of your blog since I found it through Olympus SLR Talk at dpreview.com and have been watching and waiting for an update! Keep the amazing photos of life in Japan coming!
Posted by: Eric Flexyourhead | December 20, 2008 at 01:43 AM
Hi Eric. Thanks for visiting, and for your support. I will endeavour to post more often, but computer woes of late have given me a few headaches! That should all be under control in the next week or so, though. Watch this space!
Posted by: Ray Kinnane | December 20, 2008 at 01:49 AM
Hi Ray, thanks for the update on your site. When you wrote: "In this photo you can see..." my mind finished: "... that these men take pride in working this bridge.", but you wrote something else. You have a way with the people you portrait.
Posted by: marlof | December 20, 2008 at 08:44 AM
Hi marlof. You are correct. These men were really proud of this bridge, and it was obvious that they enjoyed working it, too. One of the things about making these portraits, is that all the people in them seem to enjoy being a part of it, very much.
Posted by: Ray Kinnane | December 20, 2008 at 08:48 AM