Howrah Bridge from Mullick Ghat at Sunrise

Howrah Bridge, the cantilever steel span that links Kolkata with Howrah across the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India, is best photographed at sunrise from the steps of Mullick Ghat on Strand Road in Burrabazar. From the ghat the bridge rises on the left of the frame while the river fills the middle distance, so the foreground can be built from ferries, wooden country boats, bathers and flower sellers. The bridge faces roughly east-west across the river, which means the rising sun lands behind or beside the structure and produces backlit silhouettes, warm haze and long reflections on the water rather than a flat front-lit face. Sunrise falls at about 5:00AM in June and about 6:20AM in December, and the softest results come in the half hour either side of it. November to February brings the clearest air; during the monsoon the bridge is often partly lost in cloud, although dramatic skies can make up for it. The ghat is a working place rather than a viewpoint, so by 6:00AM it is busy with porters, flower traders and commuters. Visitors usually find a position on the upper steps or along the river wall and keep the camera bag close. Large tripods are impractical in the crowd and can obstruct porters carrying loads, so a monopod or handheld technique with a stabilised lens is more realistic. There is no entry fee for the ghat itself. Photographing the bridge has been restricted at times for security reasons, so visitors should watch for posted signs and avoid pointing cameras at police or military personnel. Drones are not appropriate in this dense, security-sensitive area. A wide-angle lens captures the bridge and ghat together, while a 70-200mm lens isolates the ferry traffic and the faces of the early-morning crowd. A polarizing filter helps cut glare off the river surface once the sun is up.