Photo Contest: Untitled (Austin Lee)

Access the magazine spread of this piece here

Title: untitled.

Photographer: Austin Lee (MC ’24)

Caption:

A short hike off the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena, CA lies the Suicide Bridge (later renamed the Colorado Street Bridge) under which a crow is perched, its feet delicately balancing on a thin beam, whose sides lie tilted as to deliberately stave off birds such as this one.

Short Description:

The focus of this photo was based not on the crow but the bridge’s buttress. Noticing the square spacing in between the beams, I wanted to see if I could frame a scene within that space—but distorting its perspective by shifting the angle. 

Symbolism:

Ephemeral moments of acclimation in a world entirely displaced.