Shutter Mike Photography

Paolo Soleri is best known for inventing the concept of Arcology, ecological human habitats, and for his Soleri bells.  But he was not know for his bridge design.  Until Scottsdale Public Art commissioned Soleri’s first bridge to be be built spanning the Arizona Canal at Scottsdale and Camelback Roads.  The pedestrian bridge is made up primarily of stainless steel and concrete and prominently features one of Soleri’s cast bronze bells.  But the bridge is more than a bridge.  It is a significant piece of public art, it is a sundial that is designed to bring awareness of our human connection to the sun and the natural world, and the plaza at its base serves as a destination and gathering place.

I photographed the Soleri Bridge and Plaza in Scottsdale when it first opened in December 2010.  But I wanted to go back and capture it at night to see how this bridge designed to connect to the sun worked with artificial night lighting.  So I headed out to Scottsdale with my camera and tripod to capture the only bridge Paolo Soleri has designed all lit up at night.

The Arabian Library is actually in Scottsdale, Arizona.  But that is close enough that we can still call this a great Phoenix photography spot.  This spot falls into the architectural photography category for obvious reasons, but its desert setting offers vegetation and wildlife if architectural photography is not your thing or you want to mix your nature and architecture.  Designed by richärd+bauer architects the Arabian Library is one of 5 libraries in the City of Scottsdale.  The building was designed to meet LEED Gold standards and its rusted steel walls anchor it to the desert site on which it sits.

Anyone have any ideas where this photograph was taken?  The shadow of the Palo Verde tree is cast against the rusted steel wall by the sunrise.  Check back on Friday for more images and the details of this location.