One way to evoke the size of something enormous is to show only part of it. Enclose the entire object in a frame and it will look small, but let it bleed over the edges and it will look huge. The most dramatic use of this technique I’ve seen is an engraving of the Tower of Babel by the artist Barry Moser. At first, Moser’s depiction of Babel looks like a mistake, as if the artist had missed the subject and only shown some imposing rock that partially obscures its base, but as you contemplate the small section of tower that can be seen rising up beyond the rock, just beginning its ascent at the image’s upper left corner, you realize Moser has shown us all we need to see.
Though the effect in this image of the George Washington Bridge is not nearly as stark, I had Moser’s engraving in mind when I shot it. The photo is something of an outlier for me since I don’t usually find the kind of connection I seek when I shoot from such a distance, but I was pleased with what happened here.
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