The Bridges of Madison County or Beetlejuice?
As I approached the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge southeast of Chatham, Illinois with my Fujifilm X-T5 slung over my shoulder, I sent a picture message to my wife saying, "Kinda feels like I'm in The Bridges of Madison County." I had just wrapped up reading the romance novel by Robert James Waller a month earlier, and I was almost certain she would reply with a wry comment about not having any affairs while there (you're going to have to read the book or watch the movie). Instead, she sent just two words, "Or Beetlejuice." Since I'm a photographer, and especially since Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis die at the beginning of the movie Beetlejuice by accidentally driving off a covered bridge, I favored the former comparison rather than the latter.
While at the bridge, I met James and his girlfriend Sharon. James used to drive delivery trucks, and he wanted to show Sharon the bridge he used to regularly traverse back before it was closed to traffic in 1984. It is now a local park and picnic area. The Sugar Creek Covered Bridge is not only one of only five historic covered bridges in Illinois, it happens to be the oldest. James kindly shared some stories from his delivery days, and after we were done chatting, I asked them if they would like an impromptu portrait together. They accepted, and I captured them from two different angles with the green woods positioned behind them.
James and Sharon at the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge southeast of Chatham, Illinois. June 14, 2026. Photo: David J. Manning.
James and Sharon at the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge southeast of Chatham, Illinois. June 14, 2026. Photo: David J. Manning.
Later, when culling my shots from the day, I noticed that I had one more frame of James and Sharon. They must have arrived while I was trying to capture a decent frame of the bridge itself (there's not really an unobstructed view in that area for a nice wide shot), because there, behind a tree off to the right side of the frame, were James and Sharon leaning against each other by the railing. I tossed out my remaining frames (they weren't very good anyway) instead focused on trying to develop this one shot in a way that would portray the magic of the light landing on the bridge, the dense woods, and James and Sharon's visit. I'm not sure I did it justice, but I was happy to include it with the portraits I sent them later.
James and his girlfriend Sharon visit the Sugar Creek Covered Bridge in Chatham, Illinois the afternoon of June 14, 2026. Photo: David J. Manning.
