Santa Clara alum takes first prize in a photography competition for immortalizing history.
Jonathan Tadros ’15 took first place in an international photography contest with a picture that can no longer be taken. And that’s exactly what he had in mind.
This photo showing the original eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge and the new span won Jonathan Tadros ’15 first place in the International Bridge Photography Contest of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Tadros, who earned his bachelor’s in civil engineering earlier this year, took the picture on Labor Day 2013—the day after the new span opened—while he was interning with his family’s firm, California Engineering Contractors. He now works as a field engineer for the firm, which is in charge of demolishing the old span. Tadros, who has long been interested in photography and served as editor-in-chief of The Redwood his senior year, was on top of the bridge to inspect elements known as eyebars. He says he took a camera with him because the contractor needed to document the condition of the bars but also because he knew it would be a good view and historic. “This is probably the last time this is ever going to look like this,” he thought to himself. The picture won him a $250 prize and inclusion in the engineering society’s 2015 calendar.