When Windsor photographer Peter Tkacz was about to go for a walk one evening in November 2025 and noticed the Detroit River was unusually calm, he saw an opportunity to capture the Gordie Howe International Bridge in a new light. He grabbed his tripod and camera equipment, headed to the riverfront and took the first images in what would become an extensive collection documenting the new crossing. Tkacz has pursued photography since the early 1990s, primarily focusing on fine art and nature. His bridge project, however, was never planned. “The opportunity presented itself and I took it,” Tkacz said. “Then it turned into this project where I’d gone out probably a handful of times.” Since that first outing, he has returned to the riverfront repeatedly, experimenting with different compositions, lighting conditions and editing techniques. Some of the finished images are stitched together from numerous long-exposure photographs. One panoramic view of the bridge combines approximately 20 separate exposures. Tkacz said each exposure lasted about one minute, allowing the movement of the water to blend together and create a smoother reflection. After capturing the images, he digitally aligns and merges them before correcting their colour and bringing out details compressed by the camera. The process can take hours. “I think on the one image, I must have spent over seven hours total just to get it right,” he said. That included restarting the editing process after discovering dust spots in the background. Tkacz said the wide panorama also captures distant landmarks, including the Ambassador Bridge, Michigan Central Station, and MotorCity Casino. He has also produced black-and-white and solarized variations, giving some of the scenes a more abstract appearance. While those images do not show the bridge exactly as it appears to the eye, Tkacz said experimenting with the photographs can reveal details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Getting the source images is often the most unpredictable part of the process. Wind can change the surface of the Detroit River within minutes, while passing freighters can send waves toward shore. Ducks, geese, and even beavers have also wandered into his carefully composed shots. On one occasion, a vessel blocked part of the scene and forced Tkacz to abandon the attempt. “You go home and you hope there’s another day,” he said. “Then you go out and reshoot the scene.” Tkacz said calm conditions are especially important because he is chasing what he calls the “perfect reflection” of the bridge across the river. But weather is only one part of the learning curve. Each visit has helped him better understand how the structure’s lighting, cables, and deck interact with the surrounding landscape. “You’re learning about the composition, the lighting,” he said. “Towards the end there, I finally kind of figured out the lighting. It’s a learning process.” For Tkacz, the bridge stands apart from the region’s older infrastructure because of its modern design and nighttime illumination. He said the Ambassador Bridge reflects an earlier, more industrial era of architecture, while the Gordie Howe bridge brings a distinctly modern structure to the riverfront. “How often do they actually build structures like a brand-new bridge?” he said. “It’s just very pleasing to look at, especially the way they illuminate the scene with the lights.” Tkacz also sees the crossing as a meeting point between several distinct elements of the region: The natural setting of the Detroit River, the heavy industry lining its banks, and the skylines of two countries. “You have a little bit of everything,” he said. The timing has allowed Tkacz to document a short-lived chapter in the bridge’s history: The period after it became part of the Windsor-Detroit skyline, but before vehicles began travelling across it. With the bridge preparing to open, his collection captures a view that will soon disappear — a completed international crossing standing over the Detroit River, illuminated, but not yet carrying traffic. “It’s just the rare opportunity of being able to go ahead and photograph it,” Tkacz said.
