Al Bilger photographs the Gateway Arch for the National Park Service. He said, "In all honesty, the bulk of them end up getting archived and never see the light of day."
But the ones that do, "...go into national publications throughout the Park Service and of course all over our website."
He's had some pretty cool photo opportunities with his job, like this one of workers repelling down the Arch last year. He said, "I was able to get those photographs out of the windows at the top."
While the national monument takes good photos in any light, there are certain times of day the Arch looks even better in pictures. Bilger said, "The best time would be right in the morning or in the evening as the sun is going down. Oh, it's just the light that you get that plays off the Arch and off of the buildings that surround it."
Al sees tourists take photos of the 630 foot tall structure in all sorts of positions. "People will lay on the ground. They don't care how dirty they get."
One of Al's favorite spots to get a shot? Up close. He said, "Basically, as you're standing right next to the Arch, you get some very interesting angles that really shows how it soars above St. Louis.
But when it comes to taking a family photo, you might want to step back. "Of course, they are going to have to be much closer to your camera and the Arch being in the background. I would suggest Kiener Plaza... that way you have the courthouse and the Arch in the background."
He's been a photographer for the National Park Service since 1998 and still hasn't run out of new ways to get a photo, whether it's standing nearby or across the river in East St. Louis. And when construction is complete, there will be countless new ways to look at the Arch through the lens of a camera.
Your photos can be part of a new Arch exhibit coming to the Arch tram loading areas in March. You can upload your images of the Arch on gatewayarch.com/submitphotos.
