John V. Robinson

Robinson goes onto construction sites and does detailed photo essays of the iron workers, pile drivers, carpenters, laborers, and crane operators who do this demanding and dangerous work.

John Robinson's photo-essays on bridge construction and history have been published in nine books and his articles and photographs regularly appear in professional and trade journals like The Ironworker[5] and Engineering News Record.

The book also contains The Ace, a play written by Isabelle Maynard, based on Al Zampa's experience building the Golden Gate Bridge.

In 1999 he merged his interests in photography and folklore and began photographing construction workers for an article he was researching on the labor-lore tradition called topping-out.

The success of Spanning the Strait brought Robinson's work to the attention of contractors, transportation agencies, and engineering firms, who have commissioned him to do other large construction projects.

In 2006 Robinson was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture to study the traditions of high-steel iron workers.