Laurence's Pictures' photostream  

I am a 'serious' amateur photographer with specialties in railway and industrial photography. I also do sports photography.

My online store to buy photo prints is located here:
laurence.imagekind.com/store/default.aspx

I typically allow use of my photographs for commercial purposes as long as authorization is requested from me and the user agrees to caption the photo. Please contact me via flickr if you are interested in one of my images.

My works have been published in:
* Capture My Chicago
* Chicago Daily Herald
* Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
* Departures Magazine
* Florida News Post
* Indian Prarie School Districe 204
* Mazda Motors
* Naperville Elite All-Star Cheer Organization
* Nike
* The Purple Passport
* WBBM/CBS
* WBEZ
* WMAQ/NBC
* The Railroad Press
* Vancouver Tourism
* Village Productions


I have published a coffee table photography book on railways: www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/943868

==============================================
Why I Photograph Trains

Waiting in the brush, a photographer crouches down in the grass, aims his lens and holds down the shutter button. The camera captures 3.5 images every second as an animal runs across the plains. Few would question his motives as the images are captured and recorded on a memory card.

Waiting in the brush, a photographer crouches down in the grass, aims his lens and holds down the shutter button. The camera captures 3.5 images every second as mile long freight train charges across the plains on glistening steel railway tracks. Almost everyone would question his motives as the images are captured and recorded on a memory card.

The railroad photographer is an unusual breed. Perhaps it is the image of the child who never grew up. Maybe it’s the notebook that records the passing locomotive, the railway and the train number. The train photographer is the individual who still wants to ‘play with his trains. Certainly, the train spotter or foamer is vastly different then the photographer shooting wild life.

On second look, maybe it’s not all that different. The technical difficulties of shooting a train are not all that different from shooting wild life. To capture the image, one needs to ‘set up’ the shot. The scene needs to be compelling. Eye catching. Well composed to draw the viewer in. Balanced between the subject matter and the surroundings.

The lighting needs to be just right to illuminate the subject. The light must highlight the subject’s features. To bring out the essence of the subject, without casting the details in shadows.

The technical capability of the camera must be fully exploited. Too little depth of field, and the subject becomes fuzzy. Too slow of an exposure, and the object becomes a blur. The final product must consider the movement of the subject, the anticipation of where the subject will be and the balance of the subject’s surroundings. Never mind that the subject is an iron horse instead of a wild horse.

With a train speeding along at 60mph, you only get a few seconds to capture the image. That window of time challenges the photographer to prepare for the moment that the shutter will release and hope that preparation meets opportunity. That the image captured will harness the power of the camera, freeze the movement of the train and balance the surroundings. In comparison, the safari photographer has to do the same thing, albeit the animals don’t always take a predictable path guided by steel rails when moving.

A successful image captures a moment in time. In some ways, railroads are a bit of a time machine, much as Doc Brown discovered in Back to the Future III. The same rails that opened the west in the 1870’s with rudimentary steam locomotives would carry modern day diesel locomotives 110 years later. In that way, you can photograph moments in time and re-create them. I have gone back to Luray, Virginia to see what famed rail photographer O. Winston Link captured in the 1950’s and done a comparison with modern times. The tracks are there, but the town and people have changed around them. The successful imagery will note the fashion and trends of the era.

Along the more esoteric elements of train photography is the moment when something surprising or rare crosses the viewfinder. To the uninformed, rarity may be a one of a kind locomotive or ‘rare mileage’ trips. It could be an obscure short line locomotive on a major railway. Or, maybe it’s a special paint scheme of the UP or Amtrak. Perhaps it will even be a steam locomotive… the original iron horse. In any case, those that know, consider it rare. Sitting trackside, one doesn’t really know exactly what will show up along the line. And if it’s something unusual and well captured, all the better for the sense of satisfaction will be there. At least to the photographer.

The train itself is massive. Rising two stories above the rail head and thrusting a mile long train forward at speed is an amazing feat. Steel wheels on steel rails. Trains are enormous. Like an elephant in the wild. Freight trains raise questions about journeys and destinations. They transport goods across our country that provide us with material needs and give us heat, light and mobility. Passenger trains are special. As they invoke a classic journey. Commuters going to nearby jobs and tourists heading to our great national parks. They hearken to an era of classic travel.

I photograph trains to achieve that perfect picture. To capture a moment in time and to master the challenge of composing the perfect picture, with the perfect subject. Comparing notes with a ‘birder,’ I can’t help but note the similarities in the hobbies. The birder seeks out to find representatives of the species. To document their environment and their passing. So does the Safari photographer for animals. And the train spotter? They are capturing a moment in time for a unique subject matter.. the train.

<visited 44 states (88%)Create your own visited map of The United States or jurisdische veraling duits?