Riding the Rails

[Tommyboy]

Shot this yesterday and am pleased with the results. Interested in feedback, pro or con.

 

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Buttonwillow, CA 

XE-2 • 23mm • ISO 200 • f/5.6 • 1/600 • Monochrome Red Filter

Edited June 5, 2016 by Tommyboy

[Max_Elmar]

It's crisp, sharp, and super-detailed, that's for sure. That appeals to me as a photographer. As a railfan, I feel it needs a little more context to be really interesting. Some railfans really dislike photos that feature tagging - I'm not one of those - but there is nothing that distinctive about this tagging that it can carry the photo. Including a nearby building, a signal, a locomotive, a crew person (the tagger?), or an interesting pattern in the nearby trackage would help a lot. Things that can move are usually more interesting when moving.

[Tommyboy]

. . . As a railfan, I feel it needs a little more context to be really interesting. Some railfans really dislike photos that feature tagging - I'm not one of those - but there is nothing that distinctive about this tagging that it can carry the photo. Including a nearby building, a signal, a locomotive, a crew person (the tagger?), or an interesting pattern in the nearby trackage would help a lot. Things that can move are usually more interesting when moving.

 

 

That's good feedback, thank you. In this spot, there was literally nothing else, which is what I thought was interesting about it; however, context is important in telling the story. This railcar is literally disembodied.

 

I learned something interesting about railcar tagging. The railroads will leave the graffiti in place as long as the car registration numbers are visible. The taggers and the railroads coexist peacefully if they give each other what they want. I learned this from a model railroader who seemed to know what he was talking about. I certainly do notice that registration numbers seem always to be visible. . . . 

Edited June 5, 2016 by Tommyboy

[Naddan28]

Certainly a careful and considered composition. Technically very well done too.

 

I wonder if an ultra wide angle would have helped convey your message of isolation/abandonment though?

[Warwick]

Nice shot. I suppose my question would be, what story are we telling here? If there's nothing else around, that's an interesting juxtaposition with graffiti, which seems a very urban thing. So I'd walk back a couple of steps and show a bit more of that nothing. That way you see the urban graffiti in the middle of nowhere and it gets you thinking 'who did this?'

 

 

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Edited June 6, 2016 by Warwick

[Tommyboy]

Thank you for the thoughtful and considered replies. I agree with your assessments. I shot about a dozen exposures from various perspectives. This was very late afternoon and I was casting nearly a 20-foot shadow. This tight crop was the result of me removing myself from the photo. I agree that a wider, and therefore more desolate, shot would convey a more compelling story.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.