The lonely freight car
[Download this photo-essay]1.5 Mo – 6 pages
I did a trip in Australia in 2007. I was beginning my photographic work, in search for creativity. On one suburbs around Sydney, I found an old tank car in the middle of an oil refinery. It has been there for years I suppose. I did a “portrait” of this freight car. This led me to publish a PDF photo-essay : the lonely freight car.
Some single pictures from this essay don’t really have a link with the Railroad world. You have to consider all of them in a global way. They all show details that will help you to have an idea of this abandoned tank car.
Digital pictures have an interesting side: you can process than any time you want. My personal vision has changed since 2007. I am now more interested with black and white photography. So I opened Lightroom and worked on the pictures. You can find the result of this new approach on the gallery below.
Dave’s Photo Page
English language
A personal vision is a source of inspiration to everyone, especially when it’s creative. Then it’s our job to add our personal sensitivity, our “touch”. “New Horizons” is a section that helps you to find such personal visions to help you to improve your work. David Hyman’s website is one of this creative vision on Railroad Photography, a gold mine filled with shining nuggets.
David has two talents. First, he is a great photographer and writer. He explores any kind of medium to express himself. His recent work are slideshows … on a PDF file! He also writes very good photo-essays (like this one about the Fascination of Trains or this other one about MoW people, the Unsung Heroes).
David’s other talent was to realize the “World Class Photography” section, a meeting of talented photographers from all around the world. Just imagine: John Fasulo, Ronni Kappel, Misko Kranjec, Scott Lothes, Kevin Scanlon… And the list is not complete! This section has dozens of golden nuggets. Be ready to be surprised, to be amazed or chocked. This is THE place to go to find inspiration and ideas, to stay in contact with contemporary Railroad Photography Creativity.
David Hyman’s website main page
Misko’s albums
English language (most of the website is done with photo galleries).
You probably don’t know Misko Kranjec‘s work. He is one of Europe most talented and creative photographer. In 2006, he won the famous Center for Railroad Photography award with Scott Lothes.
Misko is a Slovenian photojournalist. Most of his work is about human beings. The link we share with you here will drive you to a brand new world : Misko’s galleries. Around 30 of them will show how contemporary and creative is Misko’s look on the Railway World. Look closely to the eyes of the people on the pictures. It will show you the deep trust between them and the photographer.
We suggest you to discover one gallery : the first 2010 snow in the Ljubljana station (Slovenia). You can see the work of a talented photojournalist: Misko found looks, attitudes,… This is a great photo-essay and we have to look at it closely. This will give us precious clues for our future works.
Center for Railroad Photography and Art : 2006 award.
Lézat Snapshots
Lézat is a small village in the Bienne river Valley, between the towns of St Claude and Morez, deep in the Jura Mountains. It is far away from busy highways. A quiet place on the side of a mountain that receives sunlight most of the day. Last but not least, a railway line passes through the town.
Easily reachable by bicycle, the area is not too far from my house. You can probably understand then, why Lézat was where I experienced one of my first railfaning days, and why I visited there many times afterward. The railway track through Lézat takes an S shaped turn through the village to avoid the various small farms and houses along the way. Seasonal changes, present plenty of opportunities for photography. Mostly, and for reasons I find difficult to explain, Lézat’s allure keeps me returning.
I learned how to use a wide angle lens while photographing Lézat. The scene taught me to move far away from the track if I wanted to capture the whole valley within my picture frame. During my earliest days photographing railroads, standing a few hundred meters from the moving train was inconceivable to me! Photographing at Lézat also taught me to search for new viewpoints, conditional upon the light or the weather, forcing me to not take the same pictures twice. This became an important rule for me!
The following gallery showcases pictures taken from most of the accessible viewpoints in Lézat. But as my vision evolves, I think it may be possible that Lézat has hidden surprises for me. Some readers may have noticed that the perfect snow shot is missing… the call for another trip!
