Bye, Bye, Train

Consider the end of train shot. Not shot nearly as often as head end shots (helper shots excepted), unless everyone is shooting them and keeping them to themselves. Generally speaking, it's harder to take a picture that tells a story. The front of a train has an inherent dynamic, a story, its motion or pending movement. The tail end, especially now that cabooses are not in general use, just does not, or its dynamic is muted. How can one make the story?

Well, here's a gem by Brian Plant, my favorite EOT shot. What makes this shot work? First of all, the low angle. The strong element of the track in the close foreground stretches the picture, from just in front of the photographer to the distant mountains. The train adds to this feeling of depth, especially since one is looking at the tail end; the eye has a stronger desire to go to the "back" of the picture to find the power. Were the train coming toward the camera, one would take a much weaker interest in the far end. The shot is so "big" in terms of space that one is surprised to see that it was taken with a 100mm lens!

The BW is nice, first of all because it is well done, but furthermore because removing the color places greater emphasis on the elements of the composition. It's not a pretty, colorful scenic with a dynamic composition, it is a dynamic composition. At the same time, it conveys a full sense of "wide open spaces" and of the desert but through light and tonal contrast instead of color.

Now consider a different shot, one from my personal collection. The concept is simple, common to many shots: have a strong foreground element and something of interest in the background, creating an emphasis on the distance between the two. The somewhat dull light is unfortunate - the snowfall is quite fresh but the location is fairly well shaded. I am OK with that the grayness contributes to a theme of abandonment and in fact, I can now see the shot being a bit darker. Still, overall there isn't that much going on here. So a few of the basic elements are there - some depth, a bit of mood - but it does not have power like Brian's shot.

One factor that may or may not detract is the diagonal symmetry. There is an element in the lower right and one in the upper left. One might say they occupy the "rule-of-fourths" positions, were there such a rule. It works for me, but then I like compositions that are in pairs, horizontals that are left-right combinations. Brian's composition is much more complex, with significant curves, a train that goes front-to-back and side-to-side, great light, distant horizon mountain elements. By contrast mine is just a simple thing.

One question I have is the appropriate distance to the receding train? I personally like this somewhat extended distance. The train is goooone! And there is more depth. While the train is small, its red marker lights strengthen its presence in this grayish scene. Would you prefer the train nearer, or farther? Sorry, no comparison shot available; I didn't see the shot develop and this was the first of the series.


Anyway, I am interested in seeing more such end of train shots, so if you know of a decent one, please send me a link! I might even add to this post, or revisit the subject from scratch, down the road.