Went on an impromptu hike the other day, and this is one of the photos I ended up with… Give it a click for a larger image and more information.
Trains are big. But every once in a while, you need a shot like that to put things into perspective.
I run into a related (but not very similar) problem: in my job, I take freight cars weighing up to 143 tons apiece, and direct them and control their speed, usually with the capability of bringing them to a stop if I need to and allowing them to go. I do this hundreds of times a day, so it’s easy to lose sight of just how big these things are, and the damage they can do. Which is why I like to get up close and personal with trains on my off days, to put things back in perspective.
Now that that’s off my chest, that is one sensational shot!
You’re right on that one, Carl! It’s easy to lose perspective on something that can seem trivial from a distance…
A remarkable picture. Truly fascinating and it does put things into their respective places.[8D]
To someone who rarely sees snow it was noticeable that the snow is far less on the hillside than in the valley: I guess that is probably due to the sun and lack of it!
Here’s a few more things to help put the world and your existence into perspective:
This is rather computer-intensive: http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/universcale/index_f.htm
This one takes a few seconds to load, and you must press the ‘play’ button beneath the game ad, but is quite fascinating: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/525347
Another sliding-scale animation, this one is about biology: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
This one doesn’t look like too much until you realize just how WIDE the page is (supposedly it is the widest web page in existence [over 1/2 MILE wide]): http://www.phrenopolis.com/perspective/solarsystem/
And if you’re a sci-fi fan, you might find this one interesting and fun: http://www.st-minutiae.com/misc/comparison/comparison_large.png
And how much smaller we are…
…That certainly different.
Along that same vein, here’s one that’s been circulating amongst my family and friends on Facebook:
What you are seeing is the same amount of snow only the snow is on the ground beneath the trees,(rarely does the snow cover the trees) and note where the treeline ends and snow is on the peaks.
Gotta love the scenery of the Rockies. Trains may be big from our perspective, but mountains give them proper perspective.
Mother nature always wins.
Well I wouldn’t exactly say that the snow rarely covers the trees…it depends on the winter, but I’ve seen it where trees were buried under a foot of snow one very branch for months on end.
The trees do hide snow amazingly well, though. It hit 25 here yesterday, and you can still find some hiding under bushes here and there!