It’s been a bit since I dropped in, but thought I’d share some rail photography odds and ends from around the Centennial State that I’ve shot recently.
Let’s start with home — Pueblo, CO. Much like Denver Union Station was in Denver, Pueblo Union Depot has become my de facto subject when I come across good light and can’t figure out what to shoot. Lately, I’ve been playing with some stitched panoramas in said situations. Be sure to follow the Flickr link on the second of these and enlarge it. I’ve posted it larger than my normal web sizing.
I caught a BNSF Welded Rail train east of town on the Pueblo sub. This isn’t too far from NA Junction where the former MoP heads towards Towner (I know there’s been some discussion about that line on another thread). As with a lot of my recent B&W work, I played around with this one in Nik’s Silver Efex. Google recently released the full Nik suite of editing software for free download. Some of it is a bit cheesy, but Silver Efex is one of the plugins that
As usual, Chris, a nice treat. Some nice examples of unusual composition that breaks away from tic-tac-toe for stunning effect. It’s that darned “eye” at work again, for sure. Since I have to go to lunch shortly, I will revisit later when I have time to savor.
Awesome as usual. I especially liked the black and whites.
I have a color photo of Chris’ avatar on my office wall. One of my customers went ga-ga over it. The guy is not much into trains but seemed to be big into protography.[:D]
While reading that your fiance liks to paint, I glanced down at the Ft. Collins trolley picture and thought it was a painting. A really transformative photo.
The flat light on the flowers that makes them prominent, as opposed to the high contrast sunlight/shadow of the background, just looks like artistic license that a painter of popular art might take.
Nice work as always Chris. I haven’t been in here much myself lately, but your photography is one of the reasons I got to drop in from time to time [tup].
Careful there. Somebody down there will come looking for Chris claiming that was their water that he took advantage of. Probably one of the commune’s finer examples near NA Junction. (have fun with Hamlet and Nepesta this winter!)
Ft. Collins: Two pieces of rail hiding in the grass. Wish they would consider taking care of the track along with the shiny toys…
Chris, you’re too hard on yourself, your “failures” are a hell of a lot better than some other people’s successes!
Great shots, all of them.
By the way, where do you get that Ilford Pan film developed? And where do you get it, period? Digital’s killed just about everything traditional around here.
Chad - I can’t believe that thing is still kicking. If you ever get rid of it, I get first dibs at buying it back for nostalgia’s sake!
Firelock - The Pan F was actually a gift from the fiancé. I think she picked it up at Hunt’s Photo in Melrose, MA while she still lived out there. Colorado still has a photographic source – Mike’s Camera – that carries a small selection of medium format film. I don’t see Pan F every time I go in there, but have at least a couple of times. Tri-X and TMax 100 seem to be their standard B&W emulsions that they carry. If you want to look online, Freestyle Photo seems to have the best selection of film emulsions and sizes, though there are other sources. The Film Photography Podcast store has some truly unique stuff, if you’re in the mood to experiment.
As for development, I’ve been sending my stuff to The Darkroom in San Clemente, California recently. It’s of course anathema to send out B&W film for developing at a lab, but I just don’t have the time or any manner of a darkroom (even my bathroom leaks light like a sieve). The Darkroom can process most things, provides free basic scans, offers higher resolution scans, provides you with free mailers for your next rolls and has a great reputation among film photographers. It’s a good fit for my life at the moment, though I do hope to have a darkroom again in the future.
Thanks so much for that feedback Chris! I’m not a serious photographer by any means, but I do have a nice collection of antiques that are sitting idle because I’ve got nothing to feed 'em. I’m afraid my beloved Argus C-3 is facing permanent retirement one of these days.
My champ antique? An 1899 Kodak folder with a red leather bellows, originally built for Type 105 film it handles Type 120 quite nicely. And let me tell you, when used properly some of those antiques can still sing!
No problem, but I plan on rollin’ with it till the wheels fall off [swg]. And since every Canon product I ever owned still works just fine, I’d say that might be a while. [Y]
ATSF 2912 and Rainbow - Pueblo Union Depot by Chris May, on Flickr
Pueblo Sunset Panorama by Chris May, on Flickr
Rainbows Over Coal DPU's - Pueblo, CO by Chris May, on Flickr