# On the right track



## Terry D (Aug 27, 2016)

Any railroad buffs out there? I took these this morning.


        

This bridge crosses the Skunk River only a couple of miles from where the Skunk joins the Mississippi. Here's a closer look at the Skunk.

To the west...


To the east...


A heron who wasn't pleased with me...
   

A few more bridge shots...


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## midnightpoet (Aug 28, 2016)

Good stuff.:grin:

"Freight train, freight train, movin' so fast..."

Elizabeth Cotten


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## felixm (Aug 28, 2016)

Wonderful pictures.  What a great looking engine!!  And caboose. And the plaque.  I live near the PA  museum of trains  in Strasburg and used to run-before my knees crapped out-  the Enola low grade trail along the Susquehanna.  Thanks very much for the photos.


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## Firemajic (Aug 29, 2016)

The thing that captivates my imagination with your work, Terry, is your flair for the dramatic....  I noticed this in most of your photos, the drama ... thank you for sharing... love these...


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## Terry D (Aug 29, 2016)

Firemajic said:


> The thing that captivates my imagination with your work, Terry, is your flair for the dramatic....  I noticed this in most of your photos, the drama ... thank you for sharing... love these...



When I have the camera in my hands I'm always looking for images which 'hook' me like the opening line of a really good story. I'm trying to train my eye to 'see' like a photographer, to recognize patterns, perspectives, and textures, and to understand how they will look in the finished shot. There's also a lot of luck involved. I took almost 160 shots Saturday morning and have only kept about 60 of them. Most of what I tried to do worked out to a greater, or lesser extent, so that was encouraging. The right lens makes a huge difference, for instance in these two shots:


The first one was taken with a wide angle lens (10 X 18mm). Notice how the bridge seems much much longer than in the second photo?


This one was taken with a 150 X 600mm zoom set at 150mm. See how the perspective is compressed? Ever watch a scary movie where a hallway will suddenly seem to stretch into the distance in a dream-like way? They do that by starting the shot with their lens set at a long focal length and then zooming out to a wide angle.





Thanks


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## Firemajic (Aug 29, 2016)

SquEEeek.... absolutely fascinating.... the first photo has more drama than the second example of the same bridge.... oooh yeah... the angle adds that extra dimension ... realllly, ANOTHER dimension altogether ...


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## Terry D (Aug 29, 2016)

Here is my favorite shot from Saturday:


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