Many thanks to those who replied to my East vs West post, including Jim Boyd.
Yes, there is greater use of telephoto in the west. The reasons are, (1)environmental (tracks surrounded by old growth forest and rarely can the entire length of the train be seen curving around the landscape. With greater population density, more power lines and utility poles clutter the background). The west, especially the desert south west is appreciated for its wide open spaces. (2)atmospheric ; summertime in the east, especially around large bodies of water produces muggy weather with grey diffused light. Sky is a nasty shade of grey. (3) cultural ; easterners photograph trains , westerners photograph scenery with trains. Having been both an eastern and western photographer, I find the cultural aspect interesting and true. Each spring, myself and others drive hundreds of miles to visit Tehachapi, Ash Hill,and Meadow Valley Wash. Our quest is to collect dramatic images which best depict the spirit of western railroading. ie trains doing amazing things to transit the landscape. Back east however, the focus was different. We drove hundreds of miles to shoot Alco's, or to shoot the Lehigh Valley RR before it became part of Conrail. We were always racing the clock . Some of the places we went to were decidedly unscenic, but are remembered fondly for the fact that they hosted unusual motive power or equipment. Having made these sweeping generalizations, I must say that living in the west for the last twenty odd years, I do both. I seek out the dramatic parts of the Fraser & Thompson canyons, and the high bridges of Rogers Pass, and carefully document the railroad equipment which I see while it is in the new shiny paint or before it is made into new Toyotas. Blair Kooistra's "One More Mountain to Cross" photo feature in Trains some years back was a dramatic crossover of this cultural diversity. He was racing the clock to depict the Milwaukee Road before it vanished and depicting the environment in which it operated very well. Phil Mason Revelstoke B.C. --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 2456
