Thanks, Mike, for the great posts. I especially liked your last one which listed several really great ideas. How true this is.
I have an almost rigid scientific approach to photography which yields VERY predictable, but somewhat uninspired, results. Anyone who has seen much of my work (and there aren't that many except for my close friends), can spot one of my shots immediately, just by looking at the way it was composed and lit. I think this is BAD. It's SO easy to get into a rut where you learn how to do something, you grow to like it, then you just sit on your duff and keep doing that thing over and over and over, exactly the same way you've always done it. This gets very boring and tiresome. Within the last year, I've tried to expand my horizons a little. I've got a LONG way to go, but I have shot a few shots which I like, that I would have refused to shoot a couple of years ago. For instance, I never used to understand how to do those 'across the field' shots in which the train is usually fairly small. Now, I'm not at all bothered if this is the only type of shot I can get. By knowing how to do this kind of shot, I am free to shoot trains which would otherwise not be lit well enough to meet my standards. Your mention of foul weather is another one which a lot of us could take to heart. I DO agree with Eric that a lot of cloudy day shots look like crap, and in general, I try to avoid them. On the other hand, bad weather has made some of the most spectacular shots I've ever seen -- I think Dale Sanders wrote a piece on this a year or two ago. You know, it's totally overcast, and then a hole forms in the clouds which lights the train, but nothing else. The lens suggestion is likewise excellent. There are ALWAYS a variety of lenses you can use for any given shot. With 3 bodies, I usually try to do several simultaneously. I think much of what you mention boils down to experimentation. It's damned hard to learn when you have a closed mind. If you occasionally do things that make no sense, you will eventually make interesting discoveries. I'm not suggesting that anyone abandon their favorite shooting techniques, but in order to grow, you probably should do something that makes you uncomfortable from time to time. Anyway, I'm out of here, headed back to the Southwest for yet another trip. I'll post detail when I return in a week. Jim Gilley [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.eesoft.com/rr --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
