A photographer friend of mine reccomended that I read a recent article in National Geographic magazine by a fellow named Jim Brandenburg. He's a professional photographer who specializes in nature. He came up with an interesting challenge for himself which resulted in a remarkable series of photos that should be of interest to all railroad photographers. There's not a single train in any of the shots but it's the challenge that I think is important.
Jim Brandenburg's goal was to go into the north woods of Minnisota and spend 90 days from the Autumnal Equinox to the Winter Solstice taking nature shots. The only hitch to this goal was that the rules he set for himself allowed him to take only one shot per day. He spent most of this time walking through the woods trying to find that one special shot to represent each day. All 90 photographs are published in the November 97 issue of National Geographic. They are absolutely stunning. Remember, these aren't the pick out of hundreds of shots, these photos are it. In many cases he'd see a shot but wanted the light to be just right. He'd return the next day but it still was not what he wanted. After returning to a scene after several visits he'd get exactly what it was that he had envisioned. One other days he'd be surprised by a wolf chasing prey and instantly turn to grab an action shot of the chase. On one day late in the time frame after he'd gotten most of the easy shots and passed up several other shots throughout the day, time was gaining on him and he still hadn't taken a photo. He spotted a leaf floating on a pond of black water and snapped the shot. He expected to be disappointed but got what was one of the better photos. I know that most of us don't have 90 days to spend in the field only to take one shot each day but the concept is what intrigues me. How about going out on a railfan photo safari for the day and restricting ourselves to just two or three shots; rain, snow or bright Sun. Do we always have to shoot in the Sun? Do we always have to have a train in the shot? Is it necessary that we use motor drives and knock off three or four shots of the train as it approches? I guess what I am thinking about here is discipline. The discipline to hold back from taking so, so shots. The discipline to think the shot out before squeezing the shutter. The discipline to take the time to set up a shot, wait for the train to arrive and to come home with a fantastic piece of work. Check out the November National Geographic. I think that you'll all be impressed with what this guy did, how he overcame the challenges and the beautiful photographs that resulted in his painstaking work. Dan Hadley -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs
