I went back to my copy of the Spirit of Railroading and checked on
your 188-89 picture spread and agree that it's one of the best shots.
Three things make it a good shot are the light, the great gentle curve
(relative to the harsh gridded pattern dictated by the township and
range lines that section off the majority of the western US), and the
way it captures the feel of Illinois. Having grown up in Wisconsin it
took a while to admit that Illinois could be scenic, or so it's not the
Canadian Rockies, or California, but it's got it's own feel that comes
through in that shot. Or may Illinois really does look better from an
airplane...going real fast :^). To get back to the geometry issue it's
still there in that image...it's the curve. Without sounding like some
art critic with a glass of wine in my hand I think the image of the
curve cutting through the gridded patterns of the fields is almost as
symbolic as a tunnel cutting through a ridge.
A piece of "game show knowledge" the township and range lines,
couple with the high premium that Iowa's founders had a huge impact on
the road system of that state. Specifically civil engineers were
"forced" to run north-south and east west in order not to waste Iowa's
most precious resource - land. Roads that run on a diagonal are
extremely rare.
Greg
P. Rowland wrote:
> >Jeez, I've never looked at composition from the geometry standpoint.
> I
> >love pictures that show trains in relation to the environment they
> pass
> >through. Maybe that's why I love all the N&W steam work by Winston
> Link.
> >I suppose you could study his work and some other pictures that I
> like
> >and find some kind of geometric pattern, but that's not what pulls my
>
> >chain. I just like pictures that show railroad and something about
> the
> >territory. Maybe that's why, in Danneman's Spirit of Railroading
> book,
> >the Mel Finzer aerial shot on p 188-189 is one of my favorites.
> >Geometric pattern? Dunno.
>
> I'm staring right now at my OWL calendar for 1998. Geez, that guy was
>
> insanely great!
>
> One thing I've noticed and I wonder if anybody else has: In most of
> his
> shots he hid his light sources very well, but in some shots (notably
> the
> "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" image) he has them out in plain
> view.
> Did his styles change, or did he just do that when there was nowhere
> to
> hide the stands?
>
> ---Mark---
>
> La Plata, MO
> MP 312.7 on the Marceline Sub
> Home of the unique 1945 ATSF depot now being restored
>
> -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects'
> -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/
> -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved
-> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects'
-> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/
-> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved
