I’m still chipping away at the photos from the New Year’s trip to Williamsburg and thought I’d share this one of Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Barker has been portraying Thomas Jefferson for many years. I’m always impressed with his ability to respond to any question or situation in character. If you visit Colonial Williamsburg, make sure to find him on the schedule and make a point to see one of his public audiences. You won’t regret it.
Just a fun shot from Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. Universal did an incredible job creating an immersive environment that’s full of photography opportunities.
On a photo charter in February 2016, Christopher Brang assesses the situation while working on a stuck brake that has halted progress down the hill.
One of my goals for the year is to photograph the people involved in the operations of these historic machines more than I have in the past rather than simply focusing on the trains. Fortunately I have a couple opportunities to practice this year.
One of the things I find fascinating during the abandoned building workshop’s I’ve attended is chairs. Photographers move the chairs around the buildings to create scenes. Sometimes it’s an industrial chair sitting by a table suggesting the presence of a worker who stepped away for a minute. Other times it’s an arm chair (like the one above) that was originally part of an office suite placed in the middle of a warehouse or manufacturing area. You never know what you’ll find, but there’s usually an interesting vignette to be photographed.
Last fall, I attended Steamtown National Historic Site’s annual Railfest. The highlight of the event was a night photo session that included scenes at the Sand Tower, Mattes Street Tower and the Roundhouse. I arrived in time for the night session Saturday night and then stayed over to see the event Sunday. Special events included demonstrations in the machine shop, tours of the Office and Stores Building, and of course train rides pulled by Baldwin Locomotive Works #26.
Sand Tower:
Mattes Street Tower:
Roundhouse:
Machine Shop Demonstration:
Ring of Fire:
Singing the Theme Song:
One of my favorite photos from the night session held during the 2017 Railfest at Steamtown National Historic Site. Steve Barry provided the lighting and did an excellent job as usual. Unlike the typical practice of late where night sessions are lit with a constant light source, this one was done with flash which produces a much better quality of light and freezes the smoke and steam.
Just finished editing the photos from Railfest, so look for a trip Report Tuesday.
Another shot from the archives. D&RGW #478 makes its way through the Animas River Canyon at a location known as Cement Wall. The narrow sliver of land that the tracks occupy and their position on the outside of a bend in the river made them a constant problem due to washouts. In response, the railroad poured a large cement wall to protect the tracks, giving this location its name.
This was taken on a private photo charter on the Durango & Silverton back in February 2011. Hard to believe this was 7 years ago as well.
Taken during the night photo session at Steamtown National Historic Site’s Railfest last year. Steve Berry organized the night session and did a great job as usual.
I’m still editing images from Railfest. More to come in a couple weeks.
Hard to believe this trip to Wilmington & Western was just over 7 years ago. Where has the time gone?
As I mentioned Friday, I attended another Abandoned America workshop at the Klotz Throwing Company last fall. Having been to Klotz earlier in the year I had a better idea of what I wanted to shoot. I wanted to take my time and focus on some scenes that I wasn’t happy with my results or that I missed completely the previous trip.
A.F. Green Insurance:
Spools:
Main Electrical Panel:
Motors:
Gulf Petrolium February 1949:
Tags:
Last but not least, I asked Herb, Klotz’s owner and caretaker, to stand for a portrait:
