“I wonder what this scene would have looked like if it had been shot during the golden hour before sunset, or in the early morning hours?”—Mason Resnick
Photo © Bart Pulverman, Buena Park, CA. Gear: Nikon D90, 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens set at 62mm; Nikon HB-32 lens hood, 1970-vintage Vivitar 1321 tripod. Exposure: 1/800 sec, f/14, ISO 1000. In Adobe Photoshop CS 4: cropped and leveled image, adjusted the brightness and contrast on the locomotives, adjusted the color balance and intensity of the ground cover and I made minor adjustments to the contrast of the snow capped mountains.
Photographer’s statement: “The photograph was made on April 10, 2010 at 11:57 AM. Although I had driven through the Cajon Pass on the I-15 several times in my life between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I had never taken the time to explore it. All East or West bound trains into or out of Southern California must go through the Cajon Pass. Both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroads own tracks in the pass which cuts through the San Gabriel Mountains just outside of San Burnadino, California. It is one of the highest traffic areas on US railroads. This photo was taken near the 4190 foot summit at a location called Summit by the railroads.”
Our critics say..
Jack Howard: There is so much to like about this image: the way the bright Euclidian geometric colors of the freight trains interplays with the fractal geometric colors in the background and foreground mountains, the excellent employment of hyperfocus and virtually limitless depth and field, and the angle of attack of the approaching train. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the gray mechanical box and pole in the right of the frame. I’d love to see a frame in this series where the engine is closer to frame edge to obscure this box. (Or, if the photographer is of such a philosophical bent, to see this box eliminated in post, either via Content-Aware fill or cloning.)
Mark Lent: This is a really wonderful image. I love the full depth-of-field employed by the photographer. If I had a nit about this composition, it would be to crop the right portion of the image out to eliminate the box. I would also like a little localized burning in the background to add a hint of additional detail to the perfectly framed mountains. The foreground is also a little muted and could be adjusted to give it more depth and drama. The train is colorful and interesting; the muted colors in the other sections of the image give the train a lot of pop. Overall, a very fine image and I enjoyed seeing this scene!
Mason Resnick: Here’s why this image works for me: The photographer “stacked” the composition; the train in the foreground, the snow-capped mountains in the background. This required studying the scene, and moving around until he found the best angle. One or the other would have made for an OK shot, but together they bring the scene to life. I am a bothered a little by the mid-day light, which flattens the landscape; the direct overhead light robs the mountains of dramatic light and shadow. I wonder what this scene would have looked like if it had been shot during the golden hour before sunset, or in the early morning hours?
What do you think? Leave a comment!
