Enjoy the drama

I've written a lot this year about how I have changed my approach to watching trains, writing about trains and photographing trains. Quite frankly, I'm doing this because I find myself bored with what's out there. Ottawa is essentially a dead zone for railfanning. I find most fans in this city dedicate themselves to the Arnprior Turn, a short train that services Nylene Canada and sometimes Kott Lumber on Wednesdays, via the Smiths Falls Sub, Beachburg Sub and Renfrew Spur.

Online, I often find railfanning photos are focused exclusively on the engines. That's fine if that is what keeps you motivated, but I just don't find these photos all that interesting anymore. There is more to a train than the power up front. Many photos, I find, are tightly focused on the engine with no thought given to the scenery around the train. Again, if this is what you prefer, I can respect that. It's just not my thing.

Here's an example above of a tight shot of an old F59PH commuter diesel passing by the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last November. I took a tight shot of this unit because they have become increasingly rare on Metrolinx rails in the Toronto area.  

Now contrast that with another shot I took from the same vantage point, but with more context. I won't say this is massive improvement over the top shot, but you can at least see some buildings in downtown Toronto, not to mention the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Possibly the fact that there are two trains in the frame makes the biggest difference. Still, I like that I can see more of the trains in the frame. What comes after the engine matters as much as the engine itself.

This brings me to a point that I don't think I've made in all my ramblings about rail photography this year. In all my images, I feel that giving your photos context also gives your photos drama. I don't means to be dramatic (pun intended) but I will mention that there is an essential truth to what we all do.

That truth is this. When we stand trackside, we all have a sense of anticipation over what is to come or what may come. When we first see headlights on the horizon, we all feel some sort of excitement, wondering what we might be able to capture. Is there a heritage unit? An old piece of rolling stock? An old legacy piece of passenger equipment? A caboose? These are all possibilities.

Then there's this. As we stand trackside, there is always some sense of drama as these massive machines make their way over polished, smooth rail, on their way to deliver people to their loved ones, or to deliver essential goods to make life easier for us all. There is always drama in the movement of a train.

This shot above, taken last April at the Belfast Road overpass in Ottawa, is an example of drama. You can barely see the P42 in front, as it makes its way down the Alexandria Sub to Coteau, Quebec, where it will then make its way to Montreal via the Kingston Subdivision. Can you see the smoke from the engine? Can you sense the momentum building? Do you see the old LRC equipment with the original Via colours? Did you know the houses to the left of the frame belong to a neighbourhood in the city where all streets are named after letters of the alphabet (Avenue A, Avenue B, etc.)?

Here's one of my favourite images, taken last August in Stratford. I like that you see multiple lines of cars in the yard, the faded paint on the old CN engines, the Stratford Masterfeeds grain elevator, the grass in the foreground, the communications tower and some sky. The local was slowly making its way east through the yard on a hot day. I think you can get a sense of what it was like to be standing where I was near Niles Street and what it felt like to see this train.

In other words, I think we need to enjoy the everyday drama of watching these machines and capture some of that drama.