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Beter Together! Some things just aren’t
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horizon right in the middle of the composition (not tipping the camera up or down), you will avoid the “lines of convergence” effect that frequently happens to vertical elements in wide-angle views. Obviously, in many situations you might not want to keep the horizon right in the middle, and digital photo- editing software makes it relatively easy to straighten out the resultant converging lines. Many photo-editing programs even have built-in lens profiles that allow you to correct the distortions inherent to lens design with the click of a single button, and some of the newest digital cameras now correct for this automatically.
Personal Preferences My own tastes have been trending wider
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and wider during the last several years of my 15-year pursuit of railroad photography. These days, I tend to look first for wide-angle compositions whenever I arrive at a new location. That’s partly a reflection of my great interest in the relationships between railroads and the lands they traverse, but it’s also a matter of aesthetic preference. After years of making and looking at photographs, I’ve come to strongly favor the greater depth and enhanced near-far relationships that come from wide-angle lenses. I still enjoy a well- executed telephoto shot, and I would never go on a serious photography trip without my own telephoto lens, but given the choice, I tend to seek the wider view. If I could go back in time and give my 20-year-old self some photographic advice, I would advocate strongly for more wide- angle views. Anytime I look back at my early photography attempts, I find shots that disappointment me for their lack of depth and framing. Too many times, I framed the train so tightly that you can barely see what’s around it. The trains, of course, are what drew me trackside to begin with, and I certainly
want good photographs of them. But, by and large (and especially in the more homogenous railroad scene of the 21st century), I find that more than enough good photographs of the trains already exist. The surrounding landscape is a different story. Even when looking through historic photography collections of railroads that are long gone, I often wish for wider views. The 50mm lens was such a stalwart tool of railroad photography for so long that it can sometimes be a little frustrating for a context- driven viewer like me. It’s so discouraging to see a tight shot of a train passing through what looked like an interesting scene without being able to fully appreciate the details of that scene. To me, those contextual elements are just as important to the photograph as the train is. I want to see them, and I want them to have been photographed well, by someone who knew how to use a wide-angle lens.
Go Wide! As railroad photographers, we often try to
place the trains and railroads in the greater context of their surroundings. Wide-angle lenses can be powerful tools in this pursuit. Fill the frame with interesting compositional elements to get the most out of wide lenses’ inherent advantages. Before long, you’ll be looking for — and finding — more and more chances to go wide.
Scott Lothes is president and executive director of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art (
www.railphoto-art.org) in Madison, Wis. His photography and writing have appeared in numerous publications since 2001.
All experienced photographers are welcomed as guest columnists for CAMERA BAG. To get started, please contact editor Steve Barry at
editor@railfan.com.
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Station structures and their shadows provide a strong foreground and framing elements for these “Highliners” on the Metra Electric line in downtown Chicago on a bright February day in 2015. The city’s world-class skyline comprises the background and gives the photograph an instantly- recognizable sense of place. The Highliners have since been retired from service, and this photograph depicts not only the cars but also the place they served for so many years. SCOTT LOTHES
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