Lensbaby Heart Blog Circle Theme "Movement"
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with trains and urban graffiti. I've skulked around train depots, kicked through abandoned train yards, and walked many miles of tracks through the years with camera in hand, and I am so often fascinated with the idea of something traveling across a state or even the country picking up "artwork" along the way. How many hands have touched these train cars, and how many minds combined to create these graphic images? I begin to travel with these trains inside of my own head...
"Sunny Day on the Line"
The Lensbaby has opened new doors for me in terms of my addiction to photographing trains. I am able to capture a moving object with an exaggerated feeling of movement through the lens tilt, or I am able to capture a stationary subject and "create" the movement. The possibilities are really endless. All of these images were taken with the Composer Pro and the Sweet 35 Optic.
"Art on the Tracks"
The strong lines and graphic colors of the graffiti painted on these cars gives me an instant sense of almost forbidden pleasure. While I don't condone "tagging" or defacing property, I do love documenting the nature of the world around me with my camera.
"Old West By Rail"
Sometimes I capture an image that gives me a distinct sense of space and time. When I took "Old West by Rail", I was almost transported to the dusty roads and wide open spaces that were once the Americas. Something about the illusion of speed and the tones that spoke to me while editing allowed me to almost channel the feeling of riding along a train on horseback.
"Movin' On Down the Line"
Of course, as much as I love trains, train tracks and shooting these "steel creatures" in motion, I have to give the same warning that I do to everyone when I share images like this...be extremely careful any time that you get near train tracks; it can be difficult to judge the speed of a moving train, and one should never stand on or too close to the tracks - not to mention that the area on and around railroad tracks is actually private property. The only "safe" time to be on the tracks is when they are closed, and even then you need to have an official "guide".
"The Depot"
Lucikly, I have a close family friend who works for the railroad, and this has allowed me to "safely" photograph certain areas that would otherwise be off limits. "The Depot" ties all of the above trains together...the long lines of tracks and the station is as graphically fascinating to me as the trains themselves. With this shot I wanted to use perspective and the signature Lensbaby tilt and blur to give a sense of what it feels like to be right there in the action; to give a sense of the rush of air and the clattering of metal on metal as one of the earlier forms of transportation carries on in the 21st Century.
Remember, the world is filled with stories waiting to be told - as photographers, we have the unique ability to find a scene or an object and bend it into something that tells the story inside of our heads...and the "bending" is just a little bit easier with the Lensbaby!
If you haven't already, do some research on the wonderful world of the Lensbaby, there are so many incredible options when it comes to this system, especially if you seek to create "art" with your photography. And be sure to continue around the "Lensbaby Heart Circle" by visiting the page of the talented Janet Douglas!