Click to enlargeRailroad iron is a magician’s rod,
in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water.
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— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
.in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water.
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— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
When I processed this image into black and white the soft, almost dreamlike, quality of the result seemed to imply that sense of magic and wonder the railroad used to hold far more than the industrial blight it so often connotates today.
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What do you think? Is the romance of the railway dead? Did it ever really exist or have our rose-colored glasses exchanged the black coal smoke for the haze of dreams?
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22 comments:
Lovely in mono.
I agree - it has rare quality.
Personally - I love trains. I just wish it was a more affordable transportation option. And your picture is lovely.
Wonderful... I can hear the train coming, those tracks are humming ..
Nice! I like the tunnel of threes
That's a beautiful shot. I am a romantic but I can see both sides. I think the past is often romanticized when the reality is much harsher.
Great shot!! WOnder where it leads. It's true, like Kate says, its soo expensive. Would love to travel by train.
I love to travel on trains. Always certain it will stop on a designated station. Lovely mono.
This picture does it fantastic in B&W
I don't think the romance is dead, I wish we turned more to trains v. planes. It's a beautiful photo.
I think it existed. I used to love the old trains with corridors, just like in all the best films!
This one was REALLY good :-))
This may be one of your best photo's!
Beautiful shot!
"Steel rails chasing sunshine round the bend, winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind..." (a little Alison Krauss for you :-) I think part of the romance is that it connected people when little else did...like postal mail was more romantic when it came once a month and by pony express...and letters came from people from whom you never otherwise heard. And they're just pretty and mysterious, how they wander off through the woods without shoulders, billboards, highway signs, etc.
Love the old feel to this
I love the feeling of motion... and age... and an older wisdom.
This is wonderful and better enlarged! Fantastic in mono-
I love train tracks...ahhh, the journey!
This is magical! Sorry I'm so late returning your visit.
Hey Robin--I haven't been on nearly as much as I used to, so I'm trying to catch up on your photos. I love railroads, and for a long time I've wanted to get a good railroad track shot. Kind of like this one, actually. I love it.
Makes for a great b&w. I feel mostly a wistfulness, so maybe the romance is gone? My wife and I when we were in college (not married yet) would walk the railroad tracks to town and back so the romance for me (us) comes from a slightly different remembering.
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