[Keith Alan]

He walked into my shot to ask the time, then waited for the train to pass so he could head for home after work.
At least I think this happened.

[Banded Drake]

I really like this Keith . Great capture .


Did you tell him the time ?

..... Shawn

[Pat]

Yeah! I like it too - good one Keith

[Keith Alan]

I really like this Keith . Great capture .


Did you tell him the time ?

..... Shawn

I wanted to push him out of the shot and tell him something else!!
But I kept my temper under control, and then I got home and discovered it was my favorite photo of last night's trip.
And yes, I told him it was 8:49pm.

[soldier4Christ]

Keith,
This picture has a really nice effect... it really captures the eye and the imagination. God Bless.
In Christ,
Brad

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

Nice capture Keith!

It works great for me. Love the motion and the colors.

/Paul L.

[byrt_001]

looks good, i like the colours as well the contrast

[rdegro]

A one of a kind moment! Looks kinda' ghostly.

[Irma]

Excellent picture... I like it a lot!!
I also think the man adds a lot to the picture...

[Polly]

Wonderful - cracking good shot and I'd be thrilled if it was mine.

As a matter of interest - what shutter speed did you use? I'm also assuming you used a tripod, or maybe a monopod, with a slowish exposure. Is that so?

Pol

[Wedding Shooter]

Great shot Keith - love it.

[Russt]

echo the above Keith..........I really like this style of shot

[Keith Alan]

As a matter of interest - what shutter speed did you use? I'm also assuming you used a tripod, or maybe a monopod, with a slowish exposure. Is that so?
Pol

8 seconds at f 5, iso100 , so a tripod was mandatory.

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone!


As some of you know, I shoot a fair amount of trains, or to be accurate I used to.
But the stagnation in much of railfan photography has been boring me, and as I venture outside the norm my work has become more popular outside train circles, but ignored by the hardcore railfans.
But they 'got' this one, so all hope is not lost.

The day I posted it, the people in charge at Railroad Forums put it in their Editor's Choice Gallery, which is a major first for me.
So it's among 300 other shots, out of over 26,000 photos from 2000+ train photographers on that site.

Really, it all came down to being ready, but being very lucky.

[Toad]

I love the color, motion speed, and the concept of this shot.

When I read the title of the thread before seeing the shot, I had this fleeting thought about *crossing over* the river Styx to reach the land of the dead, and waiting for the ferryman, Charon to arrive. (Hope he has the pennies placed on his eyes for the fare...)

When I finally saw the shot, I get this feeling even stronger - particularly because of the subject's ghostly appearance, and the way the wall blocks your view of what lies beyond.

Cool stuff - I love it when a photo works the imagination.

[Keith Alan]

Toad, the title and ghostly man were intended to conjure exactly the feeling you describe, while leaving room for the more literal interpretation of what the photo actually is.
In fact I added the word 'over' to the title after realizing the possibility that some people would see it as you do.
Thanks!

[guerito]

Wow! This is fantastic! Congratulation on the editor's choice, it's well deserved.

[shuttertalk]

Hey Keith, congrats on an absolutely fantastic image. It has loads of mood and style, and works really well.

Sometimes the flukes are the best..