Darth Vader's new gig as a Bank Robber

The Darkside has truly taken Lord Vader as he robs a bank in New York. Of course, I'd think that he'd be using a lightsaber instead of that Glock.

Read the full Reuters Story here

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Part of the Herd

Cattle in corral waiting to be weighed before being trailed to railroad, Beaverhead County, Montana (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

A great Russell Lee shot of life in 1942 Montana.

Do you ever feel like the cows in the corral? Herded towards an unknown destination?

I know that I do sometimes.

"It's Monday, so I'm back at work"

"That's just the way we've always done it!"

"Change is the only constant"

Even the best made plans can easily go astray

Even the best made plans can easily go astray as I'm sure that many of you can attest to.

The shot that you are looking at is unfortunately NOT on a model railroad, but on the full-size Norfolk Southern Pocahontas Division in the mountains of West Viriginia at the small town of Keystone, WV.




Cindy and I decided to go away for the weekend to our new favorite getaway at the Elkhorn Inn which is about 3 miles west of this photo location.

Since part of the enjoyment of the location to me is watching and photographing trains, the derailment meant that while I got some unusual photos of the cars above (brand new clean on their sides), it also meant that the traffic was probably 25% of what it would of been on a normal weekend.

While that usually would of been something that would of upset me, this weekend I did a really good job of just flowing with it. Less trains meant more time to read, time for a nice afternoon nap, and more conversation with our hosts.

The wreck also gave me a chance to see how a major railroad deals with a derailment on one of their mainlines. Luckily no one was hurt by the wreck. Here is my article about the derailment http://exm.nr/keystonewv 

We had a wonderful weekend, it was just different from what I expected in the first place.

Sidelight:

On our way to West Virginia, we stopped at the Chateau Morrisette winery which is located just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Take a look at their website at http://www.chateaumorrisette.com/ to see the beautiful property. Cindy and I had our first wine tasting adventure at the winery and found some great wines which we really liked. One thing that impressed us is that several of the wines have profits which partially go towards animal rescue groups. The winery is pet-friendly and you have to make sure to pet the dogs which roam the property. Next time we'll make time to have dinner on the property.



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The ageless water tank..

The wooden watertank at the Rabun Gap Railroad Museum was created by the students at the neighboring school (famous for the Foxfire books) along with everything else. However, the museum is located on the old right of way of the Tocca Falls Railroad which ran from Georgia up to Franklin, NC.

It makes you ponder the question about what is old. Done in sepia, the tank takes on an ageless status which betrays it's relative actual youth.

I think that is part of the fun of making pictures.. finding the timelessness that remains.

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What is your work's mission?

As I was listening to Jeff Curotos Camera Position #39 which was about finding "Your Mission & Your Audience" for your work, on my way into work this morning.

As scary as there word "Mission Statement" is to someone like me who has been in Corporate America for the last 15+ years, the idea of discovering who and what you want your work to communicate is a really good idea.

One of the concepts from the podcast is the fact that the first answer is always, "I make photographs for myself".

However, we also plan on showing our photographs to other people. In my case, my family, other railfans and photographers, and the general public.

You can even develop "missions" for different parts of your work.

For example, if you are doing a series documenting old barns vs. portrait work that you do for family and friends.

For me I think my work tends to fall into a couple of groupings:

1. Black and White:
1. Railroad/Historical
2. Landscape/Scenic
2. Color:
1. "Railfanning" - what I saw/when documentation
2. Family
3. Road-trip/travel
4. Misc

Each of these groupings might be seen by different groups. My standards for each group can be quite different even. For example, when I'm taking "railfan" shots to document a location compared to when I'm working on making a B&W image of an old depot or locomotive. The railfan shots are trying to convey a "time and place" while the B&W is aiming for more of a "timelessness"

I think the concept of "mission" develops as your work develops. I know that this has happened with me. As I get more serious about my photography, I see my "mission" changing and also the way that I want my work to be seen.

Have a great weekend!
Gene

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Way things used to be

As we go out on the roads for the holiday weekend, here is a reminder of how things used to be. That 18cent per gallon gas sounds pretty wonderful about now.

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend and get a chance to make some photos.

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Camera Position by Jeff Curto : A great blog that I enjoy

Jeff Curto's "Camera Position" has quickly become my favorite Photography blog/podcast.

Jeff Curto is a Professor of Photography at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, who is also passionate about taking large-format (4x5) Black and White shots of Italy.
His work is amazing and can be seen on the Camera Position blog and also on his personal website at http://www.jeffcurto.com/

What makes Camera Position different than many of the other blogs out there is that it is based on the creative side of photography. It is more about learning to "see" how the picture is created and understanding what is behind the pictures. It is about moving from snapshots to images that tell a story.

Some of the episodes focus on the work of Master's such as Ansel Adams and Weston. Jeff even mentioned using the "viewing card" which Adams is famous for. (Which is a cardboard square with a hole the size of the negative cut-out of the center to be used for scouting). Curto also encourages us to slow down our photography and search for the "right-shot" by moving around and looking for the best angles.

I listen to Jeff's podcasts when I'm driving back and forth to work. The only drawback to this is that I always want to go out photographing instead of going to the office.

If you love photography, I think you'll learn a lot by listening and reading Jeff's blog.

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Looking at it a different way.. a lesson in perspective

The old Railroad Crossing sign at the Folkston depot has starred in several of my photographs over the last few years.

When I was in Folkston back in April, I was trying to look at the sign in a different way to find a new shot. For me, taking a photo with the camera at anything but vertical or horizontal just "feels strange" but hopefully it worked.

I know these days, you can use the processing software to tilt and turn photographs after the fact, but for me it is more a chance to look at things from a new angle. I'm hoping that it will motivate me to look for other shots where something isn't as I expect and be willing to take them.

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Why Black and White?

I get questions about why I enjoy Black and White photography from time to time, so here are my reasons why...

1. I really enjoy the work of Ansel Adams and O. Winston Link. Most photographers have heard of Ansel Adams and seen his work, but many non-railfans might of never heard of O. Winston Link. He is most famous for his night photography on the Norfolk and Western Railway in the late 1950's which is some of the most classic images in the railfan world.
2. It's something that everyone else is not doing. Most people are shooting color images and video. I'm looking for Black and White images, and usually taking some color as "snapshots" or because the subject doesn't do well in Black and White.
3. I'm partially color-blind aka color-deficent. Yes, I can see in color, but a lot of the time what things look like to me is a lot different than what it will look like to you. This is really noticable in things like Browns and Greens, along with some reds. Thus that tree doesn't really look the same to me as it does to you.

Sometimes you just don't know what you got

In that realm of not knowing what you have, when I took this picture at Santee National Wildlife Refuge, I didn't see the butterfly on the left hand side when I looked in the LCD viewfinder. I actually thought I had missed it. For some reason, I didn't delete the shot from the card, but left it there.

I was happy to find the butterfly "fly-away" shot when I looked at it full size.


History Books at BiggerBooks.com

Beaver shot

Here is a picture of a beaver that I took last week at Phinizy.

See all my photography at http://genebowker.com

My visit to Norway

Some shots from around Norway, South Carolina

See all my photography at http://genebowker.com

sunflowers

sunflowers, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

#new #photo

Silo Sunset

Shot last night at Phinizy Swamp Park in Augusta, Georgia. See all my photography at http://genebowker.com

Mabry Mill - Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia

This was taken in May 2003 at Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

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One day late... Flag Day

One day late.. my tribute to flag day:

Read my roadtrip articles on the Examiner.

Morning Color

Shot on the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2003

Morning Sunbath

I see seashells on the seashore...

Shot on Edisto Beach in November 2009, I was amazed at the variety of shells which were washed into this pile. Even more amazing is that no one had taken them home.

Watching you

Meesha, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

Our cat Meesha.. in Black and White.