A nondescript boxcar sits silently under a palm tree near the Everett Avenue crossing in Los Angeles in the Don Draper/Mad Men era.
When I go out in the field to rail fan, I know going in that the odds are against actually catching a train. I’m fine with that and simply enjoy taking in the atmosphere of the rail scene as a whole. Scenes like this are what I’m used to and what comes to mind when I think of railroading.
When I put a shot together like this I focus on three areas:
- Keep the camera angle low. Through trial and error I’ve come to the conclusion that earlier iPhones with the single lens come closest to what the human eye actually sees. I bought a used iPhone 6 which I keep in my desk for photography.
- Make sure there are shadows to instill contrast. You’ll need a photo flood or natural sunlight.
- Photoshop out the layout wall or backdrop and crop in a photo of the actual sky.