“You can almost always return to Home, The Place. But — eventually — you can never return to Home, The Actuality. It’s as gone as gone can be.” John Simpson There’s an old expression, you can never go home again. In the quote above, taken from an online essay, John Simpson explains it succinctly. Although the physical […]
Category: Opinion
An Audience of One
Why do we photograph and create video of our layouts? After doing so, why do share them with others by posting them publicly? The answer to the first question is an easy one to answer, for me at least. Photography allows me to interpret and experience the layout in ways that are simply impossible with […]
Moving Models From Plastic to Art
From time to time I think about why model building never made the leap from recreation to fine art. Why is it that a sculpture can have mass appeal for the ages and be museum worthy but at best, a well done model seems relegated to a small niche museum. Why is it that when […]
Compelling Video Imagery
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what constitutes compelling video imagery and how that could be applied to model railroading. Videos/trailers/movies can serve a myriad of purposes from telling a story, evoking a mood, making a socially relevant point, documentation, or instruction. With model railroading or railfanning, the overwhelming majority of imagery falls into […]
Layouts as Wall Art
As you walk through your living room, chances are that somewhere on the wall hangs something you enjoy looking at. It could be a painting, poster, sculpture, or photograph. Whatever it is, you liked it when you bought it, you liked it a year after you bought it, and to this day it gives you […]