The other day I went to the hills to replicate an entry for the Déjà Vu challenge. I had chosen to do the entry made by Tarbiniback in December of 2002. It was Traveling By Rail and a first place winner.
I set out to find the exact location where I thought the picture was taken, I was right I drove straight to it. With my new Canon 20D in hand I went to work getting in exactly the right spot. As I looked the railroad tracks over I was very surprised by an oncoming commuter train. It snuck up on me and I was very fortunate that I wasn’t lying down in the middle of the tracks, and was standing beside them. With the train out of the way I started shooting and composing my shot. It looked like I had what I was after so went back home, (a few minutes away), to make my final entry.
After I looked all of the shots over I felt I could do better and decided to go back and try again. I was finding this much harder than I had expected. Two years had passed, his camera was a different aspect ratio than mine, and it was my eyes not his. I give him much more credit for an amazing shot now that I have trie to duplicate it
Back at the location of the shot I now was very spooked that an unexpected train might come around the bend as I had no idea what their schedules might be. As near as I could tell he had to have been laying between the tracks to get his perspective of the shot. I figured “What the hell” nothing ventured nothing gained, and I proceeded to lay down to get the precise shot. I heard something coming, “ is it that damn train” I said out loud as I scrambled out from between the tracks. I stumbled in the very sharp crushed rocks and fell in my getaway. I fell to the ground, dislocated a finger at the knuckle, skinned up my fore arms, but saved the camera. Actually the lens was zooming with a little catch in it, which is now as smooth as can be. I gathered myself up, my finger and hand hurt like hell but I remained composed enough to make sure the camera was okay. I sat on the tailgate of my truck and managed to relocate my finger, rubbed it a lot and decided that I would live, after all my equipment was okay. By the way the sound I heard was not a train, only a truck on a nearby road.
Needless to say I never got the picture I went after, but picked up an experience that I will never forget. . Hats of to you Todd, (Tarbini) for such a moving shot.
Travelling By Rail 
My Rendition  |
