ROBERT SNAP SPOT
Following Leading Lines
Follow the road, follow the fence… oh, look! A train!
Photography Patterns – Trains and City Subways
Follow that Train
One morning on my way to work in Savannah, I looked out my driver’s window and there was an Amtrak train moving past in the opposite direction. An Amtrak train! I have driven this route more times than I can remember, and this was the first time I had seen one there. Now, I knew where I was supposed to be going. But look what was going the other way!
“I was on my way to work. My eyes wanted to follow that train.”
– Robert
Life speeds by outside the car’s windows, especially when I’m thinking about getting to work and signing in. That morning gave me something else to look at. The engines, all those passenger cars, and that sky! Why do I have to work on a day like this? Apparently, having a camera handy does not excuse me from showing up.
Amtrak engine No. 24. On time? I had no idea. I didn’t have its schedule! The person who needed to pay attention to the time was sitting in my car.
Robert, Keep Your Eyes on the Road
(TIB: Yes, I literally stopped in my lane to snap several photos. I checked my rearview mirror and driver’s-side mirror first. Getting rear-ended on my way to work would not have been good driver responsibility. Ha Ha Ha! Still, I was stopped in the road. That part belongs in the story too.)
Now that we’re looking at the photograph, follow the white line along the road. It comes in from the lower edge and carries your eyes toward the right. Then look at the fence beside it. See how the posts appear closer together farther away?
That is what leading lines do in photography, they give our eyes a route through the picture. Here, the road edge and fence draw us into the distance, while the long sides of the passenger cars give us another route across the frame. Those lines help us see the depth of the scene. Adobe’s leading-lines guide explains the technique with more examples.
The grassy verge follows the road, and the tree line carries on behind the train. They add softer edges beside all that metal and pavement. I like being able to follow one part of the photograph and then notice something else. Although I have to admit, those clouds are very good at stealing my attention.
That Sky Is Not Helping!
Look at the sunlight catching the passenger cars in this photograph. My eyes go straight to that bright stretch on the right, then back along the windows.
Those repeating windows make their own pattern. Below them, the fence posts repeat too. There is quite a bit going on beside a road I usually just drive down.
The road, fence, and train give me lines to follow, but the sky gives me a reason to keep looking up. Look at those clouds! This is a beautiful view to find on the way to work.
And there I was, enjoying it from the wrong side of a workday. All right, Robert. You have your photographs. Get your butt to work!
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Your Train Story
No. 24 passed through my morning while I was supposed to be getting to work. Pull up a seat and tell me about a train you actually got to board, or one you’re hoping to catch.
Where did your last train trip take you, or where would you like the next one to go?
“Why do I have to work on a beautiful day like today? I could watch trains under that sky for a while. Hey, I’m late!”
— Robert
📍Savannah, Georgia
Collection
Photography Patterns – Trains and City Subways
Captured with
iPhone 5 (Oh, how vintage)
Published by
Robert Snap Spot
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