110 years old this one. She's a distinguished lady of the 20th century, a testament to the industrial advancement of the nation. She sits quietly now in her retirement smiling broadly for her artistic photo debut, to which I obliged.
My process seems about as labored as her efforts to pull a full load. Four trips were required to actually conduct a sensible shoot. One as a reconnaissance of the locomotive itself, to judge suitability, accessibility, aesthetics, etc. The second to judge the ambiance of the environment at night during which the shoot would be conducted -- was it safe, was it quiet, was it free from ambient traffic. The third was a bust when a series of miscommunications with the model resulted in a photographer standing alone in front of a pile of lighting equipment.
As it is a 2 hour round trip for me to this location, I opted to make the best of it and photograph the locomotive by herself. She had her own beautiful lines and curves worthy of respect. The sheer size of these machines is something to appreciate.
The idea of pressurizing a large water tank to 200 psi and putting it on large metal wheels to roll down a track is audacious to contemplate. You have to respect the people who thought of doing this and followed through to make it a successful industry.
Finally on the fourth visit everything was in place. Me, the model, and our beast of burden all accounted for. More than usual however my lighting acted like disobedient children, obstinate and rebellious, causing a half hour delay to get them to a usable state. Nevertheless, the weather was nice and warm, typical for Texas summer nights, and the shoot proceeded smoothly once underway.
So final stats, 8 hours of driving over 4 trips, 2 hours of shooting, and a handful of final art shots viewable >here<.
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