[Theme] Trains and boats (no planes)

[elsid]

Thanks Nasos.

[Birna Rørslett]

My girl friend Ruth takes interest in one of the large mural photographs of steam locomotives seen at Gdansk, Poland. These memories of the near past are found at the main railway station. The sheer photographic quality in terms of sharpness was amazing. Must be 8x10" captures at least.

[golunvolo]

This is a 100 percent crop of a d750 image. I wanted to share anyway. Sunset in "Caños de Meca", Spain.

[Birna Rørslett]

Aha -- there is a ship there in the horizon ....

[ColinM]

These memories of the near past ....the sheer photographic quality in terms of sharpness was amazing. Must be 8x10" captures at least.

We are truly spoilt for what technology now lets us do, but sometimes when you get to see large prints of photographs taken 60-100 years ago, you realise there was some great work happening then too.

I recently saw an exhibition of work from China, Thailand and the Far East. All taken on glass plates over 100 years ago, involving a huge amount of travel with big tripods & other heavy kit. I'm sure the people involved had enough funding to pay for sherpas etc. But the logistics of doing that long before international travel became easy and with no local facility to process the results still makes you think.

This last point interests me - can anyone advise if these people just carried the exposed glass plates around with them for a month or more before finally getting round to developing them? In hot humid conditions?

[Birna Rørslett]

Probably brought developing chemistry as well. They would have to have light-proof tents or similar if plate holders were to be (re-)loaded en route.

[Birna Rørslett]

Back to the digital era and immediate gratification for the photographer

Snowy train arriving at a small station north of Oslo.

[golunvolo]

Aha -- there is a ship there in the horizon ....

   Yes!   

[Fons Baerken]

First class waiting-room Haarlem railwaystation

[Hugh_3170]

If they were using wet plates (coated shortly before exposure), then they would surely have to had developing tents or carts set up.  Amazing to think of the effort involved.  Yet they generated some remarkable images in spite of these difficulties - images that were eventually printed and that we in the digital age can still enjoy.

We are truly spoilt for what technology now lets us do, but sometimes when you get to see large prints of photographs taken 60-100 years ago, you realise there was some great work happening then too.

I recently saw an exhibition of work from China, Thailand and the Far East. All taken on glass plates over 100 years ago, involving a huge amount of travel with big tripods & other heavy kit. I'm sure the people involved had enough funding to pay for sherpas etc. But the logistics of doing that long before international travel became easy and with no local facility to process the results still makes you think.

This last point interests me - can anyone advise if these people just carried the exposed glass plates around with them for a month or more before finally getting round to developing them? In hot humid conditions?

[Birna Rørslett]

Waiting for the train to pass by.

[elsid]

Windmills.

[Birna Rørslett]

Winter switch yard scenery. Oslo. IR (D200, using the humble low-end kit lens 35-70/3.3-4.5 Nikkor)

[Viv]

The loco wheel turns.

[CS]

The loco wheel turns.

Now I'd call that one exciting!