Steam Shed
This was my first solo trip to India and I toured Gujarat and Rajasthan and then headed south into Karnataka. It was a wonderful experience. Not just the culture, but being free to decide whether to stay or move on without the need to negotiate with someone else. That was truly liberating.
I visited this area to catch the metre gauge steam before its demise and was made very welcome by the friendly shed staff. On this visit I was using a Nikon EM with colour print film. If I remember correctly I sent 18 x 36 exposure films for processing. This picture results from scanning the negative and then processing it with my current image handling methods which seems to have transformed the detail and clarity of the photo. The thought of scanning the remaining 600+ negatives gives me a headache, but the results from this image seem to make the exercise more worthwhile.
Photo taken Monday 21 July 1997.
Beautiful image, and great clarity. I can’t imagine that, this image was shot in film some 20 years back 🙂
Hi Sreejith. Yes, you are right, the processing makes a huge difference. Thanks.
remembering the toil
the air polluted and dirty soil
It filled my nostrils
the fuming oil
I captured the death bed of this engine alone
twenty years ago, it was like a rocket or drone
Now, its gone and am I glad 🙂
I took this picture and showed it to Dad 🙂
He told me son, your photography is great
you portrayed poverty with such grace
Remember the time..remember the soil
remember how you toiled 🙂
I walked through the cinders and tasted the smoke
of the engines that paused there; fireboxes to stoke
in the heat of north India those railmen did toil
then chai in the office; the kettles a-boil.
Strange words for a greeting, they welcomed me there,
then come meet the boss now: and pull up a chair.
I walked through the cinders and tasted the smoke
as I went round the shed, in my notebook I wrote
of the engines and valve gear and tenders I saw
while oiling and coaling: of these men I’m in awe.
I remembered my childhood and traveling by train
from the great Midland city, vacation the aim.
I walked through the cinders and tasted the smoke
as a teen through my twenties, by memories smote
of the smells and the sounds of those engines of yore
that stayed in my heart strings till brought to the fore
by the engines that paused there; fireboxes to stoke
and the joy of the cinders and tasting the smoke.
enjoyable 🙂
really awesome photo – and I have a lot of photos to scan (someday) as well. 🙂 best wishes as you do yours!!!
Thank you very much y. prior, yes it’s a daunting task, but being selective should reduce the size of the task.
John, I like this photo a lot with the steam and the smoke. You’ve caught the engine shed with just enough light in its background to make it mysterious. This image also has strong narrative. On a critical side, my eye keeps wandering to the vertical object on the left. Would it improve the image is this was cropped? I realize you want framing but….
Yes, certainly it’s a consideration, and this image has been in that form without the post, but it loses the full impact of the loco on the left which becomes incidental to the scene. As it is the two verticals on either side frame the image quite neatly and they work in depth to take you across and into the scene via the nearest man.
Thanks for your thoughtful observation Tim. Much appreciated.
Reblogged this on Old IR Memorabilia and other collectibles and commented:
Steam Shed scene.. Another awesome photo
Thank you very much.