Okay, first off I must say I am still really new with photography so please forgive my ignorance. :) Having said that, I really am drawn to photos such a looking down train tracks or along fence lines where it seems like you can almost see forever it is so crisp and sharp.
Can someone point in a direction as to how to take these types of photos and/or be willing to post some of their pictures? ANY help or tips are much appreciated!
Hey! Welcome to the 'project ... Be prepared for it to take over both yours and your family and friend's lives! And I agree with the remark on your profile, you do start to see the world differently when you start taking photographs ..
Anyway, I took this:
All I did was figure out where the straighest part was and stand roughly in the middle! I could have shot lower, but I wanted a bit of sea between the end of the groyne and the horizon ...
One thing you'll notice with this and the shot above is the symmetry. The balance in the shots is achieved by drawing out from both corners and ending neatly in the middle.
As far as getting these shots, I go into shooting with an idea of what I want, and usually end up taking a number of shots, each varying slightly from the last. I find, for me, it's a lot to do with experimenting first off to find the angles I like and getting them to transfer onto "film" so to speak. Not sure how helpful that will be, as I am still relatively new to all of this as well =)
Oh wow... thank you everyone for posting pics. I am SOOO inspired! I love these types of pictures so I guess I will be doing quite a bit of experimenting as well. :)
When working around railroad tracks, remember that it is private property, photographers have been hassled by security, so respect the railroads right-of-way. As big as trains might be, they aren't as noisy as you might think, so they can sneak up on you, they also take a long time to stop.
beyond that, find your vantage point, figure out where you want the eye to be drawn to and snap away.
This isn't a railroad track (just a regular ol' street sign), but it has that same effect - seeming like it goes on forever. I think it all just depends on the angle. You need to get your camera almost parallel to the whatever you are shooting with just a slight bit of angle. I find that getting really close to the subject helps a lot too, but as you can tell from Vikdaddy's photo, you can get beautiful images without being close to it. IMO, it's just easier if you are.
I totally agree with what everyone is saying about composing the shot. From a technical stand point, if you are going for the crisp shot that just goes on forever you will need to get as long a depth of field as possible - use a small aperture (i.e. high number) and zoom in. I think this effect works best when shot a little higher up while a low shot, in my opinion at least, looks better with a short DOF disappearing into a blur. If you do it the other way around the high shot tends to have a line across the tracks where it starts to blur. However, there are no hard and fast rules - takes take heaps of photos!
Also a cautionary note about being around railroads: people die on them...LOTS of people! If you can see a moving train you are too close. The bits where the tracks cross over can change in about a third of a second with several tons of force with no warning - it will take off your foot! Beware of high-rail vehicles (normal cars modified to run on rails) as they are very quiet and very fast. Don't wear red or green, but do wear hi-vis reflective stripes. I just recently completed a rail induction for work and most of the people who were doing a refresher course had a couple of stories about witnessing rather horrible accidents.
Hi there, Im no expert, I just enjoy getting a good shot, with the first pic, I was standing in the middle of the tracks and just shot half a dozen shots of the same thing..
with the second photo I put the camera on the ground itself and took a couple of shots. If the subject means something to you, then I feel that no matter what it looks like, it will speak to you on some level...
I looked at your album, and you have a good eye. trust it.
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Anyway, I took this:
All I did was figure out where the straighest part was and stand roughly in the middle! I could have shot lower, but I wanted a bit of sea between the end of the groyne and the horizon ...
Good luck with finding your own straight lines!
One thing you'll notice with this and the shot above is the symmetry. The balance in the shots is achieved by drawing out from both corners and ending neatly in the middle.
As far as getting these shots, I go into shooting with an idea of what I want, and usually end up taking a number of shots, each varying slightly from the last. I find, for me, it's a lot to do with experimenting first off to find the angles I like and getting them to transfer onto "film" so to speak. Not sure how helpful that will be, as I am still relatively new to all of this as well =)
beyond that, find your vantage point, figure out where you want the eye to be drawn to and snap away.
Also a cautionary note about being around railroads: people die on them...LOTS of people! If you can see a moving train you are too close. The bits where the tracks cross over can change in about a third of a second with several tons of force with no warning - it will take off your foot! Beware of high-rail vehicles (normal cars modified to run on rails) as they are very quiet and very fast. Don't wear red or green, but do wear hi-vis reflective stripes. I just recently completed a rail induction for work and most of the people who were doing a refresher course had a couple of stories about witnessing rather horrible accidents.
Be careful!
with the second photo I put the camera on the ground itself and took a couple of shots. If the subject means something to you, then I feel that no matter what it looks like, it will speak to you on some level...
I looked at your album, and you have a good eye. trust it.
Here is one of my railroad shots....Some like looking straight down the tracks, others like a different perspective.
Same location as above...different shot composition.