Library of Congress Archives

[materialsguy]

As most of my American friends know, the LOC archives a vast amount of photographic material. The digital archives are extensive, and much of it is accessible to anyone (Thank you). In the years leading up to, during and after WWII, the administration employed some very gifted photographers under the auspices of the FSA/OWI: Jack Delano, Marion Walcott, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein, and Dorothea Lange to name a few.  Jack Delano took many pictures of rail yards and railways, and I thought it appropriate to rework some of his images using modern tech.

AFAIK, this is a large format original; scanned to roughly 5000 x 7000 pixels.  I used Lightroom and Photoshop to correct the color balance and do some selective dodging/burning and sharpening.  Jack Delano's lighting and composition are brilliant, and even more apparent in the edited image.

[blackcloudbrew]

Wow, that's very cool and a great idea. Yes, that shot really tells a story and the lighting adds to it brilliantly.

[Mike Pearson]

Shaun,

Many thanks for posting these - as many here know I am a train fanatic both for railways and model railways. The lighting here is superb and really creates the atmosphere.


I have just been given a book of black-and-white photographs by O.Winston Link whose night-time lighting techniques were awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Winston_Link

Mike

[Ron Kruger]

Good post and point, Shan. With the way modern digital can expose shadow details and a much higher DR, we sometimes forget that it's still all about the light and that dark shadows give soul to some images.

[materialsguy]

Mike,

I did not know that you were a railfan, but I do now . There are thousands of RR and related images available via the LOC digital archives.  Jack Delano had a whole series on the Chicago and Northwestern RR and their facilities. Here is a link to the LOC FSA/OWI Portal: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/fsa/

Just by way of example, a quick search for "Delano Railroad" using the search engine on the page given above yields almost 2000 images of RR people, equipment and facilities.

Thanks for the article on O. Winston Link, I will certainly look into his work in more depth.

[Mike Pearson]

Shaun,

Thanks for the link I've bookmarked it for later tonight. 

Mike

[blackcloudbrew]

OMG, you just tossed a big hunk of red meat to Anthony there Shaun...yep, Mike's just a bit of a rail fanatic.

[Mike Pearson]

Heh, just what I need - I ran one of the club's large layouts for 8 hours yesterday - taking a rest today and just reading some new train books 

Anthony
A.K.A Mike

[blackcloudbrew]

The defense rests...

[materialsguy]

Here you go, Mike.  CN 2539 and 8843 blasting past Butze, Alberta.  Butze exists now as only an abandoned elevator with no sidetrack, but the CN  east-west main line runs within meters of it.  Butze, Alberta is within spitting distance of the Saskatchewan border.  I was there photographing the grain elevator when I heard the freight in the distance and got set up for it.

[Mike Pearson]

Thanks Shaun - I like the placement of the train and the elevator - the sky doesn't hurt either 

Mike