What started out as a simple additional image posting for Friday Foto Flogging turned into a large comment and then into a piece large enough for a diary in and of itself as I didn’t want to necessarily just drop it inside a diary as a very large comment. It seems to be a slow Sunday, so far, so I hope it isn’t pushing something too important off the list.
Here goes…
I don’t know how people feel about these types of images I’ve been posting lately so I figured I’d ask your thoughts on these images (high dynamic range and/or tonemapped images), explain why I’ve been posting them more frequently, and a little more info on the picture itself.
For starters, I’ve been very impressed with some of the finer work done by others that is available online, despite the fact that some of it appears to be completely computer generated. Oddly, there’s a certain amount of truth to any pictures like those and the one above as it’s constructed on a computer using program algorithms to blend images of varying exposures together and yet, it’s really no different than some of what Ansel Adams did by dodging and burning a specific frame to obscure or pull out more or less of the exposure range in any given frame to provide more viewable realty than might’ve otherwise been available in a single exposure, as taken.
Secondly, I tend to personally like some of the HDR and tonemapped images I’ve seen to the point that the whole niche of this type of photography is something I want to explore, become better at and see what it holds for me.
Third, my schedule has really not been conducive to getting out alone with my camera and as such, I have to grab images when and where I can. Not having a lot of new material to work with, I’ve started going through my archives and, in the case of the image above, started recycling either older images I posted or older images I didn’t post. It’s like doing new with old.
As for the theme – What Moves You:
I suppose one could look at this shot and think of it a million different ways. It’s a rail line, of course but is it active or abandoned? If active, what type of use does it get? Passenger? Freight? Military? Leisure? Tourism? Fortunately, I can tell you it’s a little bit of both freight and leisure/tourism.
This line is part of the Cape May Seashore Line and this picture was taken just north of the Tuckahoe, NJ station. (Image of station at link)
From their site, it’s stated:
The Seashore Lines’ new service complements national growth patterns for freight rail service through the safe, effective, efficient and reliable movement of goods between New Jersey shore industries and the global market. The Seashore Lines’ freight rail service promotes multi-modalism by providing a viable alternative mode of transportation for both existing industries and future commercial opportunities at the New Jersey Shore.
With three transload terminal locations over 27 miles of railroad, the Seashore Lines stands ready to serve all industries seeking the competitive edge to sell their goods at the New Jersey shore. The Seashore Lines is also working with its modal partners in trucking to assist them in expanding their reach and reducing their costs, while they support their customers in moving freight throughout the region and across the country.
Cape May Seashore Lines is your gateway to markets throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Seashore Lines welcomes the opportunity to discuss further your freight rail transportation matters. Industrial sites are available and service is tailored to meet your needs. Cape May Seashore Lines provides a timely interchange with CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Corporation.
It sounds pretty impressive. Seeing it in person, one wouldn’t expect all that. It’s really a tiny station where one line comes in from the North (Satellite image via Bing, head a little North to see the bridge pictured above), branches into a few short sidings at the local train museum, and then leaves the area South with two lines.
If you follow those lines South, you’ll see they go two ways – to the left and to the right. Where it goes to the left (Vineland area, I suppose) you can look yourself as I really am not familiar with that side of the tracks but to the right, I’m more familiar with.
(Fyi – you can research the Cape May Seashore Lines for more info and the age of the rail line, the various services it’s performed, etc. This is just my own little shpiel.)
If you follow the line to the right (East) instead, you’ll end up going one of two places. If you take it literally as far East as you can, you’ll eventually come across the beginning of the “end of the line” which in this case means where Route 9, South of Marmora (S. Jersey) cut the line off and the right of way continues on the other side of the street. At this location, it’s mainly just the existing right of way through the woods with various pieces of tie scattered left and right until you cross under the Garden State Parkway and what remains of the line previously serving tourism into Ocean City, NJ continues across the salt marsh into the city.
Here’s that line, shot from the middle of the salt marsh looking West back towards the Garden State Parkway:
(Here’s that same line and same area from where that picture above was taken from the sky. You’ll notice just to the right is a defunct rail bridge which I would consider the end of the line, so to speak, but it actually does continue into Ocean City and then heads some ways North up the island. Play with the map and take a look.)
This line served tourism from Philadelphia and farther West (I believe) all the way down to Ocean City, New Jersey. There’s also another abandoned rail line that goes to Wildwood which I assume is accessible via the other branch off I mentioned above.
Side note: Kind of interesting to see, as far as I’m concerned. Top image is an active line and the second image is what is almost the end and long unused segment of that same line.
However, before you reach this really old line, you’ll have one more branch off to the North. This is the coal car feeder line for the Beesley’s Point Generating Station in what Wikipedia says is “Upper Township, Cape May County, New Jersey” but what I call Marmora.
The line I initially pictured is the line that the coal for the power station comes in on and when I was walking that line with my older son and his friend the day I took that photo, there was chunks of coal scattered all over both sides of the line, most likely fallen from coal cars piled high with fresh unburnt coal for the plant.
So what moves me? Well, trains, rail lines, especially abandoned rail lines certainly “move” me in that I love them and have always had a fascination with them ever since I was a child. Floyd, my oldest, isn’t that concerned with the coolness of rail but Elliott, my 4 year old, is absolutely bonkers obsessed with trains and so sharing that interest, even if it’s a child’s vs. man’s perspective on what’s cool about it, certainly “moves” me.
From a different perspective, knowing about this line and the purpose that it serves also moves me. The ingenuity of man to both create and maintain rail transportation, even through difficult terrain, to provide a service (for the power plant, ultimately) which in turn provides electricity to heat our homes and run our businesses also “moves” me in that it is a piece of infrastructure that keep everything running that we take for granted on any given day.
Food for thought, I suppose, or maybe just fodder for some of us photo and train geeks. Or would that be saying the same thing twice?
;p