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Railroad Remembered
Railroad Remembered
dsidwell


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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Lines (Advanced Editing IV)
Collection: Great Salt Lake
Camera: Sony DSC-F828
Location: Great Salt Lake, near Ogden Utah, USA
Date: Mar 12, 2005
Aperture: f 8.0
ISO: 64
Shutter: 1/60
Galleries: Vintage, Seascapes
Date Uploaded: Mar 8, 2005

 In 1869, the Golden Spike was laid and the transcontinental railroad across the U.S. was complete. The rails connected just a few miles behind me here as I look south across the Great Salt Lake and to Fremont Island.

In 1902, the Southern Pacific railroad decided to shave off over 40 miles from the journey by building a cutoff and trestle right across the Great Salt Lake. Open in 1904, the trestle ran until 1956, when they simply built a road bed adjacent to the trestle from rocks and gravel (the lake's deepest point is only 34 feet). Not as romantic, but much more permanent, I suppose.

These pilings are some of the remains of the old rail system that used to be here on Promontory Point. A company has purchased salvage rights and is now taking these large logs out of the lake and selling them as special lumber for very high prices. I suppose that in a year or two, these will also be gone, used to make someone fireplace mantel or armoire.

I'm vastly interested in trains; if you want more detailed information, along with some interesting old photos, go to //www.trestlewood.com/documents/sources/lucin/lucin.html

Post Processing: I did a simple AutoColor, which made things a bit more vibrant. I then burned the rocks in the foreground (they were just a bit too light). I darkened parts of the sky by selecting the non-blue part and lowering just the middle ranges. The blue sky is the result of a circular polarizer. I then burned some of the highlights in the sky, since they were taking too much focus. I selected the sky again and added just a slight motion blur in the direction of the cloud patterns to lose some of the grain there. I applied NeatImage in a very small amount (15%), then sharpened.

This was a really cool place. I'm going back soon!

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 338
Avg (all users): 6.8969
Avg (commenters): 8.3571
Avg (participants): 6.8742
Avg (non-participants): 6.9444
Views since voting: 4074
Votes: 223
Comments: 28
Favorites: 12 (view)

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AuthorThread
 07/13/2006 12:34:25 AM
Wow what a beauty. I can't believe I never saw this before. Perfect composition and talk about lines!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/09/2005 03:00:20 PM
Wonderful shot! Love the shades in the sky!
Very, very nice! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/21/2005 04:01:42 PM
Very nicely captured, David! In spite of my interest in trains (and particularly Utah's place in the completion of the transcontinental railroad) this is one location I have yet to visit. My wife's great-uncle worked in the quarry where the SP obtained the rock for the causeway that put the trestle out to pasture. I was aware of Trestlewood's efforts to salvage the old timber from the cutoff, but had assumed their work was completed and the trestle was no longer there. Looks like I've got a road trip to take!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/21/2005 03:16:36 PM
Beautiful shot and one of my favorites in this challenge...congrats on a top ten!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/21/2005 03:02:31 AM
excellent photo - with a story behind it to boot - well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 10:05:07 PM
one of my fav's for the challenge, excellent!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 09:05:34 PM
Awesome!! You know I love it... My son doesnt understand yet that this is part of a rail road but he will in time... You did a great job! Are you gonna make it a print? Congratulations on being 5th...Should of been 1st!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 08:04:30 PM
Great finish!! I rated this an 8 originally, This is a beautiful capture, maybe would of ribboned in another challenge ...Congrats to another ribbon! your stuff is fantastic.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 07:46:17 PM
Simply incredible as always.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 07:21:27 PM
Another captivating image. Congratulations on your top 5 finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/20/2005 04:19:10 PM
Impressive to say the least. The shadows and colors are wonderful. Bumping up.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/20/2005 01:39:44 PM
Great lead-ins - nice scene & foreground. Sky looks a little 'dirty' but the lighting and comp make up for it. Good one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/19/2005 10:49:39 AM
Well composed with foreground subject and interesting sky 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/18/2005 05:30:56 PM
Perspective dominates and captured my heart. Between the long shadow lines, bright white rock forground and all beneath the vast cloud cover...love the framing. Love the photo. Great gosh 8 and thanks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2005 08:47:54 AM
Love this pic...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2005 06:49:01 AM
Nice image great comp.....10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2005 05:42:04 AM
This is beautiful... the low sun makes interesting light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/17/2005 04:20:45 AM
Beautiful-perfect angle , shadows wonderful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/16/2005 11:54:05 AM
Quite haunting. I wonder if it would have been better as a duotoned black and white or just with a touch of the saturation taken out of the sky?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2005 06:36:10 PM
Very nice! I like the lighting very much! Beautiful shot! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2005 06:07:33 AM
Great composition, excellent lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2005 01:15:43 AM
An amazing shot, the sky is impressive as is the suject and theme.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2005 12:05:46 PM
I had to come back to this I love the shot. I think it would have been better B&W but thats just me 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2005 11:46:37 AM
10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2005 01:57:57 AM
Gorgeous photo with great leading lines. Really nicely done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2005 09:49:23 PM
I like this very much, the restrained pallette of it, the way it doesn't shout at me and demand my attention, but lets me accept it at my own pace.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2005 08:34:27 PM
love it! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2005 08:00:03 PM
awesome
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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