Trans Manchurian Train Bogie Changing, a photo from Heilongjiang, North

Photographer's Note

Trans Manchurian Train changing the bogies
(Carriage wheels) from the Chinese standard to the Russian standard which is somewhat wider.

I had that "Chilled to the bone" feeling and was shivering so much that I placed my Nikon 401 down on a ledge. The sheds were dark and dirty but the skylights gave an impression of life elsewhere.

This one and only shot I took was no doubt on automatic and has been adjusted with ACDSee & cropped to omit a large amount of darkness.

THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH

BobTrips, pem, nfriedli, pingu23, RGatward, eleparc, Galeota, Steely, srpablillo, Arp has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Ebbe (9625) 2004-05-23 11:53

The fan of light rays gives the feeling here. The POV with a long perspevtive on train cars and roof lanterns is well chosen.

Did they change bogies every time they crossed the border???

PeterDF (421) 2004-05-23 12:08

Just a great photo of the shafts of light filtering down through this shed. Very well done, and the fact that you thought to go into the shed...not a regular place to be, I would think, led to this wonderful shot!

BobTrips (1857) 2004-05-23 12:29

There are several good aspects to this image. You've captured a lot of depth and framed the shot nicely with the way one's eye is led to the left corner. You can be thankful for the dust in the sheds for making the rays so spectacular.

The Notes are good but you might want to define 'bogies' in the text. Leave the word, just add a clause. Or should it read "bodies"? Stick in a bit about guage differences.

The image will tolerate a bit of sharpening but you might prefer to stick with a softer look.

pem (264) 2004-05-23 12:41

I think you did a good job omitting the darkness, the first view of this photo is all about the lights above the trains. Great picture!

katsuhiro (479) 2004-05-23 13:48

Very atmospheric shot. I like the way you've captured all the rays of light. In my opinion a very good shot!

dt2chow (83) 2004-05-23 14:11

Very nice composition. I like how the various patches of intense light take me to different parts of picture, revealing details in the generally dark foreground.

nfriedli (1060) 2004-05-23 17:11

Incredible light for nice picture. I prefer this picture in b/w. Cheers!

pingu23 (590) 2004-05-24 1:24

Great shot ! I love the light rays coming from the roof, very well done ! and Welcome to TE !

RGatward (20108) 2004-05-24 3:53

Oh I'm jealous, I just went through that last Sept, on the Polish Ukraine border, but couldn't get out, + it was 3.00 am. How did you get to that position. Also, great handling of light, fantastic shot, I'll gorive the slight lack of sharpness here. A favourite. Sorry Bob, trainies don't realise that other people don't know that they are the trucks the carriages sit on. 4ft 8 and 1/2 inches in China, 5ft in Russia.

eleparc (24063) 2004-05-24 5:20

kevin first and foremost welcome to TE;-)) your two first shots surely belong to TE and its philosophy of opening the world to all members and make them know it better and discover what is going on elsewhere... this shot is spectacular;-) a sort of dreamy effect due to the light beams...it gives it a mysterious touch that is most welcome here... congratulations Kevin and looking forward to seeing a lot more from you

Galeota (10352) 2004-05-24 5:23

Very nice light you've got here. The underexposed parts are not really a problem because it adds a mood to the overall composition. Excelent work.

Steely (895) 2004-05-24 7:11

The rays are incredible :)
Dark enough to lend an air of mystery, but bright enough to see details, the various sunlit spots and relections off the train gives dimension

Cool :)

roconnell (327) 2004-05-28 17:38

There is an attic like quality to this photo. The light seems to reveal slowly a long quiet an undisturbed railyard that's about to re-awaken. Well done.

jafsc (96) 2004-10-01 18:49

Magnificent!! The light is so beautiful. A terrific moment of Light and nostalgia!

edji (1368) 2004-10-01 18:57

Very great light effect.

sabre0link (11) 2004-10-09 4:55

I had heard they had to change the wheel width on the trains travelling between China and Russia (either direction). It's great to see a photo of the actual process, though.

The light rays, the direction of the train, and the content of the photo all make this a great photo.

Comparing the original and the one posted here, I prefer the original. I like that extra black space. Yes, it is 'dead', but it shows that the skylights aren't regular the length of the building. Though, looking at it again, maybe half of what you cropped off should've been kept? Hmm.. Of course, this is all personal preference :)

It's an interesting photograph for it's content. Like I said, I've heard about it happening, but to have a photo of that process? Great :D

coco (30439) 2005-05-13 8:49 [Comment]

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srpablillo (225) 2006-04-03 4:15 [Comment]

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Albrecht (11283) 2006-04-03 4:42

Hi Kevin
Great atmosphere and light you have captured. Very nice picure with a story.
~ greetings Albrecht ~

hayzen (1017) 2006-04-03 4:47

Outstanding light!

Thiard (89) 2006-04-03 6:03

simply beautifull.. and you caputered it! Great job :o)

Ciao, Tjeerd

Andre-H (1271) 2007-03-23 0:07

Hi Kevin,

You were there at the right time, and the lighting here is extraordinary. Good composition, too. I do think, though, that there is too much detail missing within the station, and the picture is slightly blurry, possibly due to shake.

A

Nutella123 (212) 2007-03-30 14:09

Hello!
Perfect composition, very interesting subject, magnetic light, what more can I say...
wonderful!!!!

cheers
Natalia