Nostalgia & History > Crummy weather as an art form

How many times have you taken a pure ‘grab shot’, and later on realized you had a gem on your hands. Sometimes that latent realization might not have come until years later. This is a photograph taken by my long-time friend Dave Franz (‘monaddave’). I’m guessing that when Dave took this shot he wasn’t exactly considering color & composition. And I’m sure he didn’t take the shot because he thought it might become a work of art over 3 decades down the road. No, I’m betting he grabbed the shot and went right back to protecting his camera (Minolta??) from what surely was a steady rain or drizzle.

I remember back in the early 80s picking this slide out of Dave’s collection so I could have a duplicate made. All total I picked 3 or 4 dozen of his slides for duplication, but this one stands out in my memory. I didn’t choose it because it was a GM&O F-unit on a commuter train. I chose it because I loved the composition. I also loved what the crummy weather actually did for the color in Dave’s slide. I’m betting the original slide was Ektachrome, but 36 years down the road I don’t remember for sure.

When I had the slide duplicated in ’81 I had no clue the technology would be available for home photo-editing. To be sure, this is a familiar theme for many of us slide shooters from way back when. But now that the technology is here I have applied it to Dave’s photo from 1972. Originally I intended to post only image #2 below. But I decided to play around with Photoshop’s ‘oil-paint’ feature and came up with image #3 below. I realized had to get rid of that ugly pole/wire hoo-haw for a better composition. By doing that I realized I should also show the original raw scan (image #1 below). With all that said, I really like the end result. It looks like something a talented impressionist-minded artist might come up with. Not necessarily a railfan, but one very talented in recording technical detail. Enjoy…

1. Original raw scan, re-sized only.

2. Fully photo-edited according to my interpretation. Re-sized for TO.

3. Full-sized version of image #2 with pole & wire removed, taken into “oil paint” effects and re-sized for TO.

All versions: GM&O 883A on a commuter train backing (?) toward Chicago Union Station in January of 1972.
(Original side by David A. Franz, copy slide from my collection)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/22 20:32 by santafe199.

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that unit get rebuilt? to mbta ?

It was rebuilt to MBTA #1153. It is displayed at Eadville USA, in South Carver, MA.
ALLEN