This was captured with the Rodenstock 70mm/5.6 HR Digaron-W lens and the Phase One IQ3-100 back. A bit of vertical shift was used to keep everything straight. A 1/2 sec exposure provided just the right amount of motion blur for the passing train.
The power plant generates electricity (now oil fired, converted from coal) as well as steam for Philly's Center City steam loop. The rail bridge extends the former Pennsylvania Railroad's "High Line" into south Philly's Greenwich rail yard.
@[email protected] thanks! I think I often go past that travelling between the airport and my partners place in northwest Philly. I remember seeing the power station but hadn't paid any attention to the bridge. Sounds like the arsenal that gave the bridge its name got bulldozed in the early 60s.
I shot several versions of this, with exposures that kept the moving train sharp or blurred it to varying degrees. I think this was the most successful attempt, with the train blurred enough to suggest motion, but not so much that it's unrecognizable.
Depicting motion in a still photograph is an interesting problem.
Every time I have driven through here I have to roll up my windows on turn on recirc to keep the smell out. It's been probably 8 years since I've been back to Philly. Does it still smell the same?
@[email protected] I love the composition in this photo, thanks for sharing! I think even without the vertical shift it would be great but with the shift it's easier to think about the elements all forming one picture.