Garden Railroad Godzilla
It's all about perspective...
It's all about perspective...
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Aug, 2016Views
1037
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Awards
Action Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
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Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
All Star
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
I was at an RV campground in Rockford, Illinois. A few lots down from my Mom's rig was a retiree couple with a huge garden railroad outside of their RV/summer home.Time
4:00 PMLighting
Not really, honestly.Equipment
This was shot on my Mom's Nikon D5300. I usually work with a D3300, so using her bad-ass AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm zoom lens felt like a carnival ride to me.Inspiration
This garden railroad was pure magic. It was especially impressive after dark when the tiny town's street lights were on and the train chugged slowly around the track while sounding its tiny tea-kettle horn on its engine. It set my imagination on fire, I tell ya! I introduced myself to the couple, asked a couple of questions about their set-up, and they unleashed on me this beautiful, sweeping love story that was at the heart of their garden railroad. I asked if I could write a story about it for my blog, they agreed, and I promised to come back the following day with a camera and a digital recorder. True to my word, I returned the next day with my kid and my dog in tow. I asked my 6-year-old son to hold the dog while I snapped some shots. He did nothing of the sort, and that little dog just made her way on to the set and into my frame, and in doing so raised the stakes of this photo by about a million.Editing
Unless it is an intentionally "magical" shot, or if the storytelling calls for a fantastical bent, I'm a fan of keeping a certain level of realism in my photos. But I do want the image to match how I felt when I pressed the shutter, so this photo was tweaked with the standard Lightroom go-tos: a little contrast here, a little vibrance there. I didn't want the editing to overshadow the delicious ridiculousness of the story in the photo.In my camera bag
I shoot primarily with a Nikon D3300 to feel like an official photographer, but have a keep a Panasonic DMC-GM1 in a side pocket for the quick draw shot. I keep a 50mm prime lens on the Nikon by default, and keep a Nikkor 55-200mm on-call in the bag. I have a tiny pocket in the bag for the shutter remote, and a $75 Manfrotto tripod...for now.Feedback
This photo happened by accident, and it happened because I wasn't overly attached to what I wanted to see in the final image. I think I can say the reason I was so open to this moment was because I was so emotionally engaged with what I was shooting! To me, those miniatures were like characters in the movie Toy Story - they were as real as the people in the RVs around me. I was so invested in their universe that that silly dog immediatly became a modern day Godzilla, and not a distraction or an annoyance. I'm learning to trust my gut and shoot what attracts me - whether it's trash in the alley or graffiti on a train or big abandoned warehouses along a lake. I think the muse likes to play with us, but will only do so if you go where she is begging you to go.
