Light Can Change the World

So you want to photograph trains. They move you and remind you of bygone days. They are
lumbering masses of technology and transportation connecting states through tracks and ties.
They can be romantically steamy, slick and sleek, or just rumbling off into the sunset on a
beautiful bridge. But while you are chasing trains looking for the best shot don't forget the
other subject matter of light.
Photographers from way back would have to create their own light through primitive flash
devices or rely on natural light. And light can change the world. There is a famous book of
photography called "How the Other Half Lives" written by Jacob A. Riis in 1890. Riis was
an immigrant from Denmark and a police reporter turned social reformer. He lived in New
York City and was appalled by the living conditions of other immigrants who were crammed
into slums and windowless apartments that bred disease and depression. He had heard about
the recent invention of flash photography and went into the slums to record for the first time
the sardine-like living quarters of families struggling to survive in the new world. Flash
photography was quite a complicated & dangerous thing back then. Riis used frying pans to
ignite the flashlights and the cartridges had to be fired from a revolver. It was noisy and
chaotic and he had many accidents attempting to master the new technology.
When Jacob Riis published his book he changed the world. The literal light he shed on the
problem of poor housing and working conditions started a national movement to improve
living and working conditions for everyone. His light has forever changed our world.

The best way I know of to learn what good photography is all about is to look at the work of
the photographers who have come before you. And not just other train photographers. There
is a long legacy of fine art photography that started with daguerreotypes and has continued
into the digital realm. Seek out books of photography and pay attention to the way the
subject matter is lit. Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham;
they all understood the power of light and used it to the best advantage. Study the work that
has come before your own to learn from the masters of light and form. Before you press the
button on your camera ask yourself, "Is this the best light possible for this shot?" And
remember that without light there would be no photography. Light can change the world.
                 -Mary Rayme