The Gold Rush Railroad

The 'Gold Rush Railroad' is from Virginia City, Nevada, the one-time

heart of gold country before it mostly 'played out' decades ago. The

hills are laced with mines and a huge hydro tunnel connected it to

Lake Tahoe literally over 30 miles away under two mountain ranges,

just for water for the mining machines deep in earth's bowels. Your

ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate

harshly or very critically, please post a helpful and constructive

comment; please share your superior knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

Hi John - I like it, would have liked it better without the barrel in the view. My eyes are drawn to the train in the background - find the barrel a bit of a distraction. But hey, I'm no pro either - who Am I to say :)

I enjoyed the history behind the picture.

Thanks,

Mike Normandeau

Montreal, Canada

That's a boiler in the foreground -- part of the detritus of a locomotive - probably a switcher, judging from the size, or a very early locomotive from a very early era, or perhaps a 'donkey engine' used to power some sort of mine engine, without a locomotive at all.

I'd always leave the boiler in, as the photo is richer for that from my perspective -- I go for more complex photos generally now, as I find that the richer photos engage the viewer more, though I have been a champion of simple lines and simple photos.

I do appreciate your view; good critiques are always appreciated here.

John (Crosley)

The above commentator would have left out the boiler and I forgot to say, there is a contrast between the semi-straight line of the train and the roundness of the boiler back, for a study in contrasts (visually only, of course).

It's kind of like some geometry lesson, a study in shapes and lines, but it's richer for that I think.

And, as I've told you before, I always appreciate it when you comment on my photos; this one is over a year old, and didn't get posted in this folder for reasons that escape me; probably because it was film turned into a TIFF file and so it was hard to manage (I think it was film, but I'll check, and TIFF files are ultra large and practically freeze my computer).

My best wishes to the king of color.

John (Crosley)

Thanks a lot; I felt the same -- still do.

John (Crosley)