- Here She Comes -, a photo from Uttar Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

I’ve always loved trains. Trains in India are not merely means of transportation, they are living organisms- accommodating mini-indias inside them and traveling place to place...

Imagine a typical scene at a platform-
It is almost silent. Everyone- passengers, vendors, coolies, and even the platform itself- is eagerly waiting for the next train. Here comes the announcement- "The Train will be here in 10 minutes!".

The announcement is enough to get everyone charged up. A sense of urgency prevails amongst all. Passengers start cross-checking their tickets and packing their stuff, vendors get ready with their items and coolies start taking ‘positions’. These ’10 minutes’ seem to be never ending. It takes countless anxious looks of waiting eyes on tracks after it finally appears from infinity. Amazingly, its size gets bigger as it comes closer. Moving with its gracious gait, it enters the platform. The vibration bcoz of its movement can be felt on platform also. Finally, with a shrill whistle, it proudly announces, "Look! I’ve arrived!!!".

Some facts about Indian Railway:
***************************************************
- With first passenger train run on 16th April 1853, Indian Railway is in existence with its commendable performance since the last 150 years.

- Indian Railways is known to be the largest railway network in Asia.

- It is the largest railway system in the world under a single management.

- It employs about 1.6 million people, making itself the second largest commercial or utility employer in the world.

- It boasts of more than 7,500 railway stations and a fleet of not less than 7800 locomotives, 40,000 coaches & 3,26,000 wagons.

- Each year, more than 4 billion passenger journeys are made by Indian railway.

This is my tribute to the 'Life line of India'...

MDL, delkoo, alainh, SchwebagMike, BennyV, Morac, goodwill, eversmile, photographer123, ktanska, somak_g, hispic, pticaruh, danos, Arindam_1984, bisok has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

RGatward (20086) 2008-09-05 8:46

Me too (always loved trains that is). Interesting shot here, I like the use of repetitionof the pillers to lead up to the train. Not sure about the PP, gives the impression of unnaturally low DoF give the subject the look of a model.

maglex (1980) 2008-09-05 8:52

Hi Darpan, a very creative but effective shot, I like the settings and the PoV. I've always been attracted to trains but more of the steam locomotives. Thanks for sharing...Alex

smarcell (19965) 2008-09-05 8:54

great picture with perfect perspective. It could be a toy train.
Regards Stefano

delkoo (68) 2008-09-05 9:02

hi darpan
It's a truly captivating post.I think the composition has gained a lot from the focus and the blurred effect.

didier

alainh (33209) 2008-09-05 9:21

hello Darpan
i like the colours, the textures, the lines, the deap of field, ......, your picture.
friendly
alain

speedymanu (3701) 2008-09-05 9:23

Hello Darpan

a superb image thanks to its patterns of lines and a very skillfull management of depth of field.

Congratulations

Emmanuel

eversmile (11636) 2008-09-05 9:27

Excellent picture, Darpan. The mood, with the focus and the soft texture, is very dreamlike. Very graphical, with the colors of the walls and the engine matching together. The only thing I could have wished, is to find the red line on the train in the continuity with the red line on the wall, maybe a few seconds before. But anyway, that's fine like this too. And your note is a touching love declaration to indian trains. I love indian trains environment too. Noise, craziness, food, opened doors, heat and density, slowness changing suddenly into nervousness, LIFE.... which seems to have completely disappeared from our platforms, in the westerner world, except on strike days!
Well done!
Regards
Marine

SchwebagMike (1490) 2008-09-05 10:08

A realy excellent point of view you chose, perfectly making use of the pillars that are repeated like tran-rails. The use of the DOF is perfect!
Great shot, Mike

BennyV (32570) 2008-09-05 10:27

Love trains, never been to India. This is a great shot for me. Your PP makes it seem like some cute toy model.

Benny

Disabled_A (0) 2008-09-05 10:40

Hello Darpan,
your expressive note to the photo seems like a very short story; I read it with much interest :)
Impressive photo, although there's ony a train approaching. I also like the yellow and blue vertical pillars in a row, on the left. Together with the train they create a special effect.. the red line on the train seems to be in unity with the seemingly unbroken red line the effect of which the vertical pillars produce.
Regards!
Elena

Morac (27725) 2008-09-05 10:47

Hello Darpan
It's a captivating post.
I like the colours, the textures.
The repetition of the pillers is spendid.
Regards
Marc

goodwill (4248) 2008-09-05 11:11

Hi darpan,
I am sceptic about the blurr in the shot.
SONY DSC H series make a blur of different kind, and here you are geting a double bokeh, which comes from the use of Picassa, and not from the camera.

What do you say?

May be posting the exif data would makes the things easier.

sabyasachi_d (415) 2008-09-05 14:59

A good idea ... nicely seen frame... but was it really the dreamy effect you wanted in this photo?? or was it the overexposed BG that forced you to PP?? and subsequently sharpen the edges and give it a dreamy feel??
i love locomotives..and there is another gentleman in this TE family Dhurjati who will be very interested about the choice of your subject...
hope to see some realistic stuff ahead...
GOOD JOB by the way
:o)
Sabya

pcp (3396) 2008-09-06 0:04

Hi Darpan,

Beautiful shot and nice soft graphism. Good perspective to enhance the situvation also good composition.

Well done.

TFS

Senthil

photographer123 (6248) 2008-09-06 8:50

hi..
good shot..perspective are good..pilers created wonderful pattern...soft focus gave a dreamy look...best wishes..subir

Fakir (0) 2008-09-06 12:13

Amazing idea. Superb DOF.
Regards.

scalerman (26900) 2008-09-06 13:01

Darpan: a photo-tableau of just life in and around Indian railways would be a great theme. I'm not sure how you managed the DOF and bokeh here but I like it very much. I can't remember seeing many electric trains in India though. I've spent countless hours in second class and sometimes first. Love Indian trains... c

mafegan (8626) 2008-09-06 20:18

Hello Darpan
This is a very creative photo of an Indian train with the colours of the train reflected in the pillars. Good perspective and good positioning of the train to the side. I have travelled in Indian trains but that was more than 30years ago. TFS, Marlene

leo61 (0) 2008-09-06 22:24

Hi Darpan!
Great DOF and bokeh here,a very nice effect.Good depth too and nice colors.
In january I`m in Kerala,the whole month,but looking at your gallery,you must live in the north.....
Regards,Leo

aadilj (18102) 2008-09-08 1:18

Thats elegant and very well composed with a crisp and clean POV. I already like your elan and class friend. this one is an absolute beauty. Why dont you give the names of the city as well. Which one is this

ktanska (40041) 2008-09-08 2:30

Hi Darpan,
Nice to see that electric engine. White and red painting makes it well visible. Those columns make special graphic appearnce. But it's very hard to make convincing blur on PP. Here the bluury right edge of the locomotive catches attention.
Kari

somak_g (497) 2008-09-08 10:08

hi darpan,

i like this creative shot. the blur makes all the difference from the ordinary photographs. your pov gives a pattern to the columns. excellent.

regards
somak

Angshu (56760) 2008-09-08 22:08

Hello Darpan
Two things which work are the repetition of columns on the left creating a good perspective & depth & your PP work, which I presume is the Soft Focus filter in Picassa. Thanks to both, our eyes get drawn right to the WAP 7 loco (do you know that WAP 7 is a high speed locomotive indigenously developed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works & a 24-coach passenger train can be accelerated to 110km/h in 240 seconds (over 4.7km) by a WAP-7? :-)). Well done here!
Best Regards
Angshu

[2] +

marietom (34611) 2008-09-09 2:41

hello Darpan,

Quelle merveille de graphisme, sur un sujet que l'on ne pense pas forcément à photographier !
Superbe, bravo !
Bonne soirée
Marie

hispic (9658) 2008-09-10 2:42

Hello Darpan
Succeeded in capturing and making this engine stand up by blurring the periphery. I guess you know how to take railways not to get busted.
Best wishes, Hisashi

pticaruh (276) 2008-09-10 7:18

Hello, Darpan

Quite influential shot, perfectly described by the note. Yes, so many times I have waited trains, and the platfirm situation is always the same - as you describe it.

The blurring in the sides is even more emphasizing the arrivel of the train. Good job

Regards,

Asparuh

danos (110407) 2008-09-10 7:48

Hello Darpan,
nice the view of the coming-leaving train,who's care? The result in combination with your informative note, make the scenery impressive.Really the numbers of the Indian railway are so great for my little country.Well done.

Regards,Danos

Arindam_1984 (292) 2008-09-12 10:20

hey darpan

gr8 note yaar.....very nice description
a good note can change the angle of viewing...
amazing...
:-)

Urs
Arindam

mirarer (4751) 2008-09-19 9:11

Hi Darpan,
I like your PP, is a great idea. Very effective shot.
Regards,
Mirari

bhardwajkapil78 (486) 2008-09-20 1:56 [Comment]

Show Comment +

indoka28 (5261) 2008-09-22 21:07

Hello Darpan,

I somehow like everything about this photograph.. Starting from the composition to the soft focus filter to the colours which are not tiing the eye and the note as well!!!...

very well seen and executed..!!

Regards,
Indro

nirvana73 (0) 2008-09-23 5:21

hello Darpan
great moment
great technic
tfs
regards
Ozhan

happysnapper999 (98) 2008-09-23 9:52 [Comment]

Show Comment +

vmukherjee (614) 2008-09-29 19:21

Great shot! What really stands out is the pattern of the pillars. Also the blurred effect looks good. Thanks for sharing.

PixelTerror (0) 2008-10-09 7:07

Hi Darpan,
nice perspective and framing with the train locomotive emerging out of the blurred area, it seems you got this blur applying PP instead of directly from the lens.
Have a nice day JY

bisok (948) 2008-11-03 16:57

Hello Darpan

This is a very important photograph and your "Photographer's note" is much more important.
I didn't know, those facts about Indian Railway. It's very impressive, that for example: each year, more than 4 billion passenger journeys are made by Indian railway. And for instance: it boasts of more than 7,500 railway stations and a fleet of not less than 7800 locomotives, 40,000 coaches & 3,26,000 wagons.
It's impressive... really very impressive ... !!!

Thank you very much for your photograph and a lot important information about Indian Railways.

Best regards
Mirek

lovelyindia_vk (268) 2008-11-06 19:29

Hi Darpan,
This ia one very powerfull shot. Nice colours, great perspective and wonderfull composition. I understand it is difficult to focus on a moving train but you have done it nicely. DOF seems unnatural.

marcan44 (6315) 2008-11-14 10:24

Hi Darpan,
nice colours game.
I like very much the blur effect making dynamic shot!
My compliments
Kind regards
Mario

bhaskar_saxena (0) 2009-05-03 7:29 [Comment]

Show Comment

dhurjati (2709) 2010-01-28 3:28

Hello Darpan,
Interesting shot.Thing that works on your favour is the repetitive columns with contrasting colors on the left creating great depth.Thing that doesn't work for you is the blunt white on the top part - it looks dull. I was reading all the crtiques posted here and I would like to differ on the very fact that the "Soft Focus" used here have enhanced the composition to any extent.I'm sorry but this is my personal opinion. More often or not, things kept natural looks much better.
Regards,
Dhurjati