All Aboard!

by Carol

 Solarize Filter

Here's a fun exercise: Pick out a subject on a Saturday afternoon..... and shoot it. I was toying with the idea of entering a few pictures in an exhibition with the subject of trains. A local art group was sponsoring it to celebrate the reopening of their local station after renovations. I never entered the competition, but I had a great afternoon trying to be creative with the subject. It reminded me that there are lots of ways to stretch your brain, and to get to know your camera as well as your Photoshop options.  So come along with me to the Peapack-Gladstone Amtrack station.

 Whoo-whooo - all aboard!

Arrival

Flashing By

Waiting

Oil Paint Filter

Emboss and Solarize Filters

Departure

Try it , you'll like it!

Tell A Story

by Judy

It was finally daylight and the Mother and child were still moving.  They had walked most of the night, looking over their shoulders often.  They did not know who it was that was following them, but they knew they needed to get away...

The young Mother sighed with relief when they finally reached the magical forest. Even as her daughter still clung tightly to her, she knew they would be OK.  Here in the trees that towered over them, here is where they were going to be able to stop. To breathe. To stay. This was the magical place they had only heard about.  Here is where they would be safe.

I had only seconds to look at this scene, to take in what I was seeing, to follow their steps with my camera and to compose my shot.  But in those few seconds I knew I had to capture what I was feeling.  The Mother carrying her child through the snow - the trees that dwarfed them, the soft morning light.  It just seemed magical to me.  To me it looked like a fairy tale. 

We've all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words.  We've all heard that a picture tells a story. On this day, with this photo, I was keenly aware of the story that I wanted to tell, and of the feelings I wanted to convey when I pressed the shutter button.  

The wonderful thing about photography is that different people will get different stories from the same photograph. Our view of the world, our attitudes, our personality, and our mood at the time are all likely to play a part in our interpretation.  And that's OK.  That is art.

Maybe I saw a fairy tale scene because I was in an especially happy, carefree mood that morning. Maybe this scene brought back memories of an illustration in a children's book read to me years ago. Maybe it was the lighting.  Who knows exactly what made me feel the way I did about the scene unfolding in front of me?

I knew what I wanted to convey, and to me, this photo does that. But some of you, maybe all of you, looked at this photo and perceived it differently.  What did you see? What did you feel?  I'd love to hear your story of this photo! Remember - there are no wrong answers!