Micro Blog: 5th September 2011 (Travel)

Trains, something I was never really interested in photographing, was the craze for a few months here in Singapore. The impending closure of the century old railway that travels up to Malaysia triggered the pouring of crowds onto the tracks. Thousands and thousands headed down to various points of the 26km local track in their bid of catching a glimpse of the passing carriages, wave at the drivers or just simply listen to the high-pitched screeching sound of the wheels as the trains approaches.

I for one however have been utilizing the tracks for a few years; they lead me home (not directly of course) from my workplace and I vividly recall the first time my ears caught the train before my eyes did. Even with the iPod shuffle plugged in, I could hear it clearly and wondered what in the world it was. Whew! Fortunately, I had the sense to head off to the side and saw in the distance, a faint blurred shape changing with each second. Within 5 seconds, one could make it out to be the evening train heading to Malaysia, our neighbours up north. Since then, I have been a regular "track-user." It was something I took for granted though I never really did any serious shooting at the tracks. It was only when it was announced the tracks were going to be removed and returned to Malaysia did I kick myself into action.

It was however a challenge in more ways than one. First, what should I be capturing? The tracks, the trains, the people, etc? There was just too many possibilities and I decided I had to play by ear and just let my creative juice be dripping out. It is not easy to nail down any subject as something interesting may happen along the way or I may have a idea for a technique that I would want to try out.

Second, the train schedule was somehow pretty elastic and some could be as late as an hour. This was solved with some detailed planning as to where I should be during certain times. Of course, that meant I was not going to cover as many locations as I can and I may even have to go back to the same location if the light or weather works against me.

Third, what can I do to differentiate my images from the other tens of thousands that have been shot? Surely, we will have our "standard" images of trains coming round the bend but to really push oneself to the edge, we should really be looking at how we can differentiate ourselves from the crowd. A crazy idea of placing the camera right on the tracks so the train will go above it was a wild idea but was immediately put off due to safety issues. I for one do not want to be guilty of a train wreck! The safer option will then be using a slow shutter speed juxtaposed with a stationary element to show the movement of the passing trains. How slow a shutter speed will that be? That's a gamble as it depends on the speed of that particular train. If the first test shot is deemed unsuitable, I may have to wait for a few hours before the next train comes along and that can prove to an ultimate test of patience.

There was also the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station that had to be included in the schedule. I would have to spend at least an entire day there to get into street photography mode, something I am never really accustomed to. It seems like a curse when I am on the streets, even locally and when faced with a moment, I just freeze in my tracks. It somehow seems weird to be welding a camera in public. Perhaps that explains my need to head into the wilderness, a place where I am at total ease. No mud nor weather can put me at more unease than street photography. But in this situation, I would have to conquer that fear and just concentrate on making the images. If I do not succeed, at least I did try.

One of the first shoots was to actually head down to the railway station. 2 tripods, 2 5D Mark IIs and a 7D with a variety of glass which included the 2 wide angle TSE lenses. The facade and architecture of the station commanded the use of the 2 specialist lenses. Upon reaching the station, I cowered in a corner. Ok that is a little too much but I was very close to doing that. On a chair in a corner of the coffeshop, I set up the 2 tripods and rolled the timelapses. The ability to shift with the TSE lenses meant less extension was needed for my tripods. Fully-extended, they would be superb attention grabbers so lay low, I told myself.

Half an hour and a few thousand shutter counts for both cameras went by and I moved on. I was still not getting used to the crowd that was growing by the minute and I left and headed off for the depot.

The depot was empty and I was actually encouraged by a few railway staff to enter since they were going to close it down in a few days. When such an opportunity arises, grab it! I headed in and it was really a concrete jungle....overgrown weeds, mozzies were plentiful and a few cats made their way under the parked train carriages. I instantly felt elevated and I put the gear down to explore. Walking around, a staff smiled and that eased me down further. I did enjoy pretty much the rest of the day there until a train driver in apparent denial of the impending closure started cursing at my instrusion and that ended my walkabout prematurely.

My stronger shots for this mini project really came out when I was out on the tracks alone and could walk around without fear of being distracted, without a thought of how I should answer questions about what I had for lunch. It may sound anti-social but honestly, every photographer will benefit from moments like this. It is during such periods where we will push ourselves to explore new techniques, where we will use shutter speeds that convey a whole new meaning, where we may be total dumbas**** and place our tripods right close to the tracks. It may not work for some as I have seen how large groups of photographers will try to inspire and push each other on. I do thrive in that sort of situation as well but when I aim to be producing some good work, it is tough personally, for me to do so in a crowd. Being alone or with just one shooting partner (that I encourage if one is shooting in deserted locations void of human traffic) can be totally elevating and much of my best work has been produced under such conditions.

The train system is now a slice of Singapore's history. The 2 weeks I spent exploring various parts of the railroad was like a dream in that I will never have the opportunity to revisit it. I would have to say that I did my best within the 2 weeks to capture as much of what I envisioned. Experimenting with slow shutter speeds with the Big Stopper on was gratifying so was placing the tripod to the edge of the track when the train rumbled past. And yes, my first encounter with an oncoming train will too be etched as part of my life for it was then I first experienced the serenity a railroad offers.