Shooting on railroad tracks...

[ump107]

I am on my local Fire Department and Rescue Squad, I have seen peoples lack of respect for trains often. For every incident we have on or near tracks a call is placed to the railroad to inform them of what is going on and in many cases shut the tracks down until completion of operations, it can take up to 30 min for the rails to be fully secured for us to operate freely. Depending on the incident the railroad will only slow the trains down to a few MPH; even then it is dangerous to be near the tracks. I remember one incident where while working on a trauma pt next to the track we didn’t hear the train until it was almost upon us. The train blew our equipment all over the place along the rail bed.
There are plenty of places across the country where old railroads have be converted to parks some still have segments of track that give good opportunity for photography.

[Justaddwata]

This video usually comes to mind when it comes to train safety - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKiXgOw-Fwo

[JWright]

Originally Posted by Zansho

Where I live, there is a rail that is totally dormant, and has NEVER been in use in the last 10 years, since we've had a train derail back then, and one of the bridges in the town is deemed un-safe for use due to structural integrity.

So, I've got a railroad track to use if I ever need one. And I did about 2 months ago, and got this shot:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6173/6...9dfbd256_b.jpg

It still may be railroad property and as such would make you liable for trespassing..

Originally Posted by Justaddwata

This video usually comes to mind when it comes to train safety - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKiXgOw-Fwo

An excellent illustration of how you might not be able to hear a train coming...

[Quadna71]

Originally Posted by District_History_Fan

Another of Momma's little buscuit eaters in action. Note the speed of the train.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DxcG...eature=related

BTW, around my area, local AMTRAK passenger trains travel at up to 80mph...

I like how, upon closer examination, the fella in the white shirt actually has his shoe popped off by the passing the train - you can see it tumble away as he continues to hop over the next track and fence. I'm sure his adrenalin was pumping so hard that he didn't realize he even lost a shoe!

[Digital_zen]

I've shot train tracks, walked trains tracks, hopped trains to get from one big curve to the next in the next town where my best friend lived when I was around 10-12 yrs. old, on multiple occasions,...but then again I was raised in very close proximity to tracks, and trains, and very much understood the danger involved and was always extremely careful. Some people are dangerous in a great many things that they do, others not so much.
I for one am glad that there is another good reason to stop folks from shooting on train tracks, if for no other reason that I think that cliche is just about as beat as a dead horse can get.
Still, nice shot Zansho.

[kfreels]

I never understood the compulsion to shoot portraits on train tracks. It really isn't that great of a setting. I find the lines distracting from the subject. Maybe I'm just weird like that.

[JWright]

If a photographer has a client that absolutely must have their picture shot on tracks, then a reasonable solution is to approach a railroad museum about shooting on their property. Not only is this a safer approach, but you might be able to pose your subject on or in a restored antique rail car or locomotive. Of course, there is the likelihood there will be a fee.

This brings me to my next point. Coincidentally, I am the newsletter editor and Chief Photographer at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo, (San Diego County) California. We are in the process of establishing a fee structure for this kind of photography on our property. I would like some input from any of you that do Senior, family or portrait photography regarding what you think would be a reasonable fee for a shoot of this type on museum property.

Thanks much.

[nathancarter]

Free (or, price of museum admission) if you're not closing the area to other guests, and the photographer is not setting up any equipment. No tripod, no off-camera flash - these can cause a hazard to other guests.

$20/hr if you're closing the area off from other guests, and the photographer is allowed to set up lights, tripod, etc. Of course, you would only make this available during non-peak hours.

Source: thin air? or something I'd personally be willing to pay.

[JWright]

Originally Posted by nathancarter

Free (or, price of museum admission) if you're not closing the area to other guests, and the photographer is not setting up any equipment. No tripod, no off-camera flash - these can cause a hazard to other guests.

$20/hr if you're closing the area off from other guests, and the photographer is allowed to set up lights, tripod, etc. Of course, you would only make this available during non-peak hours.

Source: thin air? or something I'd personally be willing to pay.

Free or Price of Admission is out of the question. We are a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers and money is a scarce commodity and we don't want others profiting from our facility without some form of compensation. We have a fee structure in place for commercial film production but nothing for still photographers. We currently prohibit commercial photography without strict written permission.

[nathancarter]

Originally Posted by JWright

Free or Price of Admission is out of the question. We are a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers and money is a scarce commodity and we don't want others profiting from our facility without some form of compensation. We have a fee structure in place for commercial film production but nothing for still photographers. We currently prohibit commercial photography without strict written permission.

I thought about this a bit before posting my suggestion. How do you differentiate "commercial photography" from a tourist or visitor who just happens to have a nice camera? It's not feasible to try to distinguish the guy who just wants a picture of his girlfriend at the museum, from the guy who's getting paid to take senior photos on the train tracks. You could attempt to prohibit photography entirely, but that's not realistic since every mobile phone has a camera. You could prohibit photography using any camera which uses interchangeable lenses (e.g. DSLRs) but now you're probably getting into way more policing than you want your volunteers to have to do.

That's why I used the additional gear (tripod, lights, etc) as the way to differentiate.

If you make it too expensive or too much hassle, I'll just go out to the real train tracks where I can shoot for free (until I get run off by the cops, or run over).

[Rocky Rhode]

Would this be considered too close?



** No laws were broken in the taking of this photograph **

((Took us 2-months to get a window that we could go up on the tracks to do some inspection))

[JWright]

Originally Posted by nathancarter

I thought about this a bit before posting my suggestion. How do you differentiate "commercial photography" from a tourist or visitor who just happens to have a nice camera? It's not feasible to try to distinguish the guy who just wants a picture of his girlfriend at the museum, from the guy who's getting paid to take senior photos on the train tracks. You could attempt to prohibit photography entirely, but that's not realistic since every mobile phone has a camera. You could prohibit photography using any camera which uses interchangeable lenses (e.g. DSLRs) but now you're probably getting into way more policing than you want your volunteers to have to do.

That's why I used the additional gear (tripod, lights, etc) as the way to differentiate.

If you make it too expensive or too much hassle, I'll just go out to the real train tracks where I can shoot for free (until I get run off by the cops, or run over).

There's really no good way to differentiate between the casual shooter and the pro. Tripods aren't a good indicator because a lot of amateurs use them. The best we can do is post notices and trust people to honor our policy. If someone comes to our museum to shoot instead of going out on an active rail line, then so much the better...

Originally Posted by Rocky Rhode

Would this be considered too close?



** No laws were broken in the taking of this photograph **

((Took us 2-months to get a window that we could go up on the tracks to do some inspection))

You are WAY too close, unless you're a MOW employee of BART, which I assume you are, based on your comment...

[Max Powers]

Originally Posted by Justaddwata

This video usually comes to mind when it comes to train safety - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKiXgOw-Fwo

Lol! I love how all the guy could say is yooouhoooooo!

That was the worst effort ever lol.