railroad track raceway have been a constant presence in the ever - changing American landscape painting since the 1800s . Whether they are carrying cars of people and goods , or have fallen into disrepair , the web site of train tracks is familiar web site to all . For photographerJohn Michael Sanderson , the railroad line and its surrounding landscape is an opportunity to to get the beauty of these environment from a unique position .
Sanderson began photographing railroad line over a decade ago , but it was n’t until 2010 that he start an ardent pursuit of landscapes cross by track . Focusing mostly on the Northeast and New York region , he has produced stacks of dramatic photos with large - format 4×5 and 8×10 film cameras .
While the rootage of Sanderson ’s project lies in a childhood interest in historic steam locomotive engine , the broader docudrama task of draw America ’s changing physical composition presently took hold :
This documentary stake is specially crucial to me in the industrial corridors of the Northeast and Midwest U.S. , where the residue of shifting economic centers from cities to suburbs is so prevailing . Exploring the railroad landscape from this view is fascinating due to the law of proximity of railway lines to these sector .
Mainline North of Woodlawn , NY
Behind Broad St , Waverly , PA
Steelways Shipyard , Newburgh , NY
Buffalo Central Terminal , NY
Railroad Power Station , Glenwood NY
Early Morning , Stony Point . NY
violent storm King , NY
Riverline , Newburgh , NY
Castleton - on - Hudson , New York
Transfer Station , New Windsor , NY
The exposure succeed in portraying lulu and release at the same time . For me , the hatful of railway system tracks stretch out across an empty subject area or running beside old building is n’t the symbol of progression that it once was . Instead it ’s a admonisher of decay and the unfulfilled promise of engineering . railroad still represent an authoritative function in America , but their grandeur has diminished , and their future is at a crossroad .
Sanderson ’s picture are a reminder of the past times secern in gorgeously indite pictures of the present tense . you’re able to see more onhis website , or if you are in the New York orbit , his photos are on display at theNew York Transit Museumthrough this coming summer .
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , skill , and culture news program in your inbox day by day .
News from the futurity , delivered to your present .
Please select your desired newssheet and submit your electronic mail to upgrade your inbox .
