When an early autumn walks the land...

   ...from a photographer's notebook

Detail from "Autumn Idyllic"    Ektachrome ©Steve Ember       

I promised, in an earlier post, to celebrate my favorite season each week with a “new” image. And that has given me a good excuse to jump back into some boxes of slides…or sleeves of negs…or digital captures not yet presented…and perhaps take you along on some choice autumn travel experiences.

First, about that title…

If you are a musical kindred spirit, I’m certain you will have recognized that line from the superb lyric Johnny Mercer wrote to the Ralph Burns composition “Early Autumn.”

I’ve written before about how the ol’ Gray Matter Gramophone that sits behind this photographer’s eyes and between his ears fires up so easily when out and about with the cameras. Yes, “Early Autumn” was playing on the GMG as I shot this image, both Marlene VerPlanck’s dreamy vocal and, of course, the classic Woody Herman instrumental. If you know the song, and those two recordings…and you certainly know me from reading these posts, you’ll understand what a perfect fit they were, here on the shore of the Brienzersee (Lake Brienz) in Switzerland’s Berner Oberland. Yes, I know the lyric is at odds with my lifelong joy in experiencing autumn, its colors, the air...but, heck, Mercer's poetry is genius, and the Ralph Burns melody ain't too shabby.

I often enjoy the sentimental journey (to evoke yet another favorite tune) of returning to a spot I may have shot many years ago, sometimes to shoot it in a different season, sometimes just to spend more time at a place that appealed.

I first enjoyed the inviting vistas of the Brienzersee, on an afternoon lake cruise on my very first visit to Switzerland in the autumn of 1988. 

On my most recent trip to Switzerland, in 2011, I was fortunate to experience a lovely stretch of superb autumn weather, and decided to include a return visit to the Jungfrau Region. Even stayed at my favorite hotel in Interlaken, which I’d discovered quite serendipitously on that first visit. Once again, the charming Hotel du Lac was my base for re-discovering some of the region’s delights.

I remembered some Kodachromes I had shot in ‘88 from the ship as we approached the dock at the village of Iseltwald. It looked to be a very inviting spot in the late afternoon sunlight…hotel with dining terrace…peaceful cove with pleasure boats…so I thought I’d target Iseltwald for an afternoon in the autumn sunshine.

This time, I decided to visit by Post Bus via the road that meanders from the Interlaken-Ost railroad station along the south shore of the lake.

After making friends with a local kitty – obligatory experience when in Swiss villages! – I made my way to the lake shore, plopped down on a bench, and soaked in the Alpine sunshine and the boats cruising the lake, before arming the cameras and getting down to “business.”

No Kodachrome in the Canon this time (those days are sadly past), but I was pleased with how the palette of my Extra-Saturated Ektachrome-100 captured both the vivid colors of the early autumn trees and the soft pastels of the afternoon autumn haze in the more distant reaches of my shots. The one up top, “Autumn Idyllic” is making its first appearance. To fit the format of the wee bloggie and allow a large enough rendition to show some detail, I cropped the image, but you may see the entire original by following this link to its presentation on Foto-Community.

“Autumn Idyllic” is a new Photo Note Card design. It is also available in archival gallery prints. If you’d like more information, please contact me at emberphoto(at)hotmail(dot)com.

And, as you view the image, please join me in delighting in the lyrical magic of Johnny Mercer, the timeless melody of Ralph Burns, and the delicious, intimate performance of song stylist Marlene VerPlanck.

Happy Early Autumn!

©2013 Steve Ember

Do diesels dream?

...from a photographer's notebook

Sleeping Diesels    ©Steve Ember

MARC uses these MP-36PH diesels to haul commuter trains Monday through
Friday between Brunswick, Maryland and Washington DC.

On weekends, they get to sleep in ;-)

Last December, on a Sunday afternoon, I found these diesels (and several more),
all lined up with their trains, snoozing outside the Brunswick station. And I had to wonder...
 
Do diesels dream?

And if they do,

Might they dream like me and you?

Diesel pilots and train lines                                       ©Steve Ember

 Do diesels dream,                                                   

I’ve often wondered,

When tethered to a power source?

Might they conjure times long distant

When Great Grandpa was the Iron Horse?

 Charging down the gleaming mainline                             

Belching coal smoke

Billowing steam                                                  

Making music with their whistles…

Now there’s a lovely sort of dream.

If you're wondering what in tunket a "covered wagon" is, look no further. Reason for the nickname: When heavy maintenance was required, the shop simply lifted off the carbody to get to the guts. This EMD F-7 was a common example. It could pull both freight and passenger trains (as long as it had a steam generator as this one does - in its day, passenger cars' heating, as well as air conditioning, depended on a steam line coming from the locomotive(s). "Great Grandpa"would have approved!) And to explain the reference to the "567" for the non-train-devotee, that was the diesel engine most of these "covered wagons" used as their prime mover. That's the big yellow machine above. It drives a generator to make electricity for the traction motors on the axles (green). This was one of those "growling Fs" to which I refer.  E-unit diesels (designed specifically for passenger train service) were longer and sleeker, but had the same family resemblance and "bulldog nose." E's had two 567 prime movers and sat on six axle trucks to carry the increased weight of the machinery inside the "covered wagon." Many thanks to David Gagnon for allowing me to use this great illustration!

Or the “Covered Wagons” of the 'Fifties

Growling F’s and long, sleek E’s

Challenging the mountain passes

Roaring ‘cross the boundless prairies

Super Chief and Twentieth Century

The Canadian and the Royal Blue 

Southern Crescent, City of Portland

Pennsy’s Broadway Limited, too.

The mighty 567 made music quite unique

Each E had two above its wheels

And, oh my, could they speak!

But lash up three or four together

Hook ‘em up to twenty cars

Notch ‘em up to Run-Eight setting

They were 'fifties movie stars.

Does a diesel dream of music classy

While resting on its massive chassis?

Does Mercer’s “Laura” make him sigh?

Does he see Her on a train that is passing by?

Once, you know, it was romantic, 
Not all screeching cell phone frantic.

The Canadian was a superb long-distance train run by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It had several dome cars and a full consist of coaches and sleepers, lounges, observation car, great food, attentive staff. Gliding through the Canadian Rockies westward from Banff toward Lake Louise and on toward Vancouver, Molson in hand, in the observation lounge was a rail experience I shall never forget. Howdy, Alf and Joyce! Again, thanks to David Gagnon. And doesn't that ad just say it?

Mercer, once again, I took a trip on a train,

And I thought about you.**

And with Gordon Jenkins, a gentle query, Was it dusty on the train?

P.S. I Love You.

Slumber gently, sleeping diesels                        

Rusting Wheels, Sleeping Diesels  ©Steve Ember

Rest your motors,

Dream your dreams

Monday can arrive too soon, it seems

They’ll wake you up before the dawn

Time to haul those weary commuters

One giant collective Monday morning yawn.

Not that you’ll be yawning though

For you have slept the weekend through

And dreamed the dreams, the special dreams

That only diesel locomotives do. 

If you'd like to see my Sleeping Diesels in higher definition, please follow this link.

©2013 Steve Ember

** Enjoy some classic Mercer and Van Heusen - All aboard!