Another example revolves around our messages that we give out. Are we so lonely that we have to advertise our interests? Look around you; look at yourself. Almost everyone wears a shirt with some printing or logo and look at the cars we drive. Nearly all of us have some kind of vanity plate or sticker somewhere. Look at the NASCAR crowd. What are we trying to say to one another that we just can't say?! Look at our hobby show attendees. So many of us have our favorite railroad on our shirt. Are we trying to say, "Hey, I like trains!" Of course you do or you wouldn't be there!

Returning to the theme of this site and point of this article, I find myself looking at the current crop of rail photos out there. I love steam but the trend seems to be towards someone else telling me where to stand and when to shoot and how much it will cost. Then, I'll find myself with two hundred other people all taking the same shot. That's not unique and it's not all that personal.

Watch all the older train chase videos and you see lots of people running the highways, hanging out the car window trying to get some action. Fifteen different cars getting the same footage. None of this will ever mimic the random photographic finds in the hey day of steam.

I don't care for a lot of the modern rail photos but I am beginning to think that the only way to capture a personally artistic photo is to ambush a modern freight. Maybe it will be in one of those personal places that few know about and I'll have my own story to tell with it. Maybe one day my photo will be the perfect representation of a bygone era not to be found again.

But staged photo sessions don't lend themselves to uniqueness. Sure, there is still compositional interpretation and overall quality. But even poor abilities can be masked with Adobe Photoshop®. I suppose that if we must stage photos, lets also include more era-appropriate scenery, too. Pose a farmer in the background or foreground on an old tractor in period clothing as the steamer comes passing by. Bring in some cars and trucks and park them around the depot as the train rolls in.

I know that occassionally these setups occur. But look at the results. They are far better than the standard runby photos that you and two hundred of your closest friends all have. Who should tell you what you want in your photo or where you want to stand? We don't have to be lemmings and certainly not in our hobbies. Hobbies should diversify us; they should not conform us.

But just in case you think you don't conform, try this on for size. Can you ever imagine fashion getting better looking or more comfortable than a pair of Dockers® and a casual golf shirt? You probably felt the same way twenty years ago, too. Heck, who knew parachute pants wouldn't last?

Now I just need to save up to get a pair of those nice Bill's Khakis. I hear everyone's wearing them. Actually, they are very nice.