Witherill has captured this image with a focus on the detail and the point of view, this image was created asymmetrically but with a strong feeling of being almost symmetrical; I find that this draws you into the image and captures your full attention. The subject of this image is highlighted and you are forced to recognize it straight away (The Freight Train.) This unusually shaped rest stop with its long arch over the roof was near a desert, the train tracks are a mile away – the placement of this was key for this composition. Witherill wanted to capture the train as if it was moving along the narrow wall – it almost looks like a model train set. The composition has to be a key factor for this image, if it was taken any higher then the train would have looked like it was floating, any lower and you wouldn’t have been able to see the train. The foreground is soft with the tones that have been created. The detail that has been captured on the concrete tells a completely different story than the overall image, implying that there is more to this image than first meets the eye. Something I will personally take away from the image and photographer is to try and capture compelling compositions and work with the view point to my own advantage.
Samuel Mitchell
1 Photography, University of the West of England
UWE Bristol Photography Research Group 