Photos Left to the Viewer
Last time, there were many photos that made people think, 'Only a railway man could take this,' or perhaps, 'Even a railway man wouldn't take this,' and I cannot deny that the frames I chose were a bit too niche, but it seems many people found them interesting.
This time, I haven't set a specific theme, and I'd like to show you some somewhat milder photos. If the viewers find these interesting as well, then it's a huge success, although I feel the title photo is already a bit far from mild. Well, let's see how it goes.
No. 1 / 10
This is a wild, rather than mild, angle that perhaps should have been entered in the last championship. It's the top number of the C55, but I wonder what kind of position the photographer was in while looking through the viewfinder.
No. 2 / 10
A train car in a night where snow is quietly dancing. Shooting in a place with no people around. But the spot where I'm standing is on the tracks. Since an automatic AI translation feature has been added to note, I'll test how Japanese text with random rhymes is translated.
No. 3 / 10
This is the beauty of a long exposure, which appears to have had the shutter open for over a minute. It's supposed to be a railway photo, but the fact that the train itself isn't captured at all is what makes it interesting.
No. 4 / 10
It's just two steam locomotives passing each other, but the shooting position is a bit strange. I think this sense of discomfort is exactly what leads to its appeal.
No. 5 / 10
At Magaribuchi Station on the Tempoku Line, a station attendant is giving a hand signal from the platform, but the shooting position is a bit strange. Magaribuchi Station was closed in 1989. I've seen a theory that it was named because the nearby river forms a 'fuchi' (deep pool) and bends significantly, but the tracks are very straight.
No. 6 / 10
Is this a place where new tracks are being built? I thought it might be construction work from 1971 when the section between Asahikawa Station and Shin-Asahikawa Station on the Soya Main Line was elevated and double-tracked, but this photo is from 1973, so that seems unlikely.
No. 7 / 10
It looks like the wheels are being fixed. Many 6x6 negatives have descriptions written on them, but there was no description for this frame, so I think I'll ask my father the reason sometime.
No. 8 / 10
A steam locomotive and someone's luggage at Wakkanai Station. It's a scene where you can't even tell where the tracks are.
No. 9 / 10
Around 1973, I see many photos taken like this, as a set of 'locomotive + tender.' Perhaps my father sensed the atmosphere that steam locomotives were about to be abolished in Hokkaido and was driven by the desire to leave them behind as a record.
No. 10 / 10
This is the Shimohira Overpass, which runs between Onoppunai Station and Toikanbetsu Station. However, the shooting position is a bit strange. If it were a photo of a locomotive pulling freight cars, I might think, 'Maybe it was good not to have to worry about being seen,' but this is a passenger train. Wouldn't it have been better to worry about being seen?
Impressions
The reason I decided to digitize and publish my father's negatives was because I found photos like this one interesting, but when I first started publishing them, I didn't have enough knowledge to put their appeal into words.
Even so, I have gradually layered information like thin strata, and I feel that I am now able to explain these kinds of photos in writing better than when I first started. I would be happy if I could share this indescribable charm with those who are viewing them.
