View allAll Photos Tagged rustoleum
Went out to the "new" spot again today.Left earlier, but still got there a little late, but I'm learning my way around shooting into the sun...
Lots of weird shit went down today, but most of it is boring, so I'm not going to go into it unless you want to hear about the foamer that almost hit me me in his car at 50MPH TWICE!!! Blue Honda driver, I'm going to find out who you are!
Pretty chill spot, but most of my spots I'm the only one there. This spot, down the road there were a bunch of railfans / foamers, and other people that come out here to try out their Jeeps and trucks in the dirt so they can tell their co-workers on Monday that they went "Off Roading" over the weekend. Totally fine, but lots more traffic than I'm used to. I'm very much used to the occasional homeless person, hiker, fellow bencher etc, but "normal" people freak me out a little. They want to stop and talk, they have questions for you, etc. I don't want it, and I don't like it when I'm trying to get away. Not that I REALLY mind it, I'm just being bitchy.
Uploading on a Tuesday night, drinking Guinness, Cheech & Chong's: Next Movie on TV, Headphones on (Grado Labs), playing Minor Threat through an Altoids tin headphone amplifier at 11. Life's Good!!!!!!
Hope you guys are having fun peeping my flicks.
Stay safe out there guys/girls. Look both ways! If you see it, flick it!!
If you like my flicks at least leave a little comment.
To see my freight graffiti videos click here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdGrtyTsyWVhLVHkwY0_-iu8P...
Arrived at my spot around 10:30AM, left at 6:10PM.
A little over 80F. and a light breeze. Perfect weather for hanging out for a few hours. There were a couple cars there, but I didn't see any people besides one guy who kept getting in/out of his Jeep. Okay, whatever.
10 minutes after getting there I heard the first train coming around the bend, and what a train it was, couple engines, and 78 autoracks in a row! What a way to start of my day.
15-20 minutes after I got to the spot, I messaged my friend Keith @railfanscajonpass that I was out there, he said he was on his way, he got there an hour or so later. By that time I'd already flicked 7-8 trains. One of the busiest days I've had in a long time. They just kept coming up and down the hill. I had planned to hike up the hill to look for a couple other spots to shoot from, but the trains just kept coming.
There's also some great under the bridges graff out at this spot, and I just didn't have time to hike over to it and flick it. There's also a spot close by that the RR stores ties, track, and equipment, I wanted to get some shots of that, again, no time.
Anyway, RRfans,(Keith) & Buddy hung out for another 5-6 hours until the sun dipped behind the mountains at about 6:00pm, and it was starting to get dark. Spent the day waiting, and listening for the engines chugging up the hill, or the horns blaring in the distance so we could finally jump up and do what we were both there to do. Him to film the trains and give his commentary, and me to get my flicks. He's a good dude to hang out with, good conversation, talk about life, problems, trains, etc.. Time just goes by so quick until the next train and we both get to work.
Saw lots of trucks, motorcycles, and loads of Jeeps drive through to go out exploring the local trails only to leave within' 20 minutes or so. There's miles and miles of trails out there, but it seems people get bored fast...
Had a great time, saw pieces from some of my favorite writers, and some writers I talk to occasionally.
It was a great day, and day I really needed personally, I've had a rough last few weeks, and I haven't been trackside in over a month. It was great to get out to the familiar sounds and smells of being out there next to the trains.
Backgrounds at this location are kind of boring, but the amount of freights and great pieces that come through here is crazy.
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If you can, pick up a copy of my first photo book: SoCal Freight Benching: Graffiti on Freight Trains - Vol.1 Here: smile.amazon.com/SoCal-Freight-Benching-Graffiti-Trains/d...
Every little bit helps. Thanks!!
Uploading these WAY late. Sorry. Moving to new PC after being on the same Win7-Pro machine for like 8+ years (I don't like change!), and it's been a mini-nightmare. Caught these a couple weeks ago at my local BNSF / Santa Fe yard.
====================
FYI.
These were shot with a 7.5mm fisheye lens because of the location, and poorly corrected so they look somewhat normal...
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Decided to head out to my local yard on a Saturday, got there at 9:30 and I was the only one out at the freight side platform. After a half hour I noticed someone down at the other end that I thought I recognized. Messaged him, and yep, it was him. My dude PasadenaSubColin.
We were both out there to just enjoy the day, me catching freights, and him freights & Metrolinks. He's a good dude to have around, as he lets me know when something cool is on its way into the yard, and I appreciate that he's all plugged into the grid to give the "heads up" when something's coming soon.
Well, this time I had, or rather found out, the "Heads Up" about 15 mins before he let me in on what would be the joke of the day. There apparently was a bicentennial engine coming through the depot today on its way to a RR museum in Perris, CA. The 5704!!!!! Big whoop.... One dude chatted me up asking if I knew when "IT" was supposed to come through. I had no idea what he was talking about and told him I don't follow trains. :-)
15-20 mins. later Colin messages me an FYI, that there's a "Special" train about to roll through. I've been in this situation before. I'm there benching graff, and all of the sudden 20 cars pull up and a bunch of "Railfans" jump out of their cars, run over, take a few photos of the "Special" car(s), engine or train, and when it's gone, they're gone. I feel like these are the people who only get out of bed when something "cool" is rolling through town. I really doubt they care about day-to-day operations of the RR. And honestly there's no way they give a shit about the graff.
Most people out at the tracks are cool, but there's a certain group of people who seem to have zero social skills when something "Special" is coming through, and we had at least one on this day. Some dude that kept walking past us, standing in my spot, like he was going to shoot from there when I got there at 9:30, and he got there at Noon. Walking past us by inches, and not saying a word, head down... Walking in front of cameras that were filming, hanging around my backpack and gear while I was like 30 feet away, just weird, un-cool shit. I'm not down with any of this. But I don't want to burn this spot as a bencher and didn't start any trouble, even though I wanted to punch this dude.. GRRR!
Will not be posting flicks of this special train car. Sorry. I saw it, I flicked it, but the whole experience was crap, and it was just one engine, big deal. I was there for the graff that you're seeing me post.
Was hot, no clouds, and at my end of the platform I had a 2ft. x 3ft. spot of slowly moving shade that was cast by one of the platform lights. After a while Colin and I were sharing this tiny moving spot of shade. No worries, we get along just fine.
BTW: PasadenaSubColin is a FOAMER!!!!!!!! ;-p
Managed to re-flick a few cars that I caught at the beginning of the month at the other end of the valley. Anyway........ I'll be back to try and ID these pieces soon. Might take me a little longer than usual as, like I said before, new computer, new crap to deal with..
Stay safe out there homies.
And..... As always, Thanks to the writers!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Please Subscribe to the YouTube, every little bit helps.
Out today benching freights at one of my spots. Wanted to go Saturday, rained all day. No rain on Sunday and it looked like the sun was going to come out. NOPE. It got down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. All I had was a thin Dickies jacket. My hands were cold, my feet were freezing, it was pretty bad. Yeah, I know 44F. isn't all that cold. Well here in California 44 is pretty damn low.
Was there for about an hour or so before security rolled up on the other side of 3 sets of tracks with roof lights flashing. Turned his truck to face me. I sat down and ignored him. I looked over again and he was gone. 30 mins. later here he comes rolling up on me on the same side of the tracks I was on. I was sure he was going to hassle me. He just wanted to know what I was doing out there. Told me to stay safe, and left...
Finished up my day frozen and shivering could barely feel my toes. Walked back to the car. Just as I got to the car I could hear another train coming. Seems like this always happens. Looked over as about 10-15 cars passed by. Oh well. Got in the car and headed down the road, and realized, I can beat this train to another spot where I could catch some flicks. So I did..
Stay safe out there friends !!!
For freight graff slideshows: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Out today benching freights at one of my spots. Wanted to go Saturday, rained all day. No rain on Sunday and it looked like the sun was going to come out. NOPE. It got down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. All I had was a thin Dickies jacket. My hands were cold, my feet were freezing, it was pretty bad. Yeah, I know 44F. isn't all that cold. Well here in California 44 is pretty damn low.
Was there for about an hour or so before security rolled up on the other side of 3 sets of tracks with roof lights flashing. Turned his truck to face me. I sat down and ignored him. I looked over again and he was gone. 30 mins. later here he comes rolling up on me on the same side of the tracks I was on. I was sure he was going to hassle me. He just wanted to know what I was doing out there. Told me to stay safe, and left...
Finished up my day frozen and shivering could barely feel my toes. Walked back to the car. Just as I got to the car I could hear another train coming. Seems like this always happens. Looked over as about 10-15 cars passed by. Oh well. Got in the car and headed down the road, and realized, I can beat this train to another spot where I could catch some flicks. So I did..
Stay safe out there friends !!!
For freight graff slideshows: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Today started out early. I went out to a spot that's not too far away but takes some effort to get out to. This really is a great area, and one of my favorite places to be. For just hiking around, or for benching. It's an amazing place. It's almost surreal how big and crazy the rocks and landscape are here.
Arrived at 9 AM, and after a short hike out to the tracks, the trains started rolling by. One after another, it was a super busy day. I've never seen so many autoracks during a session. Autoracks, at least for me are like rare birds, but today, they just kept coming! Caught pieces I hadn't seen before from some of my favorite writers, and that always makes for a great day out. Weather was great, I'm guessing 80F, but the wind.... The wind kept things pretty cool out. Almost cold, but not quite. Just about
perfect.
I saw a deer!! I've never seen anything larger than a lizard when out here. While waiting for the next train I looked over and saw something kinda' hopping over a double set of tracks about 75 ft. from me. At first I thought it was either some kinda dog, or a coyote, but it was big. I looked over at my bag, in case it ran towards me and I needed to grab it and run, and looked back to see it hop over the tracks, down an embankment about 15 ft. high, onto the access road which is about 20 ft. wide and with two
hops it was gone into the bushes. Really cool !!
Ended up leaving at around 4:30 PM, so a little over 7 hours. With longer days, and the way the sun travels here, it's almost better to show up later. There's a time around noon where no matter which side of the tracks your on, the lighting on the trains sucks. But hey, I'm out, away from society, seeing nature, seeing trains, graff, getting exercise, fresh air, and just plain getting away from my regular life..
Some people do yoga, some people meditate, some go to therapy. This is how I wipe away my daily life a couple times a month for a few hours.
Just wanted to throw in, I know every piece I flick isn't a banger, but I'm documenting graff. Today's toy, may be tomorrows king. And I'll have proof that he or she also was once a toy! Solid Gold!! :-)
As ALWAYS, thanks to the writers!
Writers, fellow benchers, and railfans, stay safe out there!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Instagram: @soilentseven
As usual, I'll be back in a few days to start going through and tagging my flicks with the the writer's names that I can figure out.
================
Oh, also as I'm finishing up editing photos from last weekend, heading into this weekend, I'm watching "Martha a picture story" Documentary about Martha Cooper, one of the OG's in documenting graff with high quality flicks years ago. One of the original authors of the Subway Art book. If you can swing renting it online to watch, or picking up a Blu Ray from Vinegar Syndrome, do so, it's a great film. vinegarsyndrome.com/products/martha-a-picture-story-utopia/
Out for the day at the Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass. Tons of trains, and nice weather for the first time in a LONG time. It was almost cold.
I also shot a time lapse video of the trains going by while I was out there, you can see it here: youtu.be/T2D8sNH_Oos
Had Fun! And that's what it's about.
Long write-up for today's batch of awesomeness.
First off. This whole covid thing, the election, working from home, not being able to go out, not seeing friends/family, etc. Has me, and I'm sure everyone else frazzled. Having a project to work on, in my case hiking out and shooting photos of graffiti on trains has been the one thing that's keeping me sane at this point. Hoping to see some new pieces from writers that I respect is like opening a pack of baseball cards and finding your favorite players rookie card for me. Yeah, it sounds goofy, but I've been having fun, staying sane, and seeing and capturing some amazing pieces of rolling art.
So I had this weird Monday vacation day on 11-2-2020. I decided to drive out to one my my benching spots and hang out for the day.
The plan was to set up a time lapse camera, and then just hang out and bench freights for 5-6 hours. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze, 88F. high. No clouds makes for a very boring time lapse between trains coming by. I also only brought my little Small Rig clamp for the time lapse camera and couldn't decide where I wanted to clamp it. I should have just brought a tripod.
Out for a few hours before the BNSF guys in their truck rolled up, got out and started walking toward me. "Great!" I thought. They're going to try and chase me away. Nope, they walked over to one set of tracks, walked across the bridge inspecting the tracks, then under the bridge inspecting the bridge, got in their truck and left. I like that. I don't bother you. You don't bother me.
A while later I see tree guy coming back home. I don't know his name, but there's a guy who lives in/under a tree that's next to the trail I hike in on. Once he's in there you'd never know it. I've seen him, he's seen me, and we don't bother each other.
The whole time I'm there I'm using my little Tascam recorder to record train audio every time one comes by so I have audio for the slideshow videos I've been uploading on YouTube. Well, this time I forgot it out there. Didn't dump my photos until Tuesday night and discovered it missing. Woke up early, drove out and it was still there. It recorded for almost 5 more hours before the batteries died. Glad to have it back, I thought tree guy might have found it.
One last side of the road benching day before the rains. I'll most likely be stuck in the house for the next few days because of the virus, and because of the rain.
Waited about 20 minutes for these trains to stop sitting around and get moving. They'll sit 1/2 to 1/4 mile down the tracks with lights on, but stopped. Then the real BRIGHT lights come on and they move. Seems like forever when waiting, but getting good shots. Priceless!
I did manage to get out yesterday after my time working at home to grab some shots of a few great pieces, and a few not so great. But who the fuck am I to judge? People are out there getting up and I'm just documenting what I see. Stay safe out there friends/family.
I know other people post super close up shots of the pieces on the trains, but I feel like a little bit of context is necessary, just like in my 1:1 macro shots. I'm an old dog, and I can't learn new tricks. Sorry.
To see the rest of this album of freight graffiti go here: www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/albums/72157708879870433
Long session today (9:30AM - 5:30PM) at my least favorite spot to flick graffiti, but one of my favorite spots for the amount of traffic this spot gets. There's also a crossing here, so lots of horn action! The engineers also know "railfans" come out here so sometimes they get a little creative with the honking.
Grand total of flicks taken, 803, total being posted, 616.
Right out of the gate I fucked up big time. First train I saw go by as I arrived was an Amtrak. Got down to the spot and immediately I hear the horns coming from behind the hill. Get the camera out, lens cap off and 30 seconds later and what do I see, autoracks, and lots of them. Sweet! I get in position, and they're coming by quick. I'm just barely framing them up and snapping the flicks. Saw my first Ichabod E2E car, Green/Black. Woah dude!! Cool. (my inner SoCal surfer came out). and then it's gone.
Sat down and looked through photos on little 3 in. screen on back of camera, not good. I zoom in, but I can't tell if photos are sharp or not. Lighting seems ok, but can't tell if sharp. Go to take a quick snap of a little tag on a fence post and camera will not focus. WTH?? Camera was switched into manual focus mode from a project I was working on days previously. ARRRGH!! So out of like 30-40 autoracks, they're all blurry.
Still posting 3 of them, just to document, but I will call them out as bad photos. I was so pissed that I almost went back to the car. Glad I didn't. Throughout the day I caught some really nice pieces from some of my favorite writers. I didn't give up, and came home with gold, as you'll see going through this latest set.
FYI I managed to catch up with some of the day's last autoracks and got shots of them in way better light. So 8-10 pieces shot today have doubles that were shot in two different locations.
Also ended up meeting up with (YouTube) Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass. He was just down the road from where I was and came down for a bit. He even brought that vicious dog "Buddy" with him. Glad I survived the encounter.
If you want to see some of these cars rolling, here's the videos he shot while I was there. If you look close or not so close in one vid, you might see me in action down the line. Anyway......
As always, thanks to the writers, fellow benchers, old, and new friends, Stay safe out there!!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Long session today (9:30AM - 5:30PM) at my least favorite spot to flick graffiti, but one of my favorite spots for the amount of traffic this spot gets. There's also a crossing here, so lots of horn action! The engineers also know "railfans" come out here so sometimes they get a little creative with the honking.
Grand total of flicks taken, 803, total being posted, 616.
Right out of the gate I fucked up big time. First train I saw go by as I arrived was an Amtrak. Got down to the spot and immediately I hear the horns coming from behind the hill. Get the camera out, lens cap off and 30 seconds later and what do I see, autoracks, and lots of them. Sweet! I get in position, and they're coming by quick. I'm just barely framing them up and snapping the flicks. Saw my first Ichabod E2E car, Green/Black. Woah dude!! Cool. (my inner SoCal surfer came out). and then it's gone.
Sat down and looked through photos on little 3 in. screen on back of camera, not good. I zoom in, but I can't tell if photos are sharp or not. Lighting seems ok, but can't tell if sharp. Go to take a quick snap of a little tag on a fence post and camera will not focus. WTH?? Camera was switched into manual focus mode from a project I was working on days previously. ARRRGH!! So out of like 30-40 autoracks, they're all blurry.
Still posting 3 of them, just to document, but I will call them out as bad photos. I was so pissed that I almost went back to the car. Glad I didn't. Throughout the day I caught some really nice pieces from some of my favorite writers. I didn't give up, and came home with gold, as you'll see going through this latest set.
FYI I managed to catch up with some of the day's last autoracks and got shots of them in way better light. So 8-10 pieces shot today have doubles that were shot in two different locations.
Also ended up meeting up with (YouTube) Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass. He was just down the road from where I was and came down for a bit. He even brought that vicious dog "Buddy" with him. Glad I survived the encounter.
If you want to see some of these cars rolling, here's the videos he shot while I was there. If you look close or not so close in one vid, you might see me in action down the line. Anyway......
As always, thanks to the writers, fellow benchers, old, and new friends, Stay safe out there!!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Today started out early. I went out to a spot that's not too far away but takes some effort to get out to. This really is a great area, and one of my favorite places to be. For just hiking around, or for benching. It's an amazing place. It's almost surreal how big and crazy the rocks and landscape are here.
Arrived at 9 AM, and after a short hike out to the tracks, the trains started rolling by. One after another, it was a super busy day. I've never seen so many autoracks during a session. Autoracks, at least for me are like rare birds, but today, they just kept coming! Caught pieces I hadn't seen before from some of my favorite writers, and that always makes for a great day out. Weather was great, I'm guessing 80F, but the wind.... The wind kept things pretty cool out. Almost cold, but not quite. Just about
perfect.
I saw a deer!! I've never seen anything larger than a lizard when out here. While waiting for the next train I looked over and saw something kinda' hopping over a double set of tracks about 75 ft. from me. At first I thought it was either some kinda dog, or a coyote, but it was big. I looked over at my bag, in case it ran towards me and I needed to grab it and run, and looked back to see it hop over the tracks, down an embankment about 15 ft. high, onto the access road which is about 20 ft. wide and with two
hops it was gone into the bushes. Really cool !!
Ended up leaving at around 4:30 PM, so a little over 7 hours. With longer days, and the way the sun travels here, it's almost better to show up later. There's a time around noon where no matter which side of the tracks your on, the lighting on the trains sucks. But hey, I'm out, away from society, seeing nature, seeing trains, graff, getting exercise, fresh air, and just plain getting away from my regular life..
Some people do yoga, some people meditate, some go to therapy. This is how I wipe away my daily life a couple times a month for a few hours.
Just wanted to throw in, I know every piece I flick isn't a banger, but I'm documenting graff. Today's toy, may be tomorrows king. And I'll have proof that he or she also was once a toy! Solid Gold!! :-)
As ALWAYS, thanks to the writers!
Writers, fellow benchers, and railfans, stay safe out there!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Instagram: @soilentseven
As usual, I'll be back in a few days to start going through and tagging my flicks with the the writer's names that I can figure out.
================
Oh, also as I'm finishing up editing photos from last weekend, heading into this weekend, I'm watching "Martha a picture story" Documentary about Martha Cooper, one of the OG's in documenting graff with high quality flicks years ago. One of the original authors of the Subway Art book. If you can swing renting it online to watch, or picking up a Blu Ray from Vinegar Syndrome, do so, it's a great film. vinegarsyndrome.com/products/martha-a-picture-story-utopia/
Out for the day, away from regular life, work, the "News" and all of the other stuff that can drive a man crazy. Just me, a camera, some snacks, and art rollin' by. Living the life.
Hope you guys/girls are staying safe out there. Not getting sick, and not getting anyone else sick. We're all in this together.
I smell "beef" Can't we all just get along?!
Had an awesome day today, but. I didn't need to dig another hole to get myself out of. I have enough work to keep me busy for a while. This was supposed to be my "catch-up weekend" I'm working on the next video, I have almost 600 photos on flickr to ID writers on, and I have a book project I'm working on. But... I got the chance to hang out with "Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass & Buddy" for a couple hours today. So I grabbed my gear and headed out. Really cool, chill dude, and Buddy, well, he's a vicious beast !! If you want to loose a hand, try and pet him!! Foaming at the mouth, growling, etc. Like a smaller, meaner version of Cujo !!! Good Luck to you..
We hit a couple spots, but I only had luck at two. I pride myself in nice sharp flicks, but I ended up throwing out a bunch today because they were blurry. And all of them were shot on my 16mm lens. All settings the same as when I shoot on the 23, but for some reason shutter speeds were low, and I wasn't paying enough attention, so...... slightly blurry photos. There were some nice pieces in there, but who wants blurry graff flicks?! The 23mm is my go-to lens, but I need to figure out this 16mm issue. When you get home and start seeing blurry flicks, it almost makes you sick to your stomach, thinking the whole day has been ruined, but usually it's just a few shots and nothing major. And that's what happened today. Not all was lost.
Saw some awesome pieces, got out of the house, and made two new friends.
Check out my dude's channel here
Railroad fans of the Cajon Pass
www.youtube.com/channel/UCQR00bLwvLZ08U_r0Ppx8gg
www.patreon.com/user/posts?u=71537063
To see these trains rolling by, filmed by: Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass
Three Trains One Video. Two Z Trains And A Manifest. At Verdemont 5-14-2022
Out today benching freights at one of my spots. Wanted to go Saturday, rained all day. No rain on Sunday and it looked like the sun was going to come out. NOPE. It got down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. All I had was a thin Dickies jacket. My hands were cold, my feet were freezing, it was pretty bad. Yeah, I know 44F. isn't all that cold. Well here in California 44 is pretty damn low.
Was there for about an hour or so before security rolled up on the other side of 3 sets of tracks with roof lights flashing. Turned his truck to face me. I sat down and ignored him. I looked over again and he was gone. 30 mins. later here he comes rolling up on me on the same side of the tracks I was on. I was sure he was going to hassle me. He just wanted to know what I was doing out there. Told me to stay safe, and left...
Finished up my day frozen and shivering could barely feel my toes. Walked back to the car. Just as I got to the car I could hear another train coming. Seems like this always happens. Looked over as about 10-15 cars passed by. Oh well. Got in the car and headed down the road, and realized, I can beat this train to another spot where I could catch some flicks. So I did..
Stay safe out there friends !!!
For freight graff slideshows: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Out today benching freights at one of my spots. Wanted to go Saturday, rained all day. No rain on Sunday and it looked like the sun was going to come out. NOPE. It got down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. All I had was a thin Dickies jacket. My hands were cold, my feet were freezing, it was pretty bad. Yeah, I know 44F. isn't all that cold. Well here in California 44 is pretty damn low.
Was there for about an hour or so before security rolled up on the other side of 3 sets of tracks with roof lights flashing. Turned his truck to face me. I sat down and ignored him. I looked over again and he was gone. 30 mins. later here he comes rolling up on me on the same side of the tracks I was on. I was sure he was going to hassle me. He just wanted to know what I was doing out there. Told me to stay safe, and left...
Finished up my day frozen and shivering could barely feel my toes. Walked back to the car. Just as I got to the car I could hear another train coming. Seems like this always happens. Looked over as about 10-15 cars passed by. Oh well. Got in the car and headed down the road, and realized, I can beat this train to another spot where I could catch some flicks. So I did..
Stay safe out there friends !!!
For freight graff slideshows: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
San Bernardino Santa Fe / BNSF Yard with Keith of "Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass" @cajonpassrailroadfans @railfanscajonpass
Overcast, and weather reports said it was going to rain, but let's be real, I live in Southern California, and rain isn't something we see on a regular basis.
Met up with Keith at 9AM out in front of the depot. The plan was to take him on a little tour of the museum there, as it's only open on Saturdays between 10am-3pm. Walking across the parking lot towards the museum, there were a whole lot more cars than usual. Well, they were having their railroad swap meet deal. Dozens of folding tables full of model trains, and all kind of other train related stuff. Cool.
After a half hour of looking at all the cool model trains and the museum, we finally got out trackside to watch the real trains. We were out there for a few hours, saw a lot of great trains. A few autoracks rolling through and I'm sure Keith was catching some cool video of the freights and the Metrolinks' for his YouTube.
About 3PM? it started sprinkling a little bit, and then it started coming down pretty hard. On the platform there's a couple little covered benches with gutters, etc. We hunkered down, and the rain let up pretty quick, and then it started again, then stopped and started. This went on for the rest of the time we were there.
Overall, pretty fun day. Caught a lot of great pieces rolling by and got to hang out with Keith for the day (Sans Buddy).
Honestly, I prefer to be out there by myself, but it's a nice change to be out there with someone else to talk shop with and share stories.
As always, thanks to the writers for giving me something to go out and hunt. *Man Hugs* & Thanks to the Santa Fe Depot for being cool with people hanging out and catching freights on "film".
San Bernardino Santa Fe / BNSF Yard with Keith of "Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass" @cajonpassrailroadfans @railfanscajonpass
Overcast, and weather reports said it was going to rain, but let's be real, I live in Southern California, and rain isn't something we see on a regular basis.
Met up with Keith at 9AM out in front of the depot. The plan was to take him on a little tour of the museum there, as it's only open on Saturdays between 10am-3pm. Walking across the parking lot towards the museum, there were a whole lot more cars than usual. Well, they were having their railroad swap meet deal. Dozens of folding tables full of model trains, and all kind of other train related stuff. Cool.
After a half hour of looking at all the cool model trains and the museum, we finally got out trackside to watch the real trains. We were out there for a few hours, saw a lot of great trains. A few autoracks rolling through and I'm sure Keith was catching some cool video of the freights and the Metrolinks' for his YouTube.
About 3PM? it started sprinkling a little bit, and then it started coming down pretty hard. On the platform there's a couple little covered benches with gutters, etc. We hunkered down, and the rain let up pretty quick, and then it started again, then stopped and started. This went on for the rest of the time we were there.
Overall, pretty fun day. Caught a lot of great pieces rolling by and got to hang out with Keith for the day (Sans Buddy).
Honestly, I prefer to be out there by myself, but it's a nice change to be out there with someone else to talk shop with and share stories.
As always, thanks to the writers for giving me something to go out and hunt. *Man Hugs* & Thanks to the Santa Fe Depot for being cool with people hanging out and catching freights on "film".
Went out to the "new" spot again today.Left earlier, but still got there a little late, but I'm learning my way around shooting into the sun...
Lots of weird shit went down today, but most of it is boring, so I'm not going to go into it unless you want to hear about the foamer that almost hit me me in his car at 50MPH TWICE!!! Blue Honda driver, I'm going to find out who you are!
Pretty chill spot, but most of my spots I'm the only one there. This spot, down the road there were a bunch of railfans / foamers, and other people that come out here to try out their Jeeps and trucks in the dirt so they can tell their co-workers on Monday that they went "Off Roading" over the weekend. Totally fine, but lots more traffic than I'm used to. I'm very much used to the occasional homeless person, hiker, fellow bencher etc, but "normal" people freak me out a little. They want to stop and talk, they have questions for you, etc. I don't want it, and I don't like it when I'm trying to get away. Not that I REALLY mind it, I'm just being bitchy.
Uploading on a Tuesday night, drinking Guinness, Cheech & Chong's: Next Movie on TV, Headphones on (Grado Labs), playing Minor Threat through an Altoids tin headphone amplifier at 11. Life's Good!!!!!!
Hope you guys are having fun peeping my flicks.
Stay safe out there guys/girls. Look both ways! If you see it, flick it!!
If you like my flicks at least leave a little comment.
To see my freight graffiti videos click here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdGrtyTsyWVhLVHkwY0_-iu8P...
Finally found a few cans of my old favorite Krylon brown primer. The rustoleum stuff is way too thick
Went out today with one goal in mind. Leave a copy of my book, sealed in a bag next to an awesome piece of graffiti, and then come home and post a photo of the piece and if anyone knew where this piece was, they could come out and grab a free copy of the book.
Planned on leaving it by a really cool MERS piece that I've been seeing for a few years now, ended up leaving it by a newer writers piece @she.bombs she's only been at it for a short while from what I understand, but she's doing awesome work and getting up.
Found a way to climb up and leave a sealed, in a bag copy up high enough that it would take a little work to find it. Cool. On the way out, I planned on benching at one of my favorite spots for a few hours and then heading home.
Got to my spot, got out my HAM radio to listen for trains, got out my camera, and within' a few minutes some dude is walking towards me. I'm alone, and there's really nowhere I can go. As he gets closer I say "Hey, how ya' doin'?" Dude replies "I'm okay". I turn a bit so that he can easily see that I'm armed, and then I notice that he's got a plastic bag in one hand, and a rock the size of a softball in the other hand. He walks within' a couple feet of me, and once he's passed by 6 feet or so, looks back and says "It's ok to be hiking out here right?" "Yep!" I say, and he walks off.
I hear, and then see a UP train coming, which means I need to grab my shit and head to the other trestle and catch it from the other side. Lighting issues.. As I'm flicking this one, I duck down and look under the trestle and see that a BNSF freight is on the other set of tracks. GRRR. The UP ended up being like 25 cars. As I run back to my spot I see an elusive (to me) ICHABOD piece roll by... Missed it.
I catch the last 10-15 cars on the BNSF. Within' 10 minutes or so, I see another sketchy dude walking around under the trestle I was just under, and he's walking around with some sort of stick.
Seriously, I don't need this. I have bills, and I need to be at work on Monday. I left, and drove back home. I felt defeated. In the end, I did what I set out to do, and that was give away a book. ...But the freights.... They'll roll through again one day, or not.
Headed out, messaged my friend or he messaged me? Can't remember but we met up at this spot for a couple hours, but he wanted to move on to another spot. I hadn't been out here in a while and decided to stay and move to another one of my spots nearby. Glad I stayed because I caught a bunch of great pieces later in the day. I know I don't hit a lot of spots but I go where I'm comfortable staying for between 4-7 hours, and not being harrassed by hikers, homeless, or other people. Unless I'm there with friends, I just want to be left alone and catch my flicks.
Short Day & not too many trains...
Last train photo: 5:03PM
I now have three freight graffiti books out.
SoCal Freight Benching: Graffiti on Freight Trains Volumes 1-3 are available on my author page on Amazon here: www.amazon.com/author/silence_seven
Went out on Saturday to get flicks at a local graffiti spot, and came home feeling like I wasted my time out there. Got in a nice hike, thought I was going to be eaten by coyotes, but it was just one coyote and he didn't want to eat me. Maybe next time. So... Drove out to another spot Sunday where trains are coming/going all day long. Kinda' Pulled up as the first freight was almost gone, then I waited.... and waited.... Next freight seemed to take forever. Then it was like an hour until the next one. So three hours, and 2-1/2 freights. Not the worst thing in the world, but I was hoping for some more action than that. Caught a couple of cool pieces, wasn't at work, and wasn't cooped up at home, so all good!!
Seriously. If all you have to do is drive for a little while, park, and have art delivered to you while you sit in the comfort of your car. This could be considered by many as the perfect benching spot.
Most places I hike out to. It's hot, it's sandy, it's dusty, there's a chance of snakes, spiders, coyotes, and more importantly, there's a chance of sketchy people. The older I get, the more I try to avoid sketchy people, so this might actually be my perfect spot if it wasn't for the lack of a scenic backdrop, and tons of car traffic.
As always, thanks to the writers! Stay safe out there writers, and fellow benchers!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Decided to go out Saturday because the weather was supposed to be cooler, and cloudy. Well it was cooler 85f. But zero clouds. I swear I'm going to move to a state that has clouds.
Got to my first spot, and found out they have now fenced the entrance path to the spot. A GIANT field with a path leading to my spot is not completely fenced. forcing me to walk about an mile out of my way to get to the spot. Yeah, I could have easily jumped the fence, walked through and jumped the next fence. There was so much traffic in the area I could just walk around. I need the exercise anyway.
The long walk to my spot took me pretty close to one of my favorite bridge spots, so I decided to hike up a bit and see what was new. A few new pieces and a few old favorites that were still there, un-touched. Those are in today's upload as well.
Got to my spot finally. This spot has a homeless "issue" but I've had nothing but pleasant interactions with anyone who's approached me. Mostly I think they are just curious what I'm doing out there for 5-6 hours standing around in one spot. As soon as I say "the trains.." they always go "oh, cool." So every time I go there I always take inventory of all of the people who are out there so I know where to keep an eye out. Got there at like 10:15AM and I see a guy coming out from under a tree about 200' away. Moving slow, and carrying a box. Moving the box from one place to another, then another box, etc. I'm not worried about this person.
About an hour into my session, I see a guy walking along in the wash below.. Looks about 60-65, with no shirt, and is about as tan as you can get. This guy has obviously been in the desert sun for a while. After a couple of minutes he gets to me, throws out his hand and introduces himself as "Jeff". Asks how I'm doing and what I'm doing out there. I said "the trains" and he nods. Says he's headed up to the gas station down the tracks and up the road, and asks if I want him to bring me something to drink. "nah, I'm good", "OK, see ya'" Oh, forgot to mention, Jeff had a fixed blade knife about 12" long strapped to the front of his belt. I also carry a knife when I go out, just in-case so I understood his carrying of a knife and seeing it didn't faze me.
Spent about 4 hours at that spot, and hit up another spot on the way home and flicked some other amazing pieces.
Was a great day out, and I had fun. Isn't that what it's all about!!? I even managed to flick some pieces from some of my favorite writes I haven't seen before!
Also witnessed a procession of like 100 Honda Groms and other motorcycles rolling by: youtu.be/H4uLI_EupHU
Thanks to all of the writers and fellow benchers. Stay safe out there. Look both ways before crossing!!
Be sure to hit up my YouTube channel for freight graff videos: www.youtube.com/c/SilenceSeven
Also Instagram for graff related fun: www.instagram.com/soilentseven
As usual, I'll be by in a few days to start #tagging pieces that that I recognise or can figure out. If you spot any errors, just let me know.
San Bernardino Santa Fe / BNSF Yard with Keith of "Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass" @cajonpassrailroadfans @railfanscajonpass
Overcast, and weather reports said it was going to rain, but let's be real, I live in Southern California, and rain isn't something we see on a regular basis.
Met up with Keith at 9AM out in front of the depot. The plan was to take him on a little tour of the museum there, as it's only open on Saturdays between 10am-3pm. Walking across the parking lot towards the museum, there were a whole lot more cars than usual. Well, they were having their railroad swap meet deal. Dozens of folding tables full of model trains, and all kind of other train related stuff. Cool.
After a half hour of looking at all the cool model trains and the museum, we finally got out trackside to watch the real trains. We were out there for a few hours, saw a lot of great trains. A few autoracks rolling through and I'm sure Keith was catching some cool video of the freights and the Metrolinks' for his YouTube.
About 3PM? it started sprinkling a little bit, and then it started coming down pretty hard. On the platform there's a couple little covered benches with gutters, etc. We hunkered down, and the rain let up pretty quick, and then it started again, then stopped and started. This went on for the rest of the time we were there.
Overall, pretty fun day. Caught a lot of great pieces rolling by and got to hang out with Keith for the day (Sans Buddy).
Honestly, I prefer to be out there by myself, but it's a nice change to be out there with someone else to talk shop with and share stories.
As always, thanks to the writers for giving me something to go out and hunt. *Man Hugs* & Thanks to the Santa Fe Depot for being cool with people hanging out and catching freights on "film".
It's been over a month since I've been out benching. Damn, I've missed being out by the tracks. Went out to my local yard and benched for 5 hours. 20+ freights rolled through while I was there. Missed a few others
because they had one parked on a closer track for a couple hours. Born and raised in Southern California, but the heat kills me, I swear I shoulda' been raised in Colorado, or some other cooler state. Weather was OK. Hot (90+f), but there was a breeze. If it gets any hotter here, I'm going to be going out maybe once a month for the next few months.. Benching naked is frowned upon around here, and I don't want to get my
bits sun-burned.
Fujifilm X-E3 with 23mm F/2.0 lens & Fujifim X-Pro3 and 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.
Hope you guys/girls enjoy checking the flicks as much as I enjoyed being out there spotting them!! I saw a lot of great pieces, and a lot of not so great pieces, but I was happy to be out there.
As always, thanks to all the writers ! Stay safe out there !
=====================
To see the rest of my freight graffiti flicks click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/collections/7215771678...
For freight graffiti slideshows hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
I had some time today to get out to the tracks for about 5-1/2 hours to one of my favorite sopts. Weather was great and there was a lot of activity.
Spotted quite a few great pieces, and a few pieces from a couple of my favorite writers. Lots of autoracks today!! Most of all, had fun! And that's what it's all about. When it's not fun anymore, quit..
Will be back in a few days to ID the pieces I can. If you know a writer's ID that I haven't identified, comment below. I have a hard time with some of them. After 10k pieces it's a lot easier, but ya' know..
As always, thanks to the writers! Stay safe out there!!
To see my freight graffiti videos click here:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdGrtyTsyWVhLVHkwY0_-iu8P...
Long session today (9:30AM - 5:30PM) at my least favorite spot to flick graffiti, but one of my favorite spots for the amount of traffic this spot gets. There's also a crossing here, so lots of horn action! The engineers also know "railfans" come out here so sometimes they get a little creative with the honking.
Grand total of flicks taken, 803, total being posted, 616.
Right out of the gate I fucked up big time. First train I saw go by as I arrived was an Amtrak. Got down to the spot and immediately I hear the horns coming from behind the hill. Get the camera out, lens cap off and 30 seconds later and what do I see, autoracks, and lots of them. Sweet! I get in position, and they're coming by quick. I'm just barely framing them up and snapping the flicks. Saw my first Ichabod E2E car, Green/Black. Woah dude!! Cool. (my inner SoCal surfer came out). and then it's gone.
Sat down and looked through photos on little 3 in. screen on back of camera, not good. I zoom in, but I can't tell if photos are sharp or not. Lighting seems ok, but can't tell if sharp. Go to take a quick snap of a little tag on a fence post and camera will not focus. WTH?? Camera was switched into manual focus mode from a project I was working on days previously. ARRRGH!! So out of like 30-40 autoracks, they're all blurry.
Still posting 3 of them, just to document, but I will call them out as bad photos. I was so pissed that I almost went back to the car. Glad I didn't. Throughout the day I caught some really nice pieces from some of my favorite writers. I didn't give up, and came home with gold, as you'll see going through this latest set.
FYI I managed to catch up with some of the day's last autoracks and got shots of them in way better light. So 8-10 pieces shot today have doubles that were shot in two different locations.
Also ended up meeting up with (YouTube) Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass. He was just down the road from where I was and came down for a bit. He even brought that vicious dog "Buddy" with him. Glad I survived the encounter.
If you want to see some of these cars rolling, here's the videos he shot while I was there. If you look close or not so close in one vid, you might see me in action down the line. Anyway......
As always, thanks to the writers, fellow benchers, old, and new friends, Stay safe out there!!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Went out to the "new" spot again today.Left earlier, but still got there a little late, but I'm learning my way around shooting into the sun...
Lots of weird shit went down today, but most of it is boring, so I'm not going to go into it unless you want to hear about the foamer that almost hit me me in his car at 50MPH TWICE!!! Blue Honda driver, I'm going to find out who you are!
Pretty chill spot, but most of my spots I'm the only one there. This spot, down the road there were a bunch of railfans / foamers, and other people that come out here to try out their Jeeps and trucks in the dirt so they can tell their co-workers on Monday that they went "Off Roading" over the weekend. Totally fine, but lots more traffic than I'm used to. I'm very much used to the occasional homeless person, hiker, fellow bencher etc, but "normal" people freak me out a little. They want to stop and talk, they have questions for you, etc. I don't want it, and I don't like it when I'm trying to get away. Not that I REALLY mind it, I'm just being bitchy.
Uploading on a Tuesday night, drinking Guinness, Cheech & Chong's: Next Movie on TV, Headphones on (Grado Labs), playing Minor Threat through an Altoids tin headphone amplifier at 11. Life's Good!!!!!!
Hope you guys are having fun peeping my flicks.
Stay safe out there guys/girls. Look both ways! If you see it, flick it!!
If you like my flicks at least leave a little comment.
To see my freight graffiti videos click here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdGrtyTsyWVhLVHkwY0_-iu8P...
Long session today (9:30AM - 5:30PM) at my least favorite spot to flick graffiti, but one of my favorite spots for the amount of traffic this spot gets. There's also a crossing here, so lots of horn action! The engineers also know "railfans" come out here so sometimes they get a little creative with the honking.
Grand total of flicks taken, 803, total being posted, 616.
Right out of the gate I fucked up big time. First train I saw go by as I arrived was an Amtrak. Got down to the spot and immediately I hear the horns coming from behind the hill. Get the camera out, lens cap off and 30 seconds later and what do I see, autoracks, and lots of them. Sweet! I get in position, and they're coming by quick. I'm just barely framing them up and snapping the flicks. Saw my first Ichabod E2E car, Green/Black. Woah dude!! Cool. (my inner SoCal surfer came out). and then it's gone.
Sat down and looked through photos on little 3 in. screen on back of camera, not good. I zoom in, but I can't tell if photos are sharp or not. Lighting seems ok, but can't tell if sharp. Go to take a quick snap of a little tag on a fence post and camera will not focus. WTH?? Camera was switched into manual focus mode from a project I was working on days previously. ARRRGH!! So out of like 30-40 autoracks, they're all blurry.
Still posting 3 of them, just to document, but I will call them out as bad photos. I was so pissed that I almost went back to the car. Glad I didn't. Throughout the day I caught some really nice pieces from some of my favorite writers. I didn't give up, and came home with gold, as you'll see going through this latest set.
FYI I managed to catch up with some of the day's last autoracks and got shots of them in way better light. So 8-10 pieces shot today have doubles that were shot in two different locations.
Also ended up meeting up with (YouTube) Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass. He was just down the road from where I was and came down for a bit. He even brought that vicious dog "Buddy" with him. Glad I survived the encounter.
If you want to see some of these cars rolling, here's the videos he shot while I was there. If you look close or not so close in one vid, you might see me in action down the line. Anyway......
As always, thanks to the writers, fellow benchers, old, and new friends, Stay safe out there!!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
It's been a month since I've been out to bench freights. I missed it. The noise, the smell, and seeing great pieces. Went out today 05-30-2021 to my local yard to watch them roll by. The yard is shared with a Metrolink station. I pulled in and there were a few cars in the parking lot, but over the course of about half a day, 10AM - 3PM, I only saw 3 other people. One was a security guard, a homeless guy, and some other guy waiting for the Metrolink train. This isn't counting workers loading unloading the trains. I had the whole platform to myself.
About half way through the day I screwed up and wasn't paying attention to shutter speeds and ended up having to delete about 30 flicks when going through them later. Blurrrry... Used the 7.5mm 7Artisans fisheye most of the day. It works great as I can shoot a whole car, even up to long autoracks from about 15 ft. away. The platform is only maybe 20 ft. wide. So I don't have a lot of room. If I back up any further I'm on the tracks on the other side and being run over by a commuter train. DOH!
Had fun, didn't have to deal with people, and saw some great pieces today.
As always, Big thanks to the writers !!
One of my happy places.
It's been over a month since I've been out benching. Damn, I've missed being out by the tracks. Went out to my local yard and benched for 5 hours. 20+ freights rolled through while I was there. Missed a few others because they had one parked on a closer track for a couple hours. Born and raised in Southern California, but the heat kills me, I swear I shoulda' been raised in Colorado, or some other cooler state. Weather was OK. Hot (90+f), but there was a breeze. If it gets any hotter here, I'm going to be going out maybe once a month for the next few months.. Benching naked is frowned upon around here, and I don't want to get my bits sun-burned.
Fujifilm X-E3 with 23mm F/2.0 lens & Fujifim X-Pro3 and 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.
Hope you guys/girls enjoy checking the flicks as much as I enjoyed being out there spotting them!! I saw a lot of great pieces, and a lot of not so great pieces, but I was happy to be out there.
As always, thanks to all the writers ! Stay safe out there !
=====================
To see the rest of my freight graffiti flicks click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/collections/7215771678...
For freight graffiti slideshows hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Today started out early. I went out to a spot that's not too far away but takes some effort to get out to. This really is a great area, and one of my favorite places to be. For just hiking around, or for benching. It's an amazing place. It's almost surreal how big and crazy the rocks and landscape are here.
Arrived at 9 AM, and after a short hike out to the tracks, the trains started rolling by. One after another, it was a super busy day. I've never seen so many autoracks during a session. Autoracks, at least for me are like rare birds, but today, they just kept coming! Caught pieces I hadn't seen before from some of my favorite writers, and that always makes for a great day out. Weather was great, I'm guessing 80F, but the wind.... The wind kept things pretty cool out. Almost cold, but not quite. Just about
perfect.
I saw a deer!! I've never seen anything larger than a lizard when out here. While waiting for the next train I looked over and saw something kinda' hopping over a double set of tracks about 75 ft. from me. At first I thought it was either some kinda dog, or a coyote, but it was big. I looked over at my bag, in case it ran towards me and I needed to grab it and run, and looked back to see it hop over the tracks, down an embankment about 15 ft. high, onto the access road which is about 20 ft. wide and with two
hops it was gone into the bushes. Really cool !!
Ended up leaving at around 4:30 PM, so a little over 7 hours. With longer days, and the way the sun travels here, it's almost better to show up later. There's a time around noon where no matter which side of the tracks your on, the lighting on the trains sucks. But hey, I'm out, away from society, seeing nature, seeing trains, graff, getting exercise, fresh air, and just plain getting away from my regular life..
Some people do yoga, some people meditate, some go to therapy. This is how I wipe away my daily life a couple times a month for a few hours.
Just wanted to throw in, I know every piece I flick isn't a banger, but I'm documenting graff. Today's toy, may be tomorrows king. And I'll have proof that he or she also was once a toy! Solid Gold!! :-)
As ALWAYS, thanks to the writers!
Writers, fellow benchers, and railfans, stay safe out there!!
For freight graffiti slideshows/videos hit up my YouTube here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Instagram: @soilentseven
As usual, I'll be back in a few days to start going through and tagging my flicks with the the writer's names that I can figure out.
================
Oh, also as I'm finishing up editing photos from last weekend, heading into this weekend, I'm watching "Martha a picture story" Documentary about Martha Cooper, one of the OG's in documenting graff with high quality flicks years ago. One of the original authors of the Subway Art book. If you can swing renting it online to watch, or picking up a Blu Ray from Vinegar Syndrome, do so, it's a great film. vinegarsyndrome.com/products/martha-a-picture-story-utopia/
Windy today. Decided to not go out in the desert and be pelted by dust all day. Drove out to the Santa Fe Depot again in San Bernardino. Ended being windblown all day, just no dust. First thing I see as I get to the depot is someone I kinda' know. PasadenaSub Colin. Kid who's running a nice YouTube channel filming freights, and Metrolink videos. You should check out his channel at: www.youtube.com/c/PasadenaSubColin Also check out my man JonanJello photographing and filming freight graffiti on THE daily! 352 videos and counting!! www.youtube.com/user/jonanjello
Shot today's photos on a few lenses I ended up switching lenses between two cameras. My normal lens for freights is the Fujifilm 23mm f/2, but being so close to the tracks at the depot I mostly used the 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8. It's hard to use anything else that close and capture the pieces straight on. Most of these shots I'm between 10-25 or so feet away from the train. Much closer than I normally shoot when I'm out on a hike. Still getting used to shooting this close. The cars roll by much faster when your this close!
Cameras: Fujifilm X-Pro3 & Fujifilm X-E3
Lenses: 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8, Fujifilm 16mm F/2.8 & Fujifilm 23mm F/2
For video slideshows...
Full set of 2012 Welling Court Street Shots here:
www.flickr.com/photos/jimkiernan/sets/72157630217876858/
Ad Hoc Gallery Owners Garrison and Alison Buxton once again curated one of the best Street Art/Graffiti events of the year at Welling Court, Queens.
Over 60 Artists from around the world came and hit the spot!
Out today benching freights at one of my spots. Wanted to go Saturday, rained all day. No rain on Sunday and it looked like the sun was going to come out. NOPE. It got down to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. All I had was a thin Dickies jacket. My hands were cold, my feet were freezing, it was pretty bad. Yeah, I know 44F. isn't all that cold. Well here in California 44 is pretty damn low.
Was there for about an hour or so before security rolled up on the other side of 3 sets of tracks with roof lights flashing. Turned his truck to face me. I sat down and ignored him. I looked over again and he was gone. 30 mins. later here he comes rolling up on me on the same side of the tracks I was on. I was sure he was going to hassle me. He just wanted to know what I was doing out there. Told me to stay safe, and left...
Finished up my day frozen and shivering could barely feel my toes. Walked back to the car. Just as I got to the car I could hear another train coming. Seems like this always happens. Looked over as about 10-15 cars passed by. Oh well. Got in the car and headed down the road, and realized, I can beat this train to another spot where I could catch some flicks. So I did..
Stay safe out there friends !!!
For freight graff slideshows: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
Long write-up for today's batch of awesomeness.
First off. This whole covid thing, the election, working from home, not being able to go out, not seeing friends/family, etc. Has me, and I'm sure everyone else frazzled. Having a project to work on, in my case hiking out and shooting photos of graffiti on trains has been the one thing that's keeping me sane at this point. Hoping to see some new pieces from writers that I respect is like opening a pack of baseball cards and finding your favorite players rookie card for me. Yeah, it sounds goofy, but I've been having fun, staying sane, and seeing and capturing some amazing pieces of rolling art.
So I had this weird Monday vacation day on 11-2-2020. I decided to drive out to one my my benching spots and hang out for the day.
The plan was to set up a time lapse camera, and then just hang out and bench freights for 5-6 hours. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze, 88F. high. No clouds makes for a very boring time lapse between trains coming by. I also only brought my little Small Rig clamp for the time lapse camera and couldn't decide where I wanted to clamp it. I should have just brought a tripod.
Out for a few hours before the BNSF guys in their truck rolled up, got out and started walking toward me. "Great!" I thought. They're going to try and chase me away. Nope, they walked over to one set of tracks, walked across the bridge inspecting the tracks, then under the bridge inspecting the bridge, got in their truck and left. I like that. I don't bother you. You don't bother me.
A while later I see tree guy coming back home. I don't know his name, but there's a guy who lives in/under a tree that's next to the trail I hike in on. Once he's in there you'd never know it. I've seen him, he's seen me, and we don't bother each other.
The whole time I'm there I'm using my little Tascam recorder to record train audio every time one comes by so I have audio for the slideshow videos I've been uploading on YouTube. Well, this time I forgot it out there. Didn't dump my photos until Tuesday night and discovered it missing. Woke up early, drove out and it was still there. It recorded for almost 5 more hours before the batteries died. Glad to have it back, I thought tree guy might have found it.
It's been over a month since I've been out benching. Damn, I've missed being out by the tracks. Went out to my local yard and benched for 5 hours. 20+ freights rolled through while I was there. Missed a few others
because they had one parked on a closer track for a couple hours. Born and raised in Southern California, but the heat kills me, I swear I shoulda' been raised in Colorado, or some other cooler state. Weather was OK. Hot (90+f), but there was a breeze. If it gets any hotter here, I'm going to be going out maybe once a month for the next few months.. Benching naked is frowned upon around here, and I don't want to get my
bits sun-burned.
Fujifilm X-E3 with 23mm F/2.0 lens & Fujifim X-Pro3 and 7Artisans 7.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.
Hope you guys/girls enjoy checking the flicks as much as I enjoyed being out there spotting them!! I saw a lot of great pieces, and a lot of not so great pieces, but I was happy to be out there.
As always, thanks to all the writers ! Stay safe out there !
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To see the rest of my freight graffiti flicks click here:
www.flickr.com/photos/siamesepuppy/collections/7215771678...
For freight graffiti slideshows hit up my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/SilenceSeven
San Bernardino Santa Fe / BNSF Yard with Keith of "Railroad Fans of the Cajon Pass" @cajonpassrailroadfans @railfanscajonpass
Overcast, and weather reports said it was going to rain, but let's be real, I live in Southern California, and rain isn't something we see on a regular basis.
Met up with Keith at 9AM out in front of the depot. The plan was to take him on a little tour of the museum there, as it's only open on Saturdays between 10am-3pm. Walking across the parking lot towards the museum, there were a whole lot more cars than usual. Well, they were having their railroad swap meet deal. Dozens of folding tables full of model trains, and all kind of other train related stuff. Cool.
After a half hour of looking at all the cool model trains and the museum, we finally got out trackside to watch the real trains. We were out there for a few hours, saw a lot of great trains. A few autoracks rolling through and I'm sure Keith was catching some cool video of the freights and the Metrolinks' for his YouTube.
About 3PM? it started sprinkling a little bit, and then it started coming down pretty hard. On the platform there's a couple little covered benches with gutters, etc. We hunkered down, and the rain let up pretty quick, and then it started again, then stopped and started. This went on for the rest of the time we were there.
Overall, pretty fun day. Caught a lot of great pieces rolling by and got to hang out with Keith for the day (Sans Buddy).
Honestly, I prefer to be out there by myself, but it's a nice change to be out there with someone else to talk shop with and share stories.
As always, thanks to the writers for giving me something to go out and hunt. *Man Hugs* & Thanks to the Santa Fe Depot for being cool with people hanging out and catching freights on "film".
Went out to the "new" spot again today.Left earlier, but still got there a little late, but I'm learning my way around shooting into the sun...
Lots of weird shit went down today, but most of it is boring, so I'm not going to go into it unless you want to hear about the foamer that almost hit me me in his car at 50MPH TWICE!!! Blue Honda driver, I'm going to find out who you are!
Pretty chill spot, but most of my spots I'm the only one there. This spot, down the road there were a bunch of railfans / foamers, and other people that come out here to try out their Jeeps and trucks in the dirt so they can tell their co-workers on Monday that they went "Off Roading" over the weekend. Totally fine, but lots more traffic than I'm used to. I'm very much used to the occasional homeless person, hiker, fellow bencher etc, but "normal" people freak me out a little. They want to stop and talk, they have questions for you, etc. I don't want it, and I don't like it when I'm trying to get away. Not that I REALLY mind it, I'm just being bitchy.
Uploading on a Tuesday night, drinking Guinness, Cheech & Chong's: Next Movie on TV, Headphones on (Grado Labs), playing Minor Threat through an Altoids tin headphone amplifier at 11. Life's Good!!!!!!
Hope you guys are having fun peeping my flicks.
Stay safe out there guys/girls. Look both ways! If you see it, flick it!!
If you like my flicks at least leave a little comment.
To see my freight graffiti videos click here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOdGrtyTsyWVhLVHkwY0_-iu8P...