Sorry for keeping you all out of the update loop. Things have been pretty busy here for a while. Not even really on anything too exciting. Mostly on getting life on track (finishing taxes, getting school schedules lined up, car shopping).
However, yesterday changed all that. I went out shooting with my friend Trever to get shots to revamp my myspace page, try to get new work, and hopefully get my music website off the ground soon.
We booked the date earlier in the week though we had heard that winter weather was on its way (winter for California meaning rain). We a few days ago and decided that we would still see what we could come up with, maybe shoot under some overhangs, try to stay dry.
Trever called me on my way to Riverside, saying that he had the perfect place to shoot and would surprise me - as long as we could get there. I pulled up to his apartment, talked about the shoot and then we both rolled out together with an umbrella in hand and a ton of clothes in tow. We figured we'd head to the location and see if it would be possible to shoot in the rain.
We pulled up to the Humane Society in Riverside and from there I saw what Trever was planning. Through the valley spanned an old school bridge, complete with arches. Across the bridge ran a train track.
I told Trever about this video I had seen about this guy almost getting hit by a train in London. We found the entrance to the train yard and made our way onto the tracks. Opposite from the bridge sat a train with its light on. We waited for a bit, but it never moved. We went out to the bridge and stumbled through walking on the tracks. They make it look way easier on television.
The shoot went amazingly. The beginning was cold and wet, but as the sun began to set the rain stopped, the sun broke through enough to give us amazing light, but not be intrusive, and a full rainbow appeared in the sky. We shot for about an hour and then Trever made his way back to the Humane Society to shoot me on the bridge from a distance. I made my way to the middle of the track.
I was maybe a third of the way out on this bridge that was at least half a mile, enjoying the calmness of the rain and the steady crunch of gravel, when I looked up and saw a light in the distance. I stood there for a moment in disbelief. We hadn't seen any trains coming through at all and here, the one moment I ventured to walk out a good distance on the bridge, the train appeared. I stood long enough to know that the light was moving toward me. I heard the train whistle begin to blow. That's when I turn and ran as fast as I possibly could.
Even though I was scared, the whole thing felt surreal. The notion of danger was in the back of my mind, but the scenario (running away from a speeding train) was a bit surreal. I didn't look back. I just ran as fast as I possibly could. I made it to the end of the bridge and ducked to the right to catch my breath. I don't know how much longer the train came blowing by, whistle shrieking.
I called Trever to let him know that I was alright. He had been scrambling to find his phone when the train passed his car.
We ended up getting a few more shots before calling it a night. Anyway, Trever's site is here, and I've posted a few shots from the day. All in all, better than I could have imagined.
-Brandon
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