Redline by Timothy Poulton

Redline by Timothy Poulton

Morant’s Curve in Alberta, Canada, is probably one of the coolest long exposure locations on the planet, but getting it perfect isn’t an easy task.
After several failed attempts over the last five years, I have finally captured the Holy Grail. Last year with my good friend Peter Ensurd we attempted this scene in February during a Polar blast with temperatures below -45 and unbeknownst to us at the time a freight train near Field B.C. derailed 99 carriages killing the whole crew.
With a fresh dump of snow, we headed to the lookout patiently waiting for the train traveling from Lake Louise to Banff Banff, and I knew in the back of my mind I need to nail the exposure and pick the right moment when the double-stacked containers were predominately red. If the exposure was too short, the trees in the background disappeared and too long, and the train lost definition. The perfect exposure ended up being 2.5 seconds at f/10.
Patience is an essential attitudinal foundation that both supports and guides our moment to moment work. We’re always trying to get someplace else on the way to some better moment, some better time when it will all comes together, and so usually we get driven and become impatient.

Timothy Poulton: Photos