Having made several long-distance train trips in the last few years it is great to have the opportunity to connect with fellow travelers. A sampling include Anthony, pictured above, who chatted with me on the platform in Albany, on his way to see family in NYC and then fly home to South Africa. My Swiss friend Jürg, whom I rode with from St. Louis to Austin, had crossed the Atlantic by freighter and was en route to Guatemala. Michelle, a retired nurse, was making the 80+ hour trip from Maine to San Jose to care for her 98 year-old mother. What do these folk have in common? I guess nothing more than an aversion to flying and, like me, a sense that being connected in the moment (as opposed to being ensconced in the virtual world of mobile phones, tablets and computers) has worth. As a grizzled traveler on a train from Chicago to Seattle once told me, ” I like the train, where else can you greet a friend, meet a friend, and make a friend.”
Train photo tip, take advantage of periodic “smoke breaks” to get off the train and mingle, everyone has a story to share and they are rarely opposed to being photographed. I find using my little point and shoot Lecia D-Lux7, as opposed to phone camera, adds a bit of “authority” to my impromptu portrait sessions, it is just as quick to use, and although far from the quality of a full-frame digital camera, it is hard to top for train candids.
~John
iteptraveler 