Monday, September 25, 2006

Monday morning on the train
















From the Central Coast north of Sydney, more than sixty thousand people commute to the city every day. It's an hour and a half by train along one of the slowest but most scenic lines I have ever seen. As the train enters Ku-Ring-Gai National Park, it meanders along the banks of the Hawkesbury River. The wilderness of this stretch of the ride is amazing but the lady sitting across from me is too busy knitting to look up. The large streaks across the window are the result of the latest fad in railway vandalism : scratching the glass with anything sharp to leave your mark. How fun...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The views include some genuinely fascinating vistas, Nathalie - far more captivating than this poor commuter who (after enjoying the trip far too many times, has understandably become blase about it all. You CAN have too much of a good thing.

Nathalie H.D. said...

Yes Norman, there are some fantastic vistas but have you ever tried to capture them with a camera? As slow as the train is, it's still too fast. Getting an interesting angle, perspective and light to achieve a photo that's beyond the ordinary (which is always my objective)is a nightmare.

Anna MR said...

Hey Nathalie, I am no fan of random vandalism either (although I enjoy what I deem as genuine street art) - but in this case, they do add so to this lovely shot of yours...layer upon layer. And it would have if not ruined the shot, at least made it a different one, had she looked up from her knitting.

Anonymous said...

There's a secret method of obtaining good shots, Nathalie, which we learnt in a distant age. We used to walk. Not, I suppose that this is as simple a matter as it once was. Nowadays, with all the rules and regulations there to "protect us", you can't always walk where we once did before the barriers went up, and security were waiting to prevent potential litigation.