A Story to Tell
One of the benefits of a digital workflow is the ability to easily catalog and review our photographs. Instead of going through stacks of prints and slides, or poring over contact sheets, our photos are easily accessible and organized on the computer for instant viewing.
I like to look back through my old photographs. Some are good, some not so good, some downright awful, but they all have a story to tell.
They tell about a particular time and place. In the spring of 2013, I visited the out-of-the-way town of Bude, Mississippi, to photograph the former Mississippi Central depot that still stands there. I spent an afternoon taking pictures of the depot, the railroad that runs through town, and the town itself. I learned about the history of the town and the railroad and exchanged emails with a Bude citizen who was concerned about the future of the depot.
The photographs of Bude that I made tell the story of a day in my life, and when I look back on the images from that day, it all comes alive again. To me, that is the power of photography.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard
Do your photos have a story to tell? We are always interested in sharing your photographs and stories here on The Trackside Photographer, but even if the story you tell is for your eyes and ears only, you will cherish the memories.
Edd Fuller, Editor
Annie, well said. With digital scanning of original images, even those which are marginal can usually be restored to original condition by lightening, color restoration, and dust removal. Your point of going back in time to when the photos were taken and evoking the original feelings is so true. Thank you for your remembrances and for documenting Bude. I have never been to Bude, but your photo make it seem as though I have. Well done
Bob, thanks for your comment. Bude was a busy town back in the early 1900s, with a thriving logging industry and the Homochitto Lumber Company. It declined quickly after the timber was cut out and the sawmill closed in 1936. There is still (or at least there was in 2013) an American Rail Car repair facility in Bude. Small towns have such wonderful stories to tell.
I missed you by less than a month, Edd. I was there and photographed the Depot in Bude on March 9, 2013. It’s a wonderful location to visit. It is just a shadow of it’s former self from the heyday of the lumber boom in the 1920s, but it retains all the charm it had back then.
Danny, I was there on April 25th–too bad we did not run into one another. We were visiting friends in Brookhaven who, when I said I wanted to go to Bude, said in no uncertain terms “there is nothing to see in Bude.” I am glad I went.