A very early example in my 4x5 experience (less than 10 shots at that point). One type of possible "action" photography using a 4x5! Foreground has been cropped slightly from 4x5. Critique welcome.
Mark, I don't have the GPS for this particular shot (had not bought one yet). However, this location is easy to find.
[1] Go westbound on Highway 1 from Banff.
[2] At the first sign to turn off to the Bow Valley Parkway (#1A), take that exit (to the right).
[3] Cross a Texas Gate/Cattle Guard and at a T intersection about 100-150 metres further, bear right. Find a place anywhere nearby to park your vehicle.
[4] Above the T of the T intersection, there is a small clearing. About 100 metres beyond are the railroad tracks - you can't miss them.
[5] This shot looks to the west, so you will need an eastbound train and the patience to wait for one.
[6] Hey, it's not GPS, but it will get you there. Have fun!
Good point about the bears - but don't get too alarmed by my fellow Calgarian. This is not a case of a "bear behind every tree" (in the paranoid spirit of a terrorist under every bed) !!! Follow the national park bear guidelines they give you at the gate and you'll be fine. Nothing like having a local panic the tourists for no reason !!! ;-)
When the grain falls from the trains, it ferments and drives the bears crazy. Chances are the bears will be lying beside the tracks licking up those pungent morsels. Consider a lucky bear encounter another photographic opportunity, but do stay in your car for those shots (but not with a Large Format camera) !!!
And you should try to get those shots soon - as the bears are getting killed by the trains on a regular basis - not many of them left for us to watch. After all, in our butt-kiss mode, Canada has to have those grain trains smoking through the park to give China cheap wheat. The bears pay the price... :-(
This is amazing. You have to print it! The first impression I had was that I should quickly run away, because the train arrives so fast. Very good work.