S.N.O.W (but no snow)

OK, OK, it had to happen! At the outset, I have to confess I've been in snow no more than a dozen times in my life, and have never had the chance to photograph trains in the wet cold white stuff. So, not wanting to be excluded from this month's challenge, I've elected to really test the patience of our moderator and present a photo of a train in conditions way different from the others that will probably be presented this month.

Here's my logic: snow = searing northerlies out west = S.N.O.W.

So here we have a loaded coal train heading through the loop at Fry, on Queensland's under-photographed Moura line on a hot day late in 1993. Fry is a wonderful location, but when the hot northerlies blow as they were on this day, Fry is exactly what you do, even lounging under the shade of a tree.

Actually, an alternative logic for submitting this photo is to say that while some in Australia may often wistfully think of snow and Christmas together (not me though, I hate the cold), the reality of course is the opposite with high summer temperatures being much more likely. One of the few poets I enjoyed during college was a local bloke called Les Murray, and he has a wonderful line in one of his poems that goes "Christmas paddocks aching in the heat" which is pretty much what's happening in this photo.

So there you are - whether I submit again next month will be dependent on our hard-working moderator!

Oh, and Ho! Ho! Ho! and Merry Christmas to everyone on this group, even if a bit early.

Camera: Minolta SRT100
Lens: Minolta 75-150 zoom
Film: Kodak K64
Exposure: probably f8@250