Magnolia: the cutoff, not the tree

[OT from cottage renovations]

the Magnolia cutoff is one of those places the railroad doesn't just pass through so much as transform into something completely different. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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with the descending sun tipping the ridge behind the bend to the S a westbound freight crosses the bridge. 

westbound

up on the ridgeline, over on the Maryland side of the river, clouds and sunlight provide a pleasing backdrop while the trees and the bony spine of the hill give a start foreground delineation.  it doesn't really hold a candle to duccio and djaza's California hills, but then it ain't half shabby either. 

ridgeline / reflection

[image crossposted to texture]
the same clouds and light are also showing up in the river's surface. 

westbound reflection


stark tree
[image crossposted to photogrove]

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warmth from the firepit and light from a lantern: it takes a certain amount of combustion to keep things going.  later on the area was flooded with the brilliance of a full Moon. 

lantern reflection