Here’s the thing…. I’m not going to go into crazy detail over this. There are about a million and one sites that give you all the information that you could need on this subject. But I am going to divulge a bit because quite frankly it breaks my heart every time I see it.

So here are my reason why not to shoot on train tracks…..

It’s dangerous….Like crazy dangerous. Trains cannot stop quickly. And they cannot see you from far away. And even though you think you can hear the train a lot of times the train is already upon you by the time you hear it so jumping out of the way won’t work so well considering most trains hangover about 3 feet from the tracks.

It’s illegal….Like seriously illegal…like in the sense that you and your clients could be fined a ton of money. It’s considered trespassing. I read once about it being compared to me just walking onto some random person’s property with my clients to take my clients pictures because well I liked the property. Sure that is extreme but that is exactly what you are doing. I’m pretty sure I would be considered trespassing for this just as I would be shooting on tracks. This goes for abandoned tracks as well….my understanding is even if the tracks fall on property that you own it is still trespassing. Oh and did I mention it is dangerous? ( Here is the website where I read about the comparison.)

And it sets a bad example….Like ridiculously bad.  I saw this weekend a beautiful family…on the railroad tracks at my favorite park. They hopped on up there after a train past by (so they knew it was active) and continued to have their beautiful children photographed. I don’t know about the rest of the parents out there but I know my 5 year old imitates everything that I do…Good and bad. I for sure do not want her to think railroad tracks are a cool place to hang out because mommy and daddy did it once. Or because they see that “cool” picture hanging in our house of the whole family playing on the tracks….which leads to my next point….It’s unnecessary….There are plenty of ways to get cool leading lines in your images without using tracks…think trails…bridges, alleys etc. There are so many amazingly cool, amazingly safe and amazingly legal places that you can go.

I’ll bring it full circle and repeat myself that it is illegal, it is dangerous and it is setting a poor example. I teach my kids that they cannot even step into someones “garden” never mind onto someones railroad tracks. It’s unnecessary and can cause undue harm to someone.

So this is why it breaks my heart. We are teaching our kids (and our fellow new photographers) that doing this illegal thing is cool and awesome and will get you totally amazing images. In my opinion it’s just not worth it and I will continue to stand that ground. So please….help me spread the word about this very important topic…and please do not shoot on tracks or allow your family to be captured on tracks. Stand with me to set a good example. Lets be great role models for our community!!!

Here is a site that is working hard to spread the word and improve rail safety…. Operation Lifesaver

And because I can’t leave you without a beautiful image…Here is my beautiful girl…Right by those same tracks I saw a beautiful family being captured on…The only difference…My girl was safe…

PS I am not an expert on this topic…So please do your own research for your own area that way you can form your own opinion. And I will admit that when I first started out I thought it was a cool idea…but I was always too afraid to try it…so I never did.