BRYSON CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 2025

I am familiar with this bend in the track high up in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and I saw potential for the backdrop in the fall when the leaves on the trees would be a picture postcard medley of green, fawn, yellow and orange. Location scouting is such an important part of what we do and this was a good find. I do not believe anyone’s camera has ever been in this spot before, well certainly not with a steam train approaching head on.

We set about the logistics of bringing a horse to this inaccessible part of the track and all went reasonably according to plan. The problem we had, was that it would simply not stop raining. The first day was a complete right off as the rain was heavy and unrelenting, but on the second day, at around 9 am in the morning, we had our moment. It was a 20-minute window.

The wide range of colors in the frame elevates the photograph and I think it’s as powerful as we could ever have hoped for. The red, the white and the black complement the autumnal patchwork quilt behind. I was, of course, looking to find a way for the smoke to allow both the robbers to “pop” within the frame - not easy, especially for Erica Lawrence on the roof right next to the smoke funnel.

That week we were just a crazy bunch of misfits hanging out in the wood cabins of the Smoky Mountains, trying to stay out of trouble and stay dry whilst making some art. The problem, as many know, is that trouble tends to find us. Just as with this train, danger lurks around every corner.