I.B. Hearty

Even with digital cameras, for those of us using a simple point and shoot model there are photographs that continue to elude us. These white whales can evade capture for a variety of reasons, an odd angle, the scene is too dark, either the guests or the view is moving too quickly, and the list goes on and on. My unattainable photograph happens to reside in the town of Tumbleweed, right along the tracks of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

While riding through the dried up town aboard the runaway mine train, it is easy to get caught up in the sights and miss the sounds of the locals and local wildlife that that permeate the area. However, after catching a few tinny notes drifting out of the saloon, and there is no question that there is still one part left in Tumbleweed. Riding through the town after the sun has set makes an argument that is even more compelling, with the lanterns flicker on and the inhabitants of the Gold Dust Saloon are silhouetted upon the windows. This haven for miscreants and imbibers is the one photograph I have found nearly impossible to capture.Considering the lighting, or lack of lighting, problem, the speed at which the train races through Tumbleweed, and the close proximity of the trains to the saloon, this photograph has taken me a long time to acquire. The solution? Take the Walt Disney World Railroad from the Frontierland Station, sit near the front of the train, and do so just as dusk settles, when the lights have come on, but there is still a little light in the sky.

That brings us to the question of the day: What is your photographic white whale, and have you captured it yet?