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Edition #166, January 15, 2012

Old Style

Photographer: Alan Shaw

Old Style

After mulling about the task for a couple of years, early in 2011 I finally scanned the pick of my negatives and slides as a form of digital insurance, and while it was a tedious chore, it reintroduced me to many images I’d completely forgotten about, or evidently never thought much of when I took them.

This is one such, taken at Smithton, in Australia’s island state of Tasmania in December 1985. As far as I can remember it’s a negative that I never bothered printing beyond a contact strip. I was in Smithton for work, which kindly gave me a car, some travel allowance, a swag of work to do, and an even bigger swag of time to do it in. So with a site visit required to Smithton, I just happened to find myself there at the same time as the weekly train from Burnie. It was a dull and damp day, and actually presaged the wettest December ever in much of Tasmania, but the crew were tolerant and obviously I found my way into the cab for a little run up and down the yard. I took many photos that morning of the crew going about their job, before sauntering off and fulfilling my own duties as a loyal servant of the Tasmanian government.

It’s over 25 years since I last looked at that negative, and I can’t imagine now why at the time I didn’t think it warranted printing. I now love this view – the driver concentrating on the task at hand, his old-style work clothes, his jaunty hat, and a ciggie between the fingers.

Alan Shaw

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