Paul Smith  


In The Name of Progress by Paul Smith

May 2023 - In The Name of Progress

About the Image(s)

In 1901, the newly formed Great Western Sugar Company established a beet processing plant in Loveland, Colorado. The GW Railroad was created to transport the processed product to Denver, for nation wide distribution. Eventually, 20 plants were built in Colorado to process sugar from beets. But with water limitations, market conditions including the growth of cane sugar, and labor shortages all but 5 plants were forced to close. This Rail Station is set to be razed soon.

Canon 80D, Canon 17-85 lens, ISO 200, ss 100, NIK Silver Efex Pro for contrast


This round’s discussion is now closed!
12 comments posted




Mark Bargen   Mark Bargen
Ya know, Paul, your black and white images are just gorgeous. You do a great job of evoking a sense of loss and resignation in this series of foreclosed and/or doomed structures. At this point, I bet you are well on the way to amassing enough to assemble a nice coffee-table book.

I felt, at first, ambivalent about the way the curving rails lead off to the left and exit the frame at the midpoint of the edge. Ultimately, I concluded that I find it works very well, as it leads the eye into the very gloomy, dramatic area of the sky which contributes so much to the dark mood of the image. I think it also works to improve the balance, serving to tie the building to the rail cars and complete the story.



  Posted: 05/07/2023 15:35:09
Paul Smith   Paul Smith
Mr. Bargen, I am flattered!   Posted: 05/07/2023 19:47:43



Dan Mottaz   Dan Mottaz
Hey Paul; yes, don't you wish we could turn the clock back. I love your title.
I think Mark nailed it with understanding the gloomy intent of your image. I had that sense when I first viewed your photo. It leaves me with an uneasy feeling.
It's very good when you can provoke your viewers into strong feelings. It doesn't happen very often. Very well done my friend.   Posted: 05/12/2023 18:00:05
Paul Smith   Paul Smith
Always good...and helpful, when you pay a visit!   Posted: 05/12/2023 19:06:12



Neil Bellenie
Great image, Paul. You do old buildings so well. A very evocative image with the tension between the lost community and industry and the industrial wasteland that commercial enterprises appear to be free to litter the country with. There is a whole novel in this picture. The black and white treatment works well.   Posted: 05/17/2023 18:45:31
Paul Smith   Paul Smith
Thank you   Posted: 05/18/2023 10:20:36



Jeffrey Huo
Hi Paul
Black and white is the way to go with this photo. Have a sense of the image was taken 80 years ago. The cloud has added a lot to the image. I enjoy looking at this picture. Good job, Well done.   Posted: 05/22/2023 08:08:21
Paul Smith   Paul Smith
thank you   Posted: 05/22/2023 11:12:17



Ed O’Rourke   Ed O’Rourke
My first reaction is another one of your great B&W's. I keep thinking one day I'll get there with my photos and then you keep raising the bar. First, in my mind this makes me thing of what this scene might have been in the past and why it seems to be abandoned now (I really appreciate photos that make me think of a story). I agree with Jeffery about the clouds and for me how they contribute to a sense of depression for the scene. I like your composition with the with the paint worn buildings in the foreground and then the curving tracks leading my eye away from them (like time has lead people away). I think you did a great job with exposure and contrast to strengthen the story.   Posted: 05/23/2023 12:15:37
Paul Smith   Paul Smith
Thank you, Ed   Posted: 05/23/2023 18:30:48



Darcy Quimby   Darcy Quimby
Paul you have a skill of bringing life to an older time way of life with your BWS. I love the sky it adds attitude to the photo. I am wondering if there is a cell phone tower behind the second train car. IMO it is a distraction either way.   Posted: 05/24/2023 16:44:48



Dawn Gulino
Love this image, this brings me back to the photographs taken in the Great Depression. You'd BW processing is spot on and I like how you used the tracks as leading lines. It's not the normal "lead" to something back in the frame, but I think it works.   Posted: 05/29/2023 19:28:27