Canadian Pacific Freight Departing Smith Falls, Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada 1991

James Welling made this gelatin silver print, Canadian Pacific Freight Departing Smith Falls, with a camera, of course. What’s so compelling is the image's tonal range, and how Welling coaxes so many shades out of black and white. The texture is exquisite. See how the grain of the silver creates almost a felt-like surface? Your eye travels along the train cars, catching details like the lettering, the grime, the sheer bulk of these industrial machines. There's something about the contrast between the softness of the smoke and the hard, mechanical forms that I find really satisfying. It makes me think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, their typologies of industrial structures – but here, there's a certain stillness, a quiet observation, rather than documentation. Welling invites us to really see, and feel, the weight and history of this place. It’s not just a train; it’s a moment, a memory, suspended in silver.