Boarding, St. Charles Streetcar – New Orleans, Louisiana

I’m back shooting streetcars again, though this time it’s the St. Charles line instead of Canal Street. I suspect, before I complete my series on New Orleans, you’re going to see a few more transit oriented posts. I guess I just can’t help myself. These old trains are so cool. Truth be told, however, this photo is equally about the people boarding, and not just about the streetcar.

My family and I actually rode this streetcar back from the Garden District, which is famous in New Orleans for grand old Victorian houses. This was the last stop and after we got off, I noticed a line waiting to get on.

This was shot at a quite wide 20mm equivalent. You might be able to tell from the wide-angle distortion. The black and white and the old buildings in the background makes this photo look rather timeless, I think. That and you don’t see any cars that might hint at the year. I suppose the fashion, or lack there of, identifies this is a modern photograph. You don’t see any well dressed people of yore with suites and dresses.

Photographically, though, there’s another sign. Super wide-angles weren’t very common a long time ago, and the clean image probably points its digital, non-film, origins. But how about 20 to 30 years from how? Would people be able to tell it was shot in the second decade of the 21 century?