Lonely Glove

Lonely Glove

While the story behind the photo is not exotic, it was certainly serendipitous.

In the winter of 2008, I was in the Erzgebirge region of Saxony, in eastern Germany, to photograph the narrow gauge steam trains of the Pressnitztalbahn and Fichtelbergbahn railroads in the winter landscape.

The village of Schlösselmühle is on the route of the Pressnitztalbahn. I had walked from the tracks down to a stream, to be ready to shoot the next train as it crossed above on a trestle. Multiple film and digital cameras were in use, as were all the pockets of my parka, well stuffed with lens caps, rolls of film, filters…and my bulky thermal gloves, much needed when camera holding and shutter-finger dexterity were not called for.

There was much shooting to be done, even after the train had passed; and it wasn't until later when I sought to warm up those numbing fingers that I realized I was minus one of my gloves. When, lo and behold, I saw it "beckoning" on a fence post, no doubt placed there by a thoughtful fellow photographer/train lover.

What caught my eye was the positioning of the vivid blue glove against the drab grays and browns of the old building…and how its form followed a curve in the rough-hewn surface of the wall...one of those happy photographic moments of serendipity that can make being out and about with one's cameras on a chilly day, shooting entirely unexpected subject matter, so much fun.

This image is available in my line of custom printed Photo Note Cards.

Photo/Text ©2008/2010 Steve Ember.