All digital Winterail
Except for the three favorites, and a few slides put on the screen to salute some icons of railfanning like the recently deceased Will Whitaker, this was the first all digital show. Only one slide projector was set up and its roll was not critical for any of the shows. For years, up until my sister's cancer, my roll was central. I ran the slide projectors. But, I had to be away. The last show I did in 2003 was the last all-slide Winterail.
Now I am back, now it is digital, now I am peripherial. My shirt no longer says "projectionist." It now says "roadie." That is okay, the shows are better now. Some things that were once major issues in the past, like slides jamming and tray changes, are now not issues. Slide registration is now perfect. Time lapse sequences are no longer a major pain to project.
Has the show lost some of its theatrical awe? No longer is the audience greeted by a huge bank of slide projectors up on a podium. It is more work-conference like.
As I sat up by the one remaining projector I was often reminded of what it must of been like when dirty and hard to work with steam engines were replaced with diesels. The job got done a lot cleaner with diesels than with steam. With diesels the job could get done quicker with less people. But, for some it was never the same. Will next year be the start of three favorite jpegs replacing three favorite slides? Stay tuned for Winterail 2007, March 10, 2007
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