Monthly Archives: December 2020

photography

New Year’s Eve 1988—Springfield Union Station.

On this day 32 years ago I exposed this frame of Kodachrome 25 slide film using my old Leica M2 rangefinder with an f2.0 50mm Summicron lens.

Kodachrome slide adjusted using Adobe Lightroom to control contrast, correct for color, and improve exposure.

Low sun and dark clouds made for a moody dramatic setting.

An Amtrak shuttle working the Springfield, Massachusetts to New Haven, Connecticut run has just departed Springfield Union Station.

The towers on either side of the train historically housed the elevators that connected the platforms with a below-track concourse.

Back in the day, I hand-printed an 11×14 inch Cibachrome print from this slide.

Happy New Year’s Eve from Tracking the Light!

photography

Steam Over the Saco.

The book High Green and the Bark Peelers describes this then-new bridge (built c1949) which had replaced a traditional wooden covered bridge.

The other day, I walked along the banks of the Saco River in Conway, NH to make this view of Conway Scenic Railroad’s 7470 on its northward run in freshly fallen snow.

The original image was exposed as NEF (Raw file) with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. I imported the file into Adobe Lightroom to make nominal adjustments to color, exposure and contrast. This allowed me to make the most of the directional winter lighting.

Although a largely monochromatic scenic, this is actually a full color photograph. Perhaps I should return one of these days with a film camera?

Tracking the Light Posts Every Day!

photography

339 at 399—Unusual Perspective.

Note: To get the full picture, you will need to view this post on Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light.

I like to find non-standard angles and unusual perspectives to make common subjects, uncommon.

In April 1989, an Amtrak F40PH leading Amfleet, was about as common as it got.

I’d set up along Conrail’s former New York Central Waterlevel Route at milepost 399, near the School Road grade crossing, east of Batavia, New York.

Working with a Leica M2 with 200mm Telyt prime telephoto attached using a Leica Visoflex and fixed to a Bogen 3021 tripod, I selected a rail-level view.

My angle deliberately forces the eye away from the primary subject. Why do this? The bright Amtrak train already dominates the scene, so by forcing the eye downward it makes for an unusual angle that better captures your attention.

An unwise photo editor, might try to crop the bottom 20 percent of the image in a misguided effort to center the train from top to bottom.

Sadly, photographer’s compositions are too often foiled by less insightful editors.

Tracking the Light posts daily!

photography

Santa Fe 5959 at Valley

Another photo from my classic Kodachrome file.

I made this photo of Santa Fe F45 5959, then working on Wisconsin Central, at Valley siding near Fond du Lac on May 20, 1995.

This was in the last light of evening when warm light bathed the landscape. Wisconsin Central had recently acquired a variety of 20-cylinder EMDs from Santa Fe. This is one of many slide I made of Santa Fe diesels working the WC.

I scanned the slide using a Nikon Coolscan5000 digital scanner.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Steam at Second River Run!

Yesterday (Saturday, December 26, 2020) Conway Scenic Railroad fired up and operated steam locomotive 7470 for the first time since January.

The 1921-built 0-6-0 made three public runs, two to Conway and its last run of the day to Bartlett over the former Maine Central Mountain Division.

Cool temperatures made for stunning displays of locomotive exhaust.

Wayne Duffett was at the throttle of 7470 working it west at Second River Run in Bartlett, NH in these photos made toward the end of the day.

All were exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. Working with the camera RAW (NEF format) files in Adobe Lightroom, I made a variety of adjustments to improve overall appearance.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Dresden Tram-Two Versions

This is another view from Dresden, Germany exposed with my Rolleiflex Model T in June 2001. It was on the same roll of Fuji Neopan 400 that I described last week on Tracking the Light.

I’m at street level, with the Dresden Neustadt station behind me.

In the first interpretation, I made no alterations to the reversal scan of the original negative.

In the second (below), I’ve made significant adjustments to exposure and contrast.

Tech data:

Exposed using Rolleiflex Model T with Carl Zeiss 75mm lens. 120-size Fuji Neopan 400 roll film. Processed in Agfa Rodinal Special (not to be confused with Agfa Rodinal) mixed 1-32 for 3 min 45 seconds. Scanned with a Epson V600 flatbed scanner, digital processing with Adobe Lightroom.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Christmas Lights

Last night (December 23, 2020), I made this handheld view of the 1874-built North Conway station for the Conway Scenic Railroad’s Facebook page.

There was nothing fancy about making this photo,

Working with my Fujifilm XT-1 and 16-55mm lens, I set the ISO to 3200, the white balance to ‘daylight’, and based on the in-camera light meter, I put the shutter speed to 1/8 of a second.

Tracking the Light wishes you Happy Holidays!

Tips and Technique

Wheels at Whitehead.

On August 23, 2003, I made these studies of steam locomotive drivers at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s Whitehead shops in Northern Ireland.

I was working with a vintage Rolleiflex Model T with Zeiss 75mm lens and loaded with Kodak 120 size Tri-X.

I processed the film in my old Dublin apartment on Synge Street using the following recipe:

Ilfotec HC mixed to a dilute ratio, stop bath , two fixer baths, long rinse, perm awash, the toned in Selenium 1-9 for 9 minute, second rinse.

The Selenium provides better highlight definition and superior contrast.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily

photography

Six Years Ago Today—Pan Am OCS.

The short days were making photography a challenge six years ago, when on December 22, 2014, Paul Goewey and I photographed the Pan Am Railways office car train at East Deerfield, Massachusetts.

The light was failing fast, and I upped the ISO on my Canon EOS 7D to 1600 in order to stop the action.

I made this sequence of images from the famous ‘Railfans Bridge’ as the OCS backed beneath us,

My RAW files were a little on the dark side and the contrast was very flat, so I made some adjustments in using Adobe Lightroom to improve the presentation.

The last photo shows the unadjusted file adapted from the camera RAW. Exposure was at f3.5 1/100th of a second, ISO 1600, with my Canon EF100mm prime lens.

Tracking the Light posts Daily!

photography

Santa’s Holiday Express at Dusk

Friday evening, December 18, 2020, I made this photos of Conway Scenic’s Santa’s Holiday Express at Conway, NH.

I helped arrange this event, as well as plan the schedule of the train and organize the advertising.

It was nice to get the train in the fading daylight on a frosty December evening.

FujiFIlm XT-1 with 16-55mm lens at 16mm, f3.2 1/2 second at ISO 800.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily

photography

Dresden-June 2001.

I visited Dresden, Germany for the first time in June 2001.

The Dresden Neustadt station impressed me with its arched train shed and vintage mechanical semaphores.

Working with my old Rolleiflex Model T, I made this pair of photos on 120-size Fuji Neopan 400 roll film.

I processed the film in Agfa Rodinal Special (not to be confused with Agfa Rodinal) mixed 1-32 for 3 min 45 seconds.

I like the technological contrast between the then modern train (a Siemens Desiro railcar) and the old signals. This contrast is mimicked in the visual contrast of my black & white technique that produces stark dark lines against fluffy afternoon clouds.

120 size negative reversed and adjusted for internet presentation.
Direct scan (without reversal) of the same negative.
Reversed scan with contrast adjustments.
Direct and unmodified scan of the above negative.

Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography Every Day

photography

North Conway Snow

Wednesday night and Thursday (December 16 and 17, 2020) snow fell in the White Mountains.

The morning of December 18 dawned clear and bright with a few lingering clouds to temper the light.

December 19, 2020
December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020
December 18, 2020

I made these photos at the North Conway yard where I work for Conway Scenic Railroad.

All were exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 and processed in Adobe Lightroom

Tracking the Light Posts Each and Every Day!

photography

Saco River Bridge Monochrome.

In October (2020), I made this view of the former Maine Central twin-span truss over the Saco River near Glen, NH, while traveling eastbound on the headend train #162 Mountaineer.

This is favorite bridge of mine, but a difficult one to photograph satisfactorily from track side. As a result most of my best photos have been from the engine.

I exposed this using my Canon EOS 3 loaded with Ilford HP5 black & white film. I processed this in a customized split development process using a presoak of Kodak HC110 mixed 1-200 at 68F for 5 minutes 30 seconds, followed by primary development using Ilford ID-11 stock mixed 1-1 for 6 minute 30 seconds at 68f. This technique facilitates exceptional dynamic range and superior overall tonality.

After processing, I scanned the negatives using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner, and made final adjustments to the scan in Adobe Lightroom.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Work Train Makes the Sun

Monday was dull and overcast.

Monday afternoon, Conway Scenic operated a work train out along the Redstone Branch in North Conway, NH.

After the train left the yard, I walked from my office in the North Conway station a few blocks east to the North-South Road that runs parallel to the Redstone line to make a few photos of the train on the branch.

The next day I sent them to the Conway Day Sun.

Yesterday, December 16, 2020, I was greeted by my photo on the front page of the paper! (Complete with credit and quote).

So I went back over to the newspaper’s offices to make a few photos of the newspaper boxes with the railroad in the distance, and then gave a copy to Dave Swirk, president & general manager of the railroad. I posed him in front of steam locomotive 7470, and then posted this to our facebook.

If all goes well, 7470 may be next up for its day in the Sun!

All photos were made using a FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55 Fujinon zoom lens.

Tracking the Light posts Daily!

photography

Cherryville Junction—March 29, 2002 Part 2.

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, here are a few more choice photos from Good Friday 2002, when I visited Cherryville Junction, Co. Kildare.

Effectively unseen for more than 18 years. The other day, I scanned this roll of Fuji Neopan 400 that I had neatly stored in an archival binder.

All the photos were exposed using my old Contax G2 rangefinder that I’d fitted with a 28mm Zeiss Biogon lens. I had four lenses for the camera, of which the 28mm was probably the most useful.

This lens offer a characteristic look and exceptional sharpness. I still have the camera and the lens, but the body stopped working back 2007, more than five years after these photos was made.

Down 1205 liner to Cork with locomotive 216 at Cherryville Jct.
1205 liner clatters through Cherryville Jct.
Irish Rail 133 and 159 lead the up bulk-bogie cement at Cherryville Jct.
Irish Rail 133 and 159 lead the up bulk-bogie cement at Cherryville Jct.
Down push-pull.
Sunset at Cherryville Jct with an up train headed toward Dublin.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Good Friday at Cherryville Junction. Five Photos!

And it’s a was a very good Friday too. Years ago, Good Friday was a busy day on Irish Rail and there was lots to garner a photographer’s attention.

In addition to Railway Preservation Society of Ireland steam excursions, and ‘extra’ Friday-only passenger trains, Irish Rail tended to operate a lot of daylight freight.

So on the morning of March 29, 2002, Hassard Stacpoole and I joined Paul Quinlan at Kildare for a foray to Cherryville Junction (where the Waterford Line joins the Dublin-Cork mainline) and spent the day rolling by the parade of trains.

I made most of my photos on Fujichrome slide film, but also exposed a roll of Fuji Neopan 400 black & white film in my Contax G2 rangefinder with a yellow filter.  I processed this in Agfa Rodinal Special (mixed 1-32) for 3 minutes 45 seconds at 20c.

Then after 18 years in an archival box, yesterday I decided to scan a few of the photos for presentation here.

Irish Rail class 201 number 226 pushes a Mark3 push-pull working the up Waterford.
Irish Rail 087 with down Waterford.

Class 201 number 219 works the up ammonia.
Trailing view of the up ammonia.
Railcars running toward Waterford (or Carlow?) at sunset.

What may have passed as ordinary in 2002, now looks fascinating.

More to come from that day soon!

Tracking the Light Posts Every Day!

photography

A RAW and Vivid Sunset at Conway

Friday evening, December 11, 2020, I traveled to Conway, NH on the headend of Conway Scenic’s Santa’s Holiday Express to make advertising photos.

A gorgeous wintery sunset graced the sky.

Working with my Nikon Z6 plus 24-70mm lens, I made a series of photographs, exposing in RAW and JPG simultaneously. I had the JPG profiled using the Vivid preset.

Below are three examples.

The camera RAW file (NEF format), the camera profiled JPG, and an adjusted file made from the RAW using Adobe Lightroom.

Nikon camera RAW (NEF) without modifications.
Camera JPG in ‘VI’ mode (vivid color)
Adjusted camera RAW.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

Tips and Technique

Ballast at Tipperary

In August 2003, I exposed this photo of an Irish Rail ballast train at Tipperary that was in the passing loop.

At the time I was working with a Rolleiflex Model T that used 120 size roll film.

I was using Kodak Tri-X (400 ISO) that I processed in Ilfotec HC and toned in Selenium to improve the highlights. I scanned the photo last night using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner.

There is an amazing amount of detail in this photo. I’ve enlarged one small section of it as an example.

At the time Irish Rail class 141 number 169 was one of the last locomotives operating with the old ‘IR’ logo, a herald remarkably similar to the Portuguese Railways logo.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

This Day 9 Years Ago.

On December 12, 2011, I photographed Irish Rail 083 leading the down IWT passing Islandbridge Junction in Dublin. This was an unusually heavy train.

The locomotive was wearing the relatively short-lived silver, black & yellow livery introduced in 2007, and since vanished into history.

It has been 13 months since I last visited my favorite vantage point.

Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 18-135mm lens set at 38mm Canon zoom.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Filming Extra at Patch’s

Last Wednesday, I organized an extra train on Conway Scenic to film for an upcoming television segment.

On the way west we paused at ‘Patch’s’ (a convenience store near Glen, New Hampshire).

While the train was paused, I exposed these photos using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens. I then converted the camera RAW files to DNG format using Iridient X-Transformer and made contrast and color adjustments in Adobe Lightroom.

Tracking the Light Posts Everyday!

photography

December 10, 2018—New England Central at Stafford Springs

On this day two years ago, I photographed New England Central GP38s in the classic blue & gold paint leading the southward 608 at Stafford Springs, Connecticut (Stafford on the railroad).

Working with the FujiFilm RAW file from my XT1, I first converted the photo to a DNG file using Iridient X-Transformer, then imported that file into Adobe Lightroom for adjustment.

To make for a more pleasing image, I reduced contrast, lightened shadows, and lowered the intensity of the highlights.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Misty October View on Crawford Notch

Last October (2020), I traveled on a rainy day to Crawford Notch on the head-end of Conway Scenic’s Mountaineer.

To make the most of the moody autumn conditions, I exposed a roll of Ilford HP5 35mm black & white film.

Last weekend I processed this using my split development method in order to maximize detail in highlights and shadows, while providing for rich tonality.

The specifics are as follows: presoak in a dilute bath of HC110 (1-200) for 5 minutes 30 seconds at 69F with minimal agitation, then main development in Ilford ID-11 1-1 for 6 minutes and 30 seconds agitating using three gentle inversions every 60 seconds. Followed by stop (30 seconds); first fix (2 minutes 30 seconds) and second fix (2 minutes 30 seconds); first rinse (3 minutes); Permawash (3 minutes); second rinse (10 minutes in continuous running water), then final rinse of distilled water with a drop of Photo flo. Dry and scan.

Other than scaling for internet, I made no alterations to tonality or exposure in postprocessing.

Tracking the Light posts Daily!

photography

New England Central with ‘Drop Under’ light at Brattleboro, Vermont.

In October 2015, I made this photograph of New England Central train 611 arriving at Brattleboro having returned from Palmer, Mass.

The setting sun was illuminating clouds from below, making for that colorful event known as ‘drop under’.

I was working with a Lumix LX7, that allows the photographer to work in JPG and RAW simultaneously.

Below are two versions of the same photo. The top image is the camera-generated JPG, the second is heavily adjusted image that I created by working with the camera RAW file.

There is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ when it comes to adjusting color, however there are some basic guidelines and guiding theory.

Tracking the Light post every day.

photography

470 Club Special in FIVE Black & White Photos.

On October 17, 2020, Conway Scenic Railroad operated the annual 470 Club Special. This ran from North Conway to Mountain Junction, then made a side trip down the Redstone Branch to Pudding Pond, before proceeding west over Crawford Notch to Fabyan, New Hampshire.

I helped organize the photo stops.

In addition to the digital color photographs previously displayed on Tracking the Light (and in the pages of Trains Magazine), I exposed a roll of Ilford HP5 black & white film using a vintage Nikkormat FTN.

Yesterday (Sunday, December 6, 2020), I processed the film using my custom-tailored split development technique that I’ve previously detailed on Tracking the Light). This is intended to give the film broad tonality when scanning for internet presentation.

After processing, I scanned the negatives using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner driven by Epson software. These scans were scaled using Adobe Lightroom without any adjustment to contrast, exposure, or sharpness.

GP7 573 carried white flags.
Redstone branch.
Sawyers looking west.
Fabyan, NH.
Fabyan, NH.
Fabyan, NH.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Crossrail Along the Rhein

On the evening of September 13, 2013, I made this digital photograph of a southward Crossrail intermodal freight working the right bank of the Rhein near Kamp-Bornhofen. The train is powered by a Bombardier TRAXX electric locomotive, among the most common types of modern motive power working German rails. 

The sinuous Rhein Valley offers countless views of the electrified mainlines on both sides of the river. This view was made from the left bank of the river south of Boppard, where I aimed across the water to capture the fading window of sun that lit the tracks later than other nearby locations.

I was traveling with photographer Denis McCabe on a weeklong trip in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, on which I exposed hundreds of digital and film photos of trains on the move (among other subjects).

Canon EOS-7 fitted with 18-135mm Canon zoom set at 117mm, camera-JPG scaled in Adobe Lightroom.

Tracking the Light Posts Everyday — (even during electrical ‘outrages’ or ‘outages’).

photography

Irish Rail 2600 Railcars on the Cobh Branch at Rushbrooke, Co. Cork.

On the morning of October 14, 2014, Ken Fox led me on a tour of Irish Rail’s Cobh Branch.

At Rushbrooke station, I made this view of an outbound 2600 railcar heading toward Cobh from Kent Station, Cork.

Cork seems especially far away as I sit in the dark in rural New Hampshire (waiting for electricity to be restored following a weather related power ‘outrage’).

Exposed using a Canon EOS 7D with 100mm telephoto lens; 100 ISO, f8.0 at 1/500 second.

Tracking the Light in the Dark!

photography

On this Day 2014: Overcast at Overbrook.

On December 5, 2014, my brother and I, stood on the platform at Overbrook, Pennsylvania along the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line.

Working with my Canon EOS 7D, I exposed this photo of an approach medium aspect on an old PRR position light signal. At left, Amtrak’s westward Pennsylvanian—train 43—glides toward the station behind P42 number 71.

I made a host of minor modifications in post processing aimed at improving the camera RAW file.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Santa Rides the Conway Branch!

Last week while filming for a commercial for Conway Scenic Railroad’s Santa’s Holiday Express, I made this still photo as Santa’s Sleigh train as it descended from North Conway on its run down the Conway Branch.

This was just before sunset and low mist had formed along the Saco River.

I was working with my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm lens. The train was traveling about 5 mph and the light was fading fast.

I posted a version of the commercial to Conway Scenic Railroad’s Facebook Page this afternoon. The railroad is planning to operate seven Santa’s Holiday Express trains this weekend.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Boston & Maine’s Slug Set on the West End.

Much to my disappointment, When I told my non-railroad friends that ‘I caught the B&M Slug Set on the road,’ they didn’t match my enthusiasm. (1)

But on June 29, 1986, my pal TSH and I made a morning project of chasing Guilford’s AYRP (Ayer, Massachusetts to Rouses Point, New York) from East Deerfield Yard to the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel.

We caught this at Wisdom Way in Greenfield, then near Buckland west of Shelburne Falls, then at 10:30am, we caught up to AYRP when it was held for an eastbound at Rices interlocking near Charlemont. Here, I made several photos on Kodak 120 Professional Tri-X using my dad’s Rolleiflex Model T.

I scanned these negatives the other day. Most had never been printed.

Buckland, Massachusetts, June 29, 1986.
Rices, near Charlemont.
Rices, near Charlemont, Massachusetts.

Footnote 1. A slug set is a locomotive arrangement where by a powered diesel is coupled with a heavily weighted unpowered unit fitted with traction motors for additional tractive power. Boston & Maine built one such combination where a pair of GP40-2s powered a homemade ‘slug.’

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Old View of Old East Deerfield Railfan’s Bridge.

On the morning of June 29, 1985, I exposed this black & white photo of the McClelland Farm Road bridge over Boston & Maine’s East Deerfield Yard.

This is the famed ‘Railfan’s Bridge’, which was then a very popular place to make photos and watch trains.

Over the years on Tracking the Light I’ve featured many views of this bridge and its replacement being built.

Exposed using a Rolleiflex Model T with 75mm f3.5 Zeiss Tessar on Kodak Professional 120 Tri-X (rated at ISO 320) using a 645-sized ‘super slide insert’.

I processed the film in Kodak D76, and yesterday I scanned the now 34 year old negative using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

photography

Classic Chrome Color COrrection—Coal Train at Galena, Illinois.

On August 13, 1994, I traveled with Mike Danneman to the Mississippi River. At East Dubuque, Illinois we caught up with a Chicago Central & Pacific coal train working eastbound on the old Illinois Central.

Mike was familiar with the territory and after making a few photos on the joint Burlington Northern-CC&P line, we drove to Galena to catch the train working up grade out of the Mississippi Valley.

The weather was less than ideal; a ‘heavy’ summer’ afternoon—hot humid and overcast.

Working with my Nikon F3T and f4 200mm lens, I made this view of the train crawling by the old Illinois Central station.

As previously described on Tracking the Light, Kodachrome 25 slide film had a cyan to red color bias (cyan when fresh, red when aged).

To correct for the cyan tint and adjust contrast, I imported the scan into Adobe Lightroom for a few nominal corrections. Below are scaled Jpgs from both the uncorrected and corrected files.

Unadjusted scan, scaled for internet.
Scan after modification with Adobe Lightroom and scaled for internet.
Lightroom work window showing adjustment sliders at right.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!