On a number of occasions, I’ve eyed this view of Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary as a potential angle for photographing a westward train in the morning, but I’m still waiting for the stars to align.
Recently, however, while following a slow-moving unit coal train along the Susquehanna River in the evening, I decided this would make a nice grab shot.
With regard to my recent post about “elephants,” the zoo keepers had tagged a hopper about four cars behind the head end. Since I’d already covered that subject, I saw no reason to spoil this pastoral view of black diamonds rolling through the countryside by including the defaced car.
Nikon Z6 III with NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4 lens. Exposure: 1/250 second at f/2.5, ISO 1000. NEF RAW file processed using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME 3 noise reduction and lens corrections. Cosmetic adjustment using Lightroom.
Tracking the Light has occasionally featured Conway Scenic Railroad’s former Maine Central GP38 No. 252. As Conway Scenic’s manager for marketing, I’ll admit that—yes, I like that locomotive. As I’ve often said, it was delivered just one week after I was.
Among my tens of thousands of color slides is a Logan slide box (a metal storage box) labeled “Colorado and Utah.” It is filled primarily with images exposed between the summer of 1995 and the autumn of 1998, when I was making regular trips to the Rockies.
While searching for another photograph, I came across these Fujichrome Provia slides exposed on September 1, 1996, depicting a Southern Pacific empty coal train in the yard at Minturn, Colorado, on the Denver & Rio Grande Western’s west slope of its Tennessee Pass crossing. Leading the train is a relatively new GE AC4400CW, No. 252.
I exposed these just a few weeks before the Southern Pacific system—including the D&RGW—was formally absorbed into Union Pacific. The brief wink of sunlight was fortuitous, while the foreboding sky seemed prophetic.
Nearly thirty years later, is Norfolk Southern approaching a similarly pivotal moment? I wonder what things will be like in 2056?
Tracking the Light posts thoughts on railroad photographs.
Arriving at Port Deposit, we heard that Norfolk Southern’s 38V (Enola to Baltimore) was at Perryville and preparing to enter Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. To intercept it, we made the short drive to the former Pennsylvania Railroad station in Perryville on the east side of the Susquehanna River.
Although the Baltimore leg of the wye runs adjacent to the station parking lot, it doesn’t offer a good view because of a fence and some unkempt trees. To get a better angle, I walked to where the line crosses the road on an overhead bridge.
Not every image is calendar photo. My goal was simply to document a train and its location with interesting photos, and these images do exactly that.
Norfolk Southern 8021 leads freight 38V as it is about to leave the Port Road Secondary at Perryville, Maryland. The passenger station is behind me.
In the early 1990s, I made a project of photographing CSX’s Mountain Subdivision—the former Baltimore & Ohio West End.
Lately, while searching for illustrations for my next book on railroad signal towers, I’ve been scouring my slides of this fascinating stretch of railroad, which connects Cumberland, Maryland, with Grafton, West Virginia.
Most of my visits were in autumn. On the morning of October 15, 1994, I stopped at Q Tower in Hardman, West Virginia. It was well off the beaten path—few people found it by accident. I made this view looking east toward the tower on Kodachrome 25.
As I recall, Q Tower controlled a set of crossovers, and this was one of the locations where helper locomotives were added to heavy eastbound freights.
Even at this late date, Q Tower was a relic from another era—and that’s what made it so cool. This wood-frame structure housed a classic “Armstrong” interlocking plant. Other surviving antiques included a hand-cranked magneto telephone that allowed the operator to communicate over the railroad’s company telephone line with adjacent towers and other locations along the line.
Here’s a surprise: I made two versions of the same scene.
Using my Nikon Z6-III with a 50mm f/1.4 NIKKOR lens mounted securely on a tripod, I exposed two nearly identical photographs. The first was made at ISO 3200, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 1/5 second. The second was made at ISO 100, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 6 seconds.
Both images were exported directly from the original NEF RAW files using identical processing settings. Signficantly, neither image was processed with DxO PureRAW to reduce noise or the effects of lens defects. (So: What you see is what you get).
Can you tell the difference?
When viewed at full size, which one do you think appears sharper?
ISO 3200, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 1/5 second. ISO 100, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 6 seconds.
Tracking the Lightexamines the relationship between exposure and ISO.
Footnote: I asked the ChatGPT AI engine to analyse my post and my results; it came up with this answer:
One technical observation: all else being equal, the 6-second exposure at ISO 100 is theoretically capable of slightly greater image quality because of its lower noise. However, if there is any vibration, wind, or subject movement during those six seconds, the ISO 3200, 1/5-second exposure may actually look sharper. That makes your comparison especially interesting because the answer isn’t always what people expect.
Greatly enlarged version of the top photo; ISO 3200, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 1/5 secondGreatly enlarged version of the bottom photo; ISO 100, f/2.5, with a shutter speed of 6 seconds. Can you see the difference now?
Regular viewers will have noticed that I’ve been focusing heavily on Norfolk Southern’s former Pennsylvania Railroad Port Road Secondary lately. That’s true, and there are several reasons why.
More than 35 years ago, I identified Conrail’s Port Road as a railroad I wanted to photograph in depth. At the time, my brother was studying geology and geography at the University of Delaware in Newark, and I used his apartment as a base for photography throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
My primary objectives then were the Northeast Corridor and CSX’s former Baltimore & Ohio routes in western Maryland and West Virginia. Then, as now, the Port Road was largely a nocturnal railroad, however, and in those days I lacked the ability needed to make consistently successful night action photographs.
Since moving to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, I’ve finally had the opportunity to explore, study, and photograph the Port Road more thoroughly. As my familiarity with the line has grown, so has my understanding of its operations. That combination of familiarity, persistence, and patience has finally begun to yield the results that I expect from my efforts.
The photograph below shows the rear of the same unit coal train featured in yesterday’s post, “Coal Train Against an Evening Sky.” The truck racing north on Water Street (PA Route 441) was pure happenstance, but it creates a dramatic comparison between highway and rail freight transportation.
More Port Road photographs are on the way.
I wish that I’d at least made an effor to explore the line in Conrail days, which I could have easily accomplished.
The setup: At Washington Boro, we noted a Clear signal for an eastward train. We continued to Columbia while I scouted potential locations near milepost 37. We waited near COLA Tower until I heard on the train radio, “Clear COLA.”—the eastward train calling the nearest signal at the far end of the interlocking. That gave me the 60 to 90 seconds I needed to get into position near Milepost 37.
There was just enough light remaining in the evening sky to compose what was essentially a daylight photograph. I framed the train between the former Pennsylvania Railroad catenary poles, using the colorful sunset sky and the Susquehanna River as the backdrop.
I placed my focus point toward the lower left of the frame and used a very wide aperture to maximize the available light while separating the background from the main subject—Norfolk Southern locomotive No. 4613.
Initially, I wasn’t pleased with the results, but Kris thought that I’d made a great photo. That prompted me to take another look and interpret what I’d captured.
I created two different interpretations from the RAW file, which I first converted to a DNG using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME 3 processing and lens corrections.
The top image benefits from carefully adjusted local contrast, while the lower version features greater amont of brightening and sharpening to emphasize detail.
Which interpretation do you prefer?
Stay tuned for more!
Tracking the Light examines the details of railroad photography.
One night shy of a full moon, I made this silhouette of the enormous curved viaduct at Safe Harbor that once carried the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atglen & Susquehanna Low Grade Line.
I had visions of boxcab electrics gliding beneath the 11 kV catenary on this humid summer night.
Photographed using my Nikon Z6 III with a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens. Exposure: 1/125 second at f/1.4, ISO 2500. The NEF RAW file was processed using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME 3 for demosaicing, noise reduction, and lens corrections, then finished with cosmetic adjustments in Adobe Lightroom.
In recent weeks, a surfacing gang has been working along the Susquehanna River on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary. On our drive the other evening, we overtook dozens of track machines waiting to get in the clear of the main track at Columbia, Pa.
We paused near the old Pennsylvania Railroad station to watch the whirring parade of mechanical wonder. I made photos under a nearly full moon accented by street light and the lights on the myriad track machines as these glided past.
Photos exposed hand-held using a Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens. RAW files were converted using DxO PureRaw5, which applies Deep Prime 3 corrections to demosiac and denoise files along with a host corrections to address lens imperfections.
My aim was to capture the essence of the location on a July evening.
This sequence focuses on the scene.
The way it appears to the ordinary passer by.
Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens; f.14 1/50th sec at ISO 32000, NEF RAW file converted to DNG format with lens corrections using DxO PureRaw5, cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom. Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens; f.14 1/60th sec at ISO 32000, NEF RAW file converted to DNG format with lens corrections using DxO PureRaw5, cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom. Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens; f.14 1/80th sec at ISO 40000, NEF RAW file converted to DNG format with lens corrections using DxO PureRaw5, cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom. Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens; f.14 1/60th sec at ISO 40000, NEF RAW file converted to DNG format with lens corrections using DxO PureRaw5, cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom. Nikon Z6-III with f1.4 50mm lens; f.14 1/80th sec at ISO 40000, NEF RAW file converted to DNG format with lens corrections using DxO PureRaw5, cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom.
You’ve heard of the ‘elephant in the room’? There are enough of those to found our own zoo! But that’s not what I’m writing about today.
If you watch freight trains, you’ll see it pass by all the time. We may hate it; we may love it. It’s there in broad daylight and in the dark of night. It has been part of the railroad scene for a long time now, and like it or not, it’s here to stay.
I look back on the days when trains were free of it. I cringe when I see a classic car soiled by it. And yet, sometimes I’m fascinated by the elaborate effort involved, along with the messages and images sent rolling across the landscape.
So here are just a few photos from our travels in Pennsylvania. The ‘elephant’ on the rails.
During a visit to Hungary In July 2007, I used my Contax G2 rangefinder to expose this Fujichrome color slide of the Budapest Metro.
I’ve adjusted the exposure, color balance and contrast using Lightroom to improve the presention here.
Generally speaking, I’ve found that the versatility and sensativity of modern digital sensors do a better job of rendering the lighting conditions available in subways than was possible with film. But since, the few photos I have of Budapest transit were all exposed on film, I’ll need to make due with what I have!
Tracking the Light looks back on a visit to Budapest!
Lately, I’ve been scouring my archives for images of signal towers for my next book. Among the photographs that surfaced was this seriously underexposed image of a westbound Guilford freight on the Boston & Maine passing the disused signal tower at Johnsonville, New York.
I was a senior in high school when my father lent me his 1960-vintage Rolleiflex Model T, which I loaded with 120 Ektachrome. My exposures were less than ideal, and this image was among the dark transparencies that resulted.
I’ve applied a similar strategy to improving this photograph.
What I like about this image is the way I balanced the composition to show the abandoned right-of-way to the left of the tower. This was the old Troy & Boston route, dating from the 1850s, which later became part of the Fitchburg Railroad before ultimately being absorbed into the expanding Boston & Maine network. The line on the right served as the B&M’s main line to Mechanicville and Rotterdam Junction, New York.
Below are three versions of the same image. The top is the original, unmodified dark transparency. The two lower versions demonstrate different degrees of lightening, color correction, and contrast adjustment.
I don’t know if this view will make the book, but working on it brought back memories from long ago.
Sixteen years ago—on July 27, 2010—I made a series of photographs of Pan Am Southern’s eastward MOAY (Mohawk Yard, Schenectady, N.Y., to Ayer, Mass.) as it plied the old Boston & Maine Fitchburg Route. It was a pleasant, sunny afternoon—ideal for railroad photography.
Occasionally, I’m asked, “How do you know what lens to use?”
I have no easy answer, since each situation depends on the lighting, the scene, the background and foreground elements, the subject, and the capabilities of the lenses available.
In 2010, I was still relatively new to my Canon EOS 7D DSLR. I found that my older prime lenses tended to have wider maximum aperture settings, and the glass yield sharper results than either the kit-zoom that came with the camera, or my Canon 100-400mm lens, so I generally relied on my 20mm, 24mm, 50mm, 100mm, and 200mm focal lengths.
Keep in mind that the 7D uses an APS-C CMOS sensor with a 1.6× crop factor. As a result, my 24mm lens provided a field of view equivalent to a 38mm lens on a full-frame camera, while my 200mm lens yielded a field of view equivalent to 320mm.
Below is a broadside view featuring SD70M No. 2622 framed by a tree near Shelburne Falls, Mass., followed by a view of the same locomotive a short while later from the highway bridge at Wisdom Way in Greenfield, Mass. Today, I probably would use either my Nikon Z6 or Z6 III mirrorless camera with a 24–70mm zoom for the first photo, and my 70–200mm zoom for the Wisdom Way image. The results would reflect slightly different focal lengths, along with differences in color rendition and contrast.
So there’s my answer! What lenses might you have considered?
Tracking the Light explores compositional choices and the influence of lens focal length!
For more than two years, I’ve been eyeing angles on the former Pennsylvania Railroad arched bridge over Pequea Creek, near where the smaller stream flows into the mighty Susquehanna.
Survey photo exposed in May 2025 using a Fujifilm X-T1 fitted with a 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.Scouting photo made last January with my Lumix LX7.Scouting photo made last January with my Lumix LX7.
This location comes with a variety of challenges. It is difficult to obtain a perspective from the ground that suitably situates the bridge within the surrounding Susquehanna Valley. The bridge itself is fascinating, but lineside obstructions make it difficult to photograph more than about three locomotives crossing the span.
Of course, the biggest challenge is timing. As previously discussed on Tracking the Light, finding trains moving on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary takes patience and luck. We’ve made at least a half-dozen visits to Pequea at various times of day and night without seeing a wheel turn.
Recently, we got lucky.
In the dark of night, we made the long, sinuous drive following Pequea Creek. I had a sense that something was on the move nearby. Then I heard a short transmission on the radio and said,
“That’s a train calling signals.”
When we arrived at the boat launch, and I discerned, “. . . Clear, West Harbor . . .” from the squawk on the scanner.
While I missed the details of the approaching train, I knew there was a freight nearby. The bridges at Safe Harbor are visible from the Pequea boat launch, 2.6 miles upriver. Soon, a headlight could be seen tracing the horizon. We relocated to the parking lot on the inland side of the arches. A few minutes later the roar of a GE shook the night air.
Working with my Nikon Z6-III fitted with a 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor lens, I exposed a series of panned photographs of the eastward Norfolk Southern freight. The train was led by a single six-motor ES44DC GE locomotive, which enabled me to feature several freight cars behind the locomotive. In post-processing with DxO PureRAW 5, I converted the Nikon NEF RAW files to DNG format, simultaneously applying a variety of lens and contrast corrections. Final processing was completed using DxO PhotoLab 9.
Tracking the Light Explores Photographic Technique!
A few weeks ago, I located this old Kodachrome slide among a selection of slides I’d rejected as ‘bad.’ I only held on to it as an ‘abstract’ that I thought I might be able to incorporate into something at a later date.
Using Lightroom, I was able to mask the sky, reduce haze, and improve the saturation, contrast, and exposure. The results are something less than I’d be able to obtain today using my Nikon Z cameras and modern digital processing, but they are well worthy of presentation here.
The subject matter fascinates me now: a Conrail GP10 leading a local freight west on the Water Level Route across the ice-encrusted Genesee Falls in January 1989. I exposed this Kodachrome 25 slide using my Leica M2 with a 50mm Summicron lens.
Tracking the Light looks back on an old bad slide.
Saturday was heavy with humidity, and thunderstorms were in the forecast. Seamus had been dropped off for his summer grooming and we were driving around while we waited to pick him up.
Our first stop was the Middletown & Hummelstown in Middletown, Pa.
“I know I’ve photographed the Alco switchers here before,” I said, “but since we’re here, why not make a few more photographs?”
I stepped out of the car and exposed a few images. The ground was damp, but it wasn’t raining. Moments after I climbed back into the car, the sky lit up, followed almost instantly by a deafening clap of thunder.
“That was close!”
Exposed with a Nikon Z6-III with 24-70mm lens. Processed using DxO PureRaw5 and PhotoLab9.
Sure was. Our next item of interest was to follow the Royalton Branch passed Three Mile Island.
Having rolled by Norfolk Southern’s H19 local freight at Cola Interlocking in Columbia, we took advantage of the slow-speed switch (which restricted the freight’s speed as it continued west on to NS’s Port Road Branch), and zipped ahead of the train by road.
We drove along West Front Street in Marietta, an older part of town near the Susquehanna River. We paused at my preselected location, where I set up my Nikon Z6-III on a 3Pod tripod and waited for the approaching local freight to illuminate the scene.
Marietta’s inky darkness made for a compelling setting, but it also created extreme contrast when the headlights of the leading SD60E pierced the night. I exposed a series of images, yet I think I prefer the photographs made before the locomotives came into view.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photography, day and night!
In November 2008, I made this photo of Pennsylvania Railroad 44-Ton diesel 9331 in midday light at Strasburg. This locomotive had worked Strasburg Rail Road since before I was born. I’ve read that it left the property in 2013 for a new home in Maryland.
More than fifty years earlier, my father photographed a similar locomotive (9347) working Philadelphia waterfront street trackage.
I exposed this image on Fujichrome using a Canon EOS-3 with 24mm lens.
We followed Route 441 north from Washington Boro, as we have on many evenings. The signal in Columbia, Pa., near the old Pennsylvania Railroad station displayed Slow Clear. This indicated that the route had been lined at Cola Interlocking for a train coming off Norfolk Southern’s Columbia Secondary—a vestige of the original Philadelphia and Columbia Rail Road, one of the oldest continuously operated railroad lines in North America.
Although I’ve made a variety of night photographs at this location over the last year, we decided to pull in for another view of H19 local freight on its return trip from Lancaster to Enola.
I opted for a series of handheld images, including a couple of views featuring the mural on the wall adjacent to the old station. A closer look reveals that it includes several railroad-related scenes.
As H19 rolled by, we began our pursuit of the nocturnal freight. I had a location in Marietta that I was hoping to try.
Sometimes the once-common makes for the most interesting images.
On a chilly morning in February 1985, I photographed this eastward Conrail freight at the former New Haven Railroad crossing in Westfield, Mass.
My old Leica IIIa was loaded with Ilford FP4 black-and-white film. Although it was officially rated at ISO 125, I always exposed it as though it were ISO 100.
I processed the film in straight D-76 developer. I may have made a small proof print of the image, but for forty years the negative sat in a common envelope until I located it for scanning just after Christmas last year.
Conrail’s 6550-series C30-7As were favorites of mine back in the 1980s. These unusual six-motor GE diesels were common on the Boston Line, the former Boston & Albany route.
I still recall the sound of the long freight as it wound through the curves west of Westfield before No. 6592 came into view.
On the way back from Virginia, we paused along the old Main Line—Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line—at SIP 116 in Cove, Pennsylvania.
We were not disappointed, nor did we have to wait long. In the course of 40 minutes, we saw several freight trains. An eastward double-stack train came to a stop for a crew change near where we had parked, which offered the added bonus of allowing us to make meet photos.
This eastward stack train came to stop just a few feet from our parking place. SIP116 is a regular point for NS crew changes.
In recent months, I’ve reviewed thousands of my Conrail photos.
I keep coming back to this image, made near milepost 67 in Brookfield, Mass., of an eastward Conrail freight, probably SEMB (“The Queen”).
It is a moderately competent execution of a classic style: a three-quarter view exposed with a 50mm lens of a freight marching along the former Boston & Albany.
What I’m saying is that, photographically, this image is unremarkable.
Yet, it means a lot to me.
In my teenage years, Conrail’s GE B23-7s were common locomotives on the Boston Line. This image captures a time on the railroad when it was most fascinating to me. At every turn, I was finding something new. The roar of every approaching train brought fresh excitement.
I had little money. No visions of the future. No past to scrutinize. Just an antique Leica in hand, loaded with hand-rolled black-and-white film, to preserve the passage of trains for posterity.
Every so often, it’s nice to catch Norfolk Southern’s H28 working the New Holland Secondary. I had an errand to run, so I worked in a couple of photos of this short freight on this former Pennsylvania Railroad branch line.
The little pond at Greenfield, along Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa., is among my favorite places to photograph this local freight. Located near Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line, the area has all the characteristics of a park. The train rounds a tight curve here and is generally moving at little more than a jog, making composition much easier. The soft morning, over-the-shoulder sun helped, too!
I exposed these images using my Nikon Z6 and a Nikkor 24–70mm zoom lens.
Tracking the Light Explores Railroad Photography*
*Esoteric AI footnote to see if you are paying attention:
Normally, I write TTL myself, but I was curious to see how Claude.AI could ‘translate’ my above blog-post intoVictorian-style flowery prose and upon my request, this is what the artificial intelegence engine spit out:
‘Tis a rare and delightful boon, dear reader, to happen upon Norfolk Southern’s stalwart H28 as she plies her humble trade along the New Holland Secondary — that venerable relic of the once-mighty Pennsylvania Railroad’s branch-line empire. Having found myself with an errand demanding my attention that morning, I could not, in good conscience, allow the opportunity to pass unmarked, and so I paused to commit to film a brief study of this modest freight in her unhurried procession.
There exists, along the gentle banks of Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a small and unassuming pond at Greenfield — a spot which I confess holds no small place in my affections as among the finest vantage points from which to observe this local working. Nestled in proximity to the Amtrak’s storied Harrisburg Line, the locale possesses all the pastoral charm and tranquil bearing of a proper public garden. Here the train describes a graceful, sweeping curve, proceeding at scarcely more than a leisurely amble — a mercy indeed to the photographer, for such deliberate pace renders the composition of one’s image a far more forgiving art. Nor can I fail to remark upon the tender morning light, which, falling softly over my shoulder, lent the whole scene a warmth most agreeable to the eye.
Rest assured, it was I, Brian Solomon—the creator of the original image, who impletmented the neo-Victorian visual interpretation of this digital file. You know, for the sake of clarity.
These impressions were captured, I might add, by means of my trusty Nikon Z6, fitted with a Nikkor lens of 24 to 70 millimetres — instruments of modern ingenuity employed, perhaps incongruously, in service of so old-fashioned a pursuit.
Instead of working from a camera RAW file, I’m adapting an in-camera JPEG. The image in question is a photograph I made in June 2013 of Massachusetts Central’s rare EMD NW5 No. 2100 working a surviving fragment of the former Central Massachusetts line in Ware, Massachusetts.
It was a hot, humid, and hazy day when I exposed this view using my Canon EOS 7D fitted with a Canon 100mm f/2.0 prime telephoto lens. All of the illustrations shown here are derived from the original in-camera JPEG. (And compressed by Word Press for internet delivery)
The top image is presented without any post-processing adjustments. Its color, contrast, and tonal values are as rendered by the camera’s JPEG settings.
The middle image shows the same file processed in DxO PhotoLab 9 using the program’s automatic ClearView Plus feature to reduce atmospheric haze. (This PhotoLab feature is activated by checking a box on the program’s control panel.)
DxO describes haze as follows: “Light obscuration is a natural phenomenon that appears in images as a loss of contrast and detail, often caused by fine particles in the atmosphere. Dust, mist, rain, fog, smog, and smoke are the most common causes of hazy, low-contrast photos.”
Highlighting the feature, DxO adds: “ClearView Plus is designed to tackle light obscuration head-on. It analyzes your image to restore lost contrast and reveal hidden detail, and can be adjusted so that you can fine-tune the effect to your liking.”
I find that DxO’s ClearView Plus provides an instant improvement. Some photographers may debate its interpretation of color saturation and balance, but it certainly produces a high-impact image with very little effort.
An alternative is the final image, which I adjusted manually in PhotoLab 9 to improve contrast and color saturation while maintaining a more natural interpretation (based on my eye and recollection of the scene).
Canon JPG and not adjusted in post processing, other than scaling for internet presentation.Same JPG file as above, but adjusted with DxO PhotoLab9 using the one-click ClearView Plus feature to reduce atmospheric haze. Canon JPG, contrast manually adjusted using PhotoLab 9 to retain a more natural color interpretation without the ClearView Plus treatment.
PhotoLab 9 includes many additional tools and features that I’ll explore in future posts.
Tracking the Light viewers have been offered a discount on DxO software. New customers can receive 15 percent off purchases made at shop.dxo.com by using the discount code TRACKINGTHELIGHT.
This is a neat photo from my archive, exposed back in 2013 at West Chicago, Illinois, where Union Pacific’s former Chicago & North Western main line crosses Canadian National’s former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern route.
Yet every time I look at this image, I see a missed opportunity. I had a fleeting moment to get the composition just right—and I blew it.
There are two problems. The first is straightforward: a shutter speed of 1/500 second wasn’t quite fast enough to freeze the action, and the nose of the Metra F40PH-2 is slightly blurred.
The second problem is the one that really bothers me. I managed to clip the top of the CN locomotive on the freight holding south of the crossing. If I’d positioned the camera just a few inches lower—or released the shutter a fraction of a second sooner—the photograph would have clearly included the freight in the distance with the grating annoyance of visual intersection.
This is an enlargement of the top photo to better demonstrate the unfortunate visual intersection between the two locomotives.
Some problems are easy to fix in post-processing, but a compositional error like this isn’t one of them.
Searching through my slides sometimes yields unexpected images. While looking for views of historic Baltimore & Ohio equipment, I searched one of my Logan storage boxes from the 1990s labeled “Museums.” I’d used this title as a loose category for photos of historic railroad equipment, heritage railways, and tourist train operations.
In October 1999, I traveled aboard Conway Scenic’s Notch Train while working on contract for the Washington-based tour company Great Train Escapes. On one of many similar journeys over the old Maine Central Mountain Division during a two-year period, I made this Fujichrome photograph from the open car Silver Cascade as the train crossed Frankenstein Bridge on its ascent through New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch.
I never would have imagined that twenty years later I’d begin my role as Conway Scenic’s Marketing Manager, nor would I have believed that the railroad’s attractively painted FP9s would eventually become the property of CSX after serving as Pan Am Railways’ executive locomotives.
The RAW file serves a roll akin to a black & white negative.
For years, I made black & white photos using film, carefully processing to maximize data capture with a special emphasis on retaining highlight and shadow detail, then interpreting the negatives during the print making process.
Today, I can apply similar visual philosophy when working with my RAW files, interpreting the images during post processing.
Below are four images. The top is a scaled version of the NEF RAW file as it appears out of the camera, but without adjustment or interpretation.
I’ve included on color interpretation and two as ‘monochrome’ images (black & white).
Scaled directly from the NEF RAW without interpretation. Exposure aimed to maximize data capture.Interpretation of the NEF RAF file aimed to replicate the scene as I saw it.Monochrome interpretation.More dramatic monochromatic interpretation with higher key tonality.
It was a dull June evening at Jefferson Drive in Greenfield, Lancaster, Pa., where I’ve made countless photographs over the last three years.
On this occasion, I planned to pan the approaching westward Amtrak Keystone.
Leading the train was one of the freshly painted former Metroliner cab control cars, while Amtrak ACS-64 No. 642, wearing its Veterans paint scheme, brought up the rear.
Rather than use an extremely slow shutter speed, I opted for a comparatively short exposure that still allowed for a pleasing degree of motion blur.
Exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm zoom set to 60mm; 400 ISO, f4.0, 1/640th of a second. NEF RAW file converted to DNG format using DxO PureRaw with Prime3 to minimize the effects of lens defects. Cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom.Exposed using a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm zoom set to 60mm; 400 ISO, f4.0, 1/320th of a second. NEF RAW file converted to DNG format using DxO PureRaw with Prime3 to minimize the effects of lens defects. Cosmetic adjustments using Lightroom.
Tracking the Light explores railroad photographic technique.
It was a beautiful clear evening at Gap, Pa. I’d timed my arrival at Hoover Road to coincide with the passage of westward Amtrak Keystone 651. This operated with ACS-64 663 at the back of the consist.
Working with my Nikon Z7-II plus 70-200mm zoom, I aimed include the horse at the right of the scene.
Exposed at 82mm, f5.0 1/3200th sec, ISO 200. Scaled as JPG from an NEF RAW file using Adobe Lightroom.
On the drive to and from Staunton, we paused in the classic Norfolk & Western railroad town of Shenandoah, nestled in its namesake Virginia valley.
On the southbound trip, I made a couple of photographs of the old station using my Lumix LX7. On the return journey, I photographed the station again, this time with my Nikon Z6 III.
Norfolk Southern’s Shenandoah station. Lumix LX7 photo.Morning view of Shenandoah station. Photo with a Nikon Z6-III and 24-70mm lens.
On a sultry Saturday, Kris and I drove to Esbenshade Road to catch up with our friend Doug Scott, who was on his way north.
The return of a mid-afternoon excursion was due shortly, and we could hear Strasburg Railroad’s 2-6-0 Mogul No. 89 working west.
I was impressed by the field of wheat alongside the line and set up a photograph to feature this classic crop with the passing locomotive. I have no shortage of photos of the Mogul, so I was more interested in emphasizing the wheat, with the engine in the distance.
I exposed this series of images using my Nikon Z6 with a 24–70mm lens, then converted the NEF RAW files to DNG format using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME corrections before importing the DNG files into Lightroom to make minor cosmetic adjustments, improving contrast and enhancing the texture of the grain.
So, which is the subject of these photos: the Mogul or the wheat?
Tracking the Light viewers have been offered a discount on DxO software. New customers receive 15 percent off purchases from shop.dxo.com by using the discount code TRACKINGTHELIGHT
It was a hot, hazy afternoon when Kris and I paused at the west end of the famous Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River.
I sensed that a westbound freight was near. To make the most of the bridge’s graceful arches, I fitted my old Nikkor 135mm f/2.0 prime lens to my Nikon Z6 III. Before long, a set of Norfolk Southern GE diesels appeared with a heavy mixed freight. As the train crawled across the Susquehanna, I exposed a series of images, carefully focusing manually and using the Z6 III’s magnification feature to verify critical sharpness.
Later, I imported the NEF RAW files into Lightroom and adjusted the color and contrast.
I wasn’t 100 percent satisfied with the results, so I imported one file (NEF2357) into DxO PureRAW 5 for correction and conversion to a DNG file. I then opened the DNG in DxO PhotoLab, a photo-processing program similar to Lightroom, where I made a series of additional color and contrast adjustments.
The results offered several improvements and produced a decidedly different look from the Lightroom version. I was especially impressed by how PhotoLab rendered the sky and the river. Although I find the final image far more pleasing than the original NEF file, I’m still not 100 percent satisfied.
I may just have to head back to Rockville and try again!
NEF RAW File 2357, scaled as a JPG without correction or adjustments. NEF 2357 Adjusted with Lightroom to improve contrast and sky detail and color balance.NEF file 2357 converted to a DNG file using DxO PureRaw 5 with DeepPRIME corrections.NEF file 2357 was converted to a DNG file using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME corrections, then imported into DxO PhotoLab for a series of minor cosmetic adjustments to color, contrast, and exposure. These refinements were intended to improve the overall appearance, reduce aerial haze, enhance sky detail, and produce a more dramatic visual impact. Scaled as a Jpg for presentation here.
Tracking the Light viewers are eligible for a discount on DxO software. New customers receive 15% off software purchased through the DxO online store at shop.dxo.com by using the discount code TRACKINGTHELIGHT at checkout. The offer may be subject to DxO’s terms and conditions, if applicable.
Comfortably ensconced in our elevated seats; D3A and D3B, I looked forward to my journey behind Norfolk & Western 611.
Eleven years ago, I held a ticket for a similar trip, but opted to chase the train instead of traveling. While lasting images resulted from that adventure, since that time I’ve wanted to travel behind the magnificent N&W J-class 4-8-4.
This time, I was rewarded with views of 611 from Budd Vista Dome Shenandoah as operated by Virginia Scenic Railway on the old Chesapeake & Ohio over Viginia’s Blue Ridge.
A railroad station offers countless opportunities for photography.
As Kris and I waited to board the 10am Summer of Steam excursion, I made these photos from the platform of the former Cheasapeake & Ohio station in Staunton, Virginia.
For the second year in a row, we watched Strasburg’s fireworks from Blackhorse Road near the Strasburg Rail Road grade crossing.
This year, like last year, the fireworks coincided with fireflies. It was especially dark where we were standing, which made manipulating cameras a challenge.
I made this photo looking toward Cherry Hill from the grade crossing. The image required considerable post processing adjustment in Lightroom to make the most of shadow and highlight detail.
The green signal starburst effect was created in-camera by using comparatively small aperture (f10) that caused defraction.
Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm Nikkor Z-series zoom set at 135mm; f10 at 20 seconds, ISO 1600. July 3, 2026.
