Lately, it’s been really hot, so I thought it would be nice to look back to a day-almost 20 years ago-when I photographed a DB InterCity Express train on a frosty cold January morning at Jenbach, Austria.
Denis McCabe and I had traveled on this train from Innsburck. Upon stopping at Jenbach, I jumped out and walked to the headend to expose this Fujichrome slide using my Contax G2 rangefinder.
Later, we changed to a Zillertalbahn narrow gauge local and traveled through the hoar frost up the Ziller Valley.
What better place to catch a smoky sky than in Smoketown?
I’ve eyed up this location for a few years now. It’s not great in bright daylight, but I’ve thought it might make a nice view in the evening.
Last night, Kris and I had gone for ice cream, and afterwards were driving around in the post sunset glow. Canadian fires continue to tint the evening sky.
We parked off Mount Sidney Road, I had time to frame up the scene, set the ISO rating on my Z7-II to 8000, and lo-and-behold, there was the blue-white sheen of an ACS-64’s headlights on the rail.
Even at ISO8000 my exposure was f4 at 1.60th of a second.
I processed the NEF RAW file using DxO PureRaw to create a DNG file, which I then imported into Lightroom for minor adjustment. Among other corrections, PureRaw eliminated the granular effect of ISO.
Below is the straight NEF RAW scaled and converted to JPG but unaltered in terms of appearance (exposure, color, contrast, grain or vignette-control).
Straight NEF RAW scaled and converted to JPG but otherwise unaltered.NEW RAW after conversion to DNG and cosmetically adjusted in Lightroom to enhance appearance.
Above is my interpreted NEF RAW file after conversion to DNG with changes to color, contrast, exposure etc.; below is the same file with extreme interpretation of color, contrast and exposure. The result is surreal.
Friday evening we rolled by Amtrak westward Keystone Train 651 near Shelley Drive in Lancaster.
I’d calculated the running time from Parkesburg based on the departure listed in the ASM.transitdocs app, and it passed within 30 seconds of my estimation.
I made several photos. The leading image is a fairly straightforward view of the former Metroliner cab control car leading the consist. As the train passed, I exposed several digital images in rapid succession.
One of these trailing views made for a graphic silhouette.
Upon review, I decided to play with the NEF RAW file in Lightroom to see if I could improve the image.
Below are several variations, concluding with a converted image using PureRaw software to create a DNG file that I then adjusted in Lightroom.
Details below.
Amtrak Keystone 651 rolls west near Shelley Drive in Lancaster. ACS-64 617 works at the back of the consist.Trailing silhouette; NEF RAW file without interpretation. This straight out of the camera. File scaled as a JPG for internet presentation. NEF RAW file adjusted in Lightroom to lighten shadows, control highlightes, enhance color, and alter contrast.NEF RAW file following conversion to a DNG file using PureRaw. NEF RAW file following conversion to a DNG file with heavy-handed adjustmentin Lightroom to lighten shadows, control highlightes, enhance color, and alter contrast. Version 1. File cropped to show the primary image area.Same arrangement as above (PureRaw converted DNG, Lightroom etc). Adjustement version 2.
Not every situation is made to order for photography.
I was on my way to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to conduct research for my next book. Since I was just a little early, I opted to divert via Esbenshade Road and roll by Strasburg Rail Road’s returning 1pm train.
I heard the engine working the grade. On most recent visits, former Canadian National 2-6-0 No. 89 has been assigned to the run. Since this is a relative small locomotive the crews have to work it reasonably hard ascending the grade from Cherry Hill.
However, on this afternoon I listened carefully; the softer bark of the stack told me that the engine wasn’t working especially hard. This couldn’t be 89, so it must be No. 90—the former Great Western 2-10-0 (a relatively big Baldwin).
Inded it was!
Canadian wildfires made for the air thick with particulates, and the sunlight was tinged with brown. Not pretty light at all.
Photos exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.
NEF RAW files were adjusted using Lightroom to maximize detail.
Last weekend, Kris and I were running some errands when I got a tip from our friend Dan Cupper that Amtrak no. 42, the eastward Pennsylvanian was led by a freshly painted Genesis P42 in the new Amtrak phase VII scheme.
This livery was introduced a few years ago on Amtrak’s Siemens Changer diesels, but those are as rare as hen’s teeth in these parts.
Kris and I stopped at Home Depot near Parkesburg, then timed our arrival at Christiana to coincide with the passage of both east and westbound Pennsylvanians.
Owing to the angle of the tracks and the nice old buildings near the line, Christiana is a choice place to catch eastbounds in the early afternoon.
I made these views of the passing train using my Nikon Z7-II.
It’s always neat to catch something in new paint. I wonder how many of the Amtrak Genesis diesels will get this treatment?
During our coal mine tour a few weeks ago, I exposed this image of a coal mine locomotive on display deep below the surface.
It was pretty dark inside the Lackawanna Coal Mine, so I set my Z7-II for ISO 8000 in order to record this photo handheld.
Afterwards, I made four versions of the same image. The first is a NEF RAW straight out of the camera. The second has been processed using Lightroom. The third is the NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format using PureRaw; the last is the Lightroom adjusted PureRaw DNG formatted file. Each is captioned appropriately.
All have been scaled for internet presentation.
Image 1: NEF RAW file straight out of the camera.Image 2; NEF RAW that was processed using Lightroom. NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format and without adjustment or post processing adjustment. NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format following post-processing adjustments to color, contrast and exposure.
I anticipated that Amtrak’s Crayola-Blue ACS-64 621 would lead the first or second eastward Keystone from Harrisburg.
With this in mind, I arrived at Jefferson Drive in the morning to intercept the first train. For me this was a good news/bad news scenario.
The good news: although I’d cut it a bit fine, I arrived ahead of the train.
Bad news, the ambient humidity was extremely high, so as soon as I stepped out of the car my camera lens fogged. No amount of cleaning would keep it clear.
Good news: the Crayola Blue locomotive wasn’t leading.
Bad news: my photo of the first train was fogged.
Good news: Kris suggested I use the ‘Dehaze’ effects slider in Lightroom to correct for the fog, and to my surprise this trick worked very well.
Better news: I had another chance at catching Amtrak’s Crayola Blue locomotive on the move. So I drove east with the heat on in the car and the windows open. My hope was that, while uncomfortable, this might bring my camera up to temperature so that it would be less likely to fog when I got out of the car.
This is scaled, but otherwise unmodified RAW file as it came out of the camera. Although it was a bright clear morning, high humidity fogged the front element of my lens, which had the side effect of resulting in underexposure as well as reducing clarity and contrast.Kris suggested that I try Lightroom’s ‘Dehaze’ slider. This effect compensated for the undesirable effects of lens fog. Afterwards I lowered the saturation slider and lightened the image using exposure controls. It’s not perfect, but much better than the flat, soft and underexposed image that I had out of the camera.
Amtrak Keystone 653 from Philadelphia was running behind the advertised. I figured we could drive against it and catch it passing Gap, Pa.
We arrived with a few minutes to spare. I had time to set up my 3Pod Tripod and framed up a scene with a tree by the former PRR Main Line.
I exposed a couple of test photos to check exposure and focus.
Before long, I heard the squeel of steel wheels on steel rails. I made this series of time exposures. To my surprise, Amtrak ACS-64 621 wearing the Crayola-blue advertising livery was working the back of the consist.
Wow! That was neat! Trailing, eh? Hmmmm.
It did little for the photos, except add an ever so slightly blue tint to the second image in the sequence. But, I knew what I’d be after the following morning! Stay tuned . . .
When we spied the blue ACS-64, Kris smiled and said to me, ‘You’re welcome!” Wow that really was cool, even if didn’t mean much in the photo, just a fleeting hint of blue.
We decided to stop by at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant on the way back from Scranton. It was sunny and bright, but not too hot, and during our previous visits we’d always dined inside, so why not try one of the outdoor tables?
A waitress came by to take our drink order. Kris had iced tea, and I ordered a Rusty Rail Fog Monster (a New England Style IPA, brewed in Mifflinburg, PA). About that time, Kris said, ‘”Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“A whistle! There’s a train coming.”
And, indeed, there was! Or at least a set of light engines.
A pair of Reading & Northern SD40-2s came up to the station and stopped, almost directly opposite our table. The crew changed ends, waited for the southward signal to clear, and then proceeeded into the Tamaqua Yard.
That worked out well!
Our meals were delivered, and afterward Kirs ordered dessert as the signal cleared to ‘Approach’.
Yesterday (July 29, 2025), I attended the Roundhouse Groundbreaking ceremony at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.
Work has begun on the long-planned six-stall roundhouse that will be used to house six former Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotives that are in the museum collection.
Museum Director Patrick Morrison led the ceremony with an introductory speech, followed by speeches by several key dignitaries, including former Museum Director David Dunn who, many years ago, got the ball rolling for the roundhouse construction.
Afterwards the assembled group was invited outside to see the site for the new structure and to ceremonial move some earth. I missed the earth moving as I was chatting with other guests, but I did make a few photos of the gilded shovels and other proceedings.
It was a landmark day in Pennsylvania railroad preservation! (Capital ‘R’ optional on ‘railroad’).
We were hundreds of feet below ground on the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour. We were led by John, our guide, and much of the tour was conducted on foot through the maze of subterrainian tunnels. We had ample opportunity to inspect the old mine and learn about the perils of anthracite mining.
I made all of these photos hand-held using my Nikon Z7-II with the ISO set at 8000 to 12,800 ISO.
Although shadows and highlights have been adjusted in these image, the files are converted directly from the camera RAW images, and not processed using PureRaw. At some point I will convert a few images using this advanced processing software for comparision.
It was a bright morning in Scranton, and I thought there was no better time to make sunlit photos of the old Delaware, Lackawanna & Western station than at first light.
This is now the Radisson’s Lackawanna Station Hotel, and we were staying on the 6th floor in the room behind the clock.
I grabbed my Nikon Z7-II, and I walked around the street-side of the classic Kenneth Murchison building making photos from various angles.
No Phoebe Snow this day and we weren’t ‘off to Buffalo,’ yet this classic old building still feels, looks, and even smells like a traditional railroad station.
One of the great things about Steamtown in Scranton, Pa., is that admission is free.
Last week, Kris and I arrived shortly after the park opened and spent several hours wandering around. There’s a lot to see and I hadn’t visited inside the museum in a number of years.
I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II and performed post processing using Adobe Lightroom. I’ve lightened shadows, reduced contrast and warmed the images as required for improved presentation.
I work with different cameras to make various types of photos.
For this post I’m displaying a few photos made with my Panasonic Lumix LX-7 of the Radisson Lackawanna Hotel in Scranton. Using the Lumix lent to a distinct view point and the photos exposed offer an alternative to those that I previously made of the same building with my Nikon Z7-II.
These are not better or worse, just different.
Playing with myriad camera systems allows for a continued exploration of familiar subjects.
On July 14th an intense thunderstorm dumped between five and seven inches of rain between Mt Joy and Manheim, Pa.
The next day after the storms had ended, Kris and I had some errands and went up to take a look at Norfolk Southern’s Lititz Secondary where we found several roads closed and others flooded.
I made a few survey photos of the standing water using my Lumix LX7.
Back in the winter of 1985, I was delighted to have photographed a Delaware & Hudson Alco RS-3 working at Colonie Shops in Watervliet, New York. My only regret was that I made all of my photos using black & white film.
Last week on our visit to Scranton, we had the fortuity to witness a local freight operated by Delaware-Lackawanna (a Genesee Valley Transportation short line). This featured a pair of antique Alco diesels including a former D&H RS-3 recently repainted into the classic lightning stripe livery.
I made these digital photos of the American classic as it switched the former Lackawanna yard adjacent to the Steamtown complex. I also exposed a few 35mm color slides (but no black & white views).
I never would have imagined back in 1985 that a Delaware & Hudson RS-3 would still be working in revenue freight service forty years later! Today, I wonder if any of the diesels working today will still be in service in another 40 years.
It was a blistering hot afternoon when we exited the Steamtown Mall on the elevated footbridge that offers views of the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western shops and yards that are now part of the Steamtown complex at Scranton, Pa.
Below us was a selection of Central Railroad of New Jersey passenger cars, DL&W multiple units, various cabooses and sad looking freight cars, plus a Reading Company RS-3, some F3s masquerading as a set of Lackawanna units, a few old steam locomotives, and a Leslie rotary plow.
As I was making studies of the museum’s antiques, we heard the unmistakable chortling sound of an Alco 244 diesel . . .
On our way to Scranton, Kris and I stopped at Tamaqua, Pa., for lunch at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant.
I was pleased to see that the article I wrote for Trains Magazine last year that features the restaurant had been laminated and displayed for visitors to enjoy.
This former Reading Company station has great atmosphere and offers a great menu selection. Kris didn’t have the opportunity to sample the desserts on this visit, so we agreed to return soon.
On our January 2009 visit to Trebusice, Czech Republic, several freights passed, led by classic CD 122 and 123 electric locomotives. In addition, we saw these locomotives coming and going to collect empty and loaded coal trains from nearby yards.
This added a little bit of color to a monochromatic environment.
Photos exposed on Fujichrome using a Canon EOS-3.
The original images were scanned using a Nikon LS5000 slide scanner and the TIF files were processed in Adobe Lightroom to improve color and contrast.
Last week Kris, Seamus and I took a drive to Peach Bottom, Pa. This is among the river towns along the Susquehanna River with photographic opportunites of Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch.
We investigated several places with views of the river and I made these photos with my Nikon.
Exploration is part of the fun and part of my process. Perhaps someday we will get lucky and catch a train passing Peach Bottom.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian & Kris are on holidays.
Long ago I noted that there seems to be an inverse ratio regarding railroads with traffic and those passing bucolic photogenic scenery. With a few notable exceptions, the rule is simple: pretty places require lots of patience or great fortuity; while grim, dire venues often benefit from a concentration of traffic.
Rural Vermont: pretty and pretty quiet. Industrial overbuilt northern Indiana: bustling with trains seemingly on the move at every bend in the line.
It was a cool, gray afternoon in January 2009 when Denis McCabe, Tim Doherty, and I visited Trebusice in western Czech Republic (Czechia). Here we found an intensively utilized multiple track electrified line surrounded by strip mines, yards, and heavy industry.
The place was crawling with trains, and correspondingly bleak.
Fascinating, yet apocalyptic. Photogenic because of its exceptional severity.
I exposed a roll of Fujichrome using a Canon EOS 7D. Monday, I scanned a few of the slides. Did I also expose some Kodak Tri-X? I should have. Gray was the operative color. I’ve included a few images here. More to follow in the coming days.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian & Kris are on holidays.
We paused at Blackhorse Road to roll by Strasburg Rail Road’s evening train. I’ve made countless photos from Blackhorse and the adjacent Carpenters Cemetery, so I thought I’d try something a little different.
As engine 89 approached the crossing, I took a position in the graveyard. To make my photo, I adjusted the flexible rear display on my Nikon Z7-II, and held the camera at arm’s length over my head to gain some needed elevation.
Although, I was able to frame up my composition, I found it difficult to keep the camera level. Ultimately, I straightened the image in post processing, which also included adjustments to contrast, exposure and saturation.
I can’t complain about the car in the photo; it’s ours!
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian & Kris are on holidays.
Hazy midday summer sun presents difficult lighting for photographing trains on the move.
The overall light quality is flat, yet shadow areas are muddy and indistinct. This especially challenging on the underside of equipment and tree leaves.
The other day at Amos Herr Park in Landisville, Pa., I photographed Amtrak’s eastward Pennsylvanian. Moments before it came into view, a small fuzzy cloud dulled the already dull light.
The simple solution to this problem is to avoid photographing in midday summer light.
In this instance, I am seeking a post-processing solution to mitigate the problem and help produce a better image.
Below is a sequence of images. The first is the scaled, but otherwise unmodfied NEF Raw file. Next is my first attempt at adjusting color, contrast and exposure in an effort to improve the overall appearance of the photo. I wasn’t satisfied with this effort, so for my next attempt I converted the image to black & white and then selectively adjusted contrast and exposure.
In the final image, I manually reintroduced color to the photo, carefully controlling saturdation and luminance for specific parts of the spectrum using the Lightroom slider controls. Although imperfect, this allowed me to control the amount and intensity of color in defined areas of the image. If it looks a bit artificial that’s because it is! This is the product my controlling AI technology to colorize the image using information stored in the original file. It is not organic or natural.
Unmodified NEF RAW file.Adjusted NEF RAW file using slider controls to modify color balance, color temperature, contrast and exposure, with a mask on the sky to make specific adjustments.File converted to monochrome and with significant adjustment to contrast and exposure.This is the product my controlling AI technology to colorize the above monochrome image using information stored in the original file.
On July 13, 2014, I visited Palmer, Massachusetts to try to make photos with trains and the rising full moon.
At the time I was working with my Canon EOS7D and a 100-400mm Canon zoom lens.
With the camera firmly mounted on a tripod, I exposed this photograph near milepost 83. It was a relatively long exposure (2/5ths of a second) using ISO1000 and a 190mm focal length.
This image vexed me. It is nearly there, but the moon is overexposed and the headlight is too bright.
Last night, I imported the Canon CR-2 RAW file into PureRaw for correction and conversion into DNG format. Then I imported the DNG into Lightroom for adjustment.
The processed photo is better than the unconverted image, but it’s still lacking. I wonder if using my modern Nikon Z cameras and PureRaw processing if I could have overcome some of the flaws inherent with this photo?
Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the first round of image adjustement using LightroomLightroom work window reflecting the first round of corrections and original metadata.Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the second round of corrections.Adobe Lightroom workwindow showing the changes to create the PureRaw converted image with second round of corrections
Tracking the Light examines the process of Railroad Photography Daily!
Yesterday evening, Kris, Seamus, and I paused at Leaman Place in Paradise to roll by Amtrak Keystone 649 that was racing toward its Lancaster, Pa., station stop.
The light was perfect. Clear sky with rich low sun.
Often at Leaman Place, I’ve used a telephoto lens. But yesterday, after experimenting with several moderate focal lengths, I settled on a wideangle view made with my 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom. I set the lens to 27mm. My shutter speed was 1/1600. This nicely stopped the train.
I was impressed by the freshly painted Amfleet cars in the consist. These wore Amtrak’s latest Phase VII scheme. Only after I downloaded and examined these photos did I notice that this was a short consist. Keystone trains are typcially five cars, this one was only four.
At 3:43pm on April 13, 2025, I exposed this single Ektachrome 100 color slide of Amtrak’s westward Pennsylvanian passing Underpass Lane in Mexico, Pa.
The camera was fitted with a Nikkor f2.0 35mm lens, which has long been one of my favorite lenses. I don’t use it often, but it rarely lets me down.
I scanned the slide using an LS-5000 Nikon slide scanner powered by VueScan software. Below are two versions of the same scan. The top is the scaled, but un-modified version, the second is following post processing adjustments improve appearance.
One of the challenges with the Word Press platform that presents Tracking the Light is that the photo files get compressed. This tends to minimize the subtle changes I make to files during processing. Unfortunately, I don’t have any control over this effect on the Word Press presentation.
Scan prior to post processing adjustments.Adjusted image improved using Adobe Lightroom to alter shadows, highlights, contrast, saturation and sharpness.
In the mid-1980s, I’d have a Leica rangefinder loaded with Kodachrome and my father’s Rolleiflex Model T with 120-size Verichrome Pan black & white negative film.
In the 1990s, it was multiple Nikons with slide film with various ISO sensitivity.
During the early 2000s, I worked with a Contax G2 rangefinder for wideangle photos and Nikons for telephoto views—all loaded with 100 speed Fujichrome.
Today, I carry Nikon mirrorless digital cameras, and occasionally a Lumix or Fujifilm digital camera, while once in while bringing out one of my 1990s-era Nikon F3s loaded with Ektachrome.
Such was the situation at Horseshoe Curve last October.
Here I’ve made two photos of the same westward Norfolk Southern hopper train. The first photo was exposed on E100 Ektachrome using the F3 with f2.0 35mm lens; the second is a digital photograph made with my Nikon Z7-II.
This comparison is about style, rather than image quality. I make different kinds of photos using different equipment and materials. There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. I have both images and they both work for different reasons.
E100 Ektachrome with a Nikon F3 SLR with Nikkor AF f2.0 35mm lensNikon Z7-II mirror-less digital camera with 24-70mm lens. The image has been slightly cropped.
Last October, Kris, Seamus and I chased a westward Norfolk Southern freight on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division from Huntingdon to Tyrone, Pa.
Although I exposed a few digital photos, I’ve been waiting for this image for months.
Yes, I still occasionally expose color slides. However, where I once would shoot several rolls a day, these days it took me almost eight months to work through four rolls of Kodak Ektachrome. Finally, I boxed these up and sent them off to AgX Imaging in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan for E6 processing. https://www.agximaging.com
On Monday, my four boxes of slides were returned to me in good order.
Owing to exceptional selectivity, I had a high ratio of success with the processed photos. A few were disappointing (mostly as the result of underexposure), but there are many very satisfying photos in the selection.
I made this image from the station platform at Tyrone of the NS westward train as it reached the apex of the curve. I was working with a vintage Nikon F3 with f2.0 135mm lens loaded with Ektachrome E100. I scanned the slide using a Nikon LS-5000 slide scanner.
Below are two versions of the scan. The first is the unmodified scan, more or less the way it looked right out of the scanner (converted to JPG and scaled for internet presentation). The second is after some nominal post-processing. More slides to follow!
I store all of my digital image files chronologically.
Typically, I make a monthly file for each camera and download all of the images on a regular basis. When time allows, I assign caption information to the file name. At the end of the month I make copies of the file, which I then store on various types of media.
Ultimately, I make a copy of a year’s worth of digital images and store them on a ‘working hard drive’—a drive that I keep connected to my lap top. The other copies simply get stored as back up. I should have at least three copies of every digital file.
Normally, I avoid erasing files. I’ve learned the perils of erasing images. You just NEVER know when a file will be needed, so I don’t throw them away.
Months ago, I was looking through images from July 2018, and discovered to my chagrin that several hundred image files were missing from my ‘working drive.’
Not a problem, I thought, I’ll just copy them off the back up, and went to locate the correct hard drive. I found the drive and opened the July 2018 file, only to discover the files were not there either!
I transferred the incomplete July 2018 file! While I made four copies of the file, all were missing the last couple of days of photos.
What was especially galling, is that many of these images were on a trip that I’d made with Chris Guss in Northern Indiana, which is not a place I frequent very often. We’d had productive day making images of trains along Norfolk Southern’s former New York Central mainline and of the South Shore on the streets of Michigan City.
Among other trains, we caught an Indiana Harbor Belt freight led by a pair of peculiar looking Gensets that I’ve never seen pictured anywhere, except by my own lenses.
After considerable digging around, I was able to locate three of my missing image files from the July file, but the rest had vanished like ether in bright sun. And, worse, I had no record of the Indiana Harbor Belt photos!
I suspected that I’d moved a group of images for naming but then failed to move them back to the main file before making my copies.
For months this ommission vexed me. I hate losing photos.
Saturday, I unpacked a carton of hard drives from our move last year. I began going through them looking for the missing photos. And finally, I located the complete July 2018 Fuji Digital file. This had all of the missing photos! I’ve since copied the missing images to my various storage drives.
There are lessons here: Be very careful when making backups! Always make at least one copy of everything so that you can find it again. Never assume a specific file exists somewhere else; and always avoid erasing backups and original images.
Some years ago I made a list of three popular places I wanted to visit but had managed to miss in all my travels:
Cape Cod, Niagara Falls, and the Grand Canyon.
Having grown up in Massachusetts, the first location may seem incongruous.
The first place I managed to ‘tick’ on my list was Niagara Falls. Previously, I’d visited the city of Niagara Falls, New York where I’d made numerous railroad photos of the yards and bridges over the gorge. However, I never managed a view of the waterall.
My opportunity arose when I traveling with Pat Yough and Chris Guss in February 2010. We had visited Toronto, and on our way to Buffalo, I asked if we could swing by the waterfall, which we did.
I made this image of the frozen falls from the Canadian side using my Lumix LX3.
Interestingly, several years later I paid a visit to Cape Cod with Pat Yough. Since then, I met Kris who has strong Cape Cod connections, and we were engaged on the Cape in 2021 and now pay annual visits there.
Number 600 is the first of Amtrak’s Siemens Mobility-built ACS-64 electrics. This was named to honor Amtrak president David L. Gunn.
I made this high-speed broadside pan of the class leader as it worked the back of a Keystone train at Atglen, Pa..
I’d set my Nikon Z7-II camera in aperture priority mode and designated the aperture setting at f3.5. This allowed the camera to select the correspodining shutter speed based on the camera’s preselected pattern metering. When I release the shutter, the shutter speed was at 1/800 of a second. (ISO was set to 200)
Owing to the speed of the train, these setting allowed for a slight blurring of the background and foreground, while my panning motion kept the locomotive crisp.
Working with the NEF RAW file, I adjusted the highlight and shadow areas in post processing. I’ve posted two versions below, one is slight brighter with lighter highlights than the other, reflecting nominal changes in post processing settings.
Thursday evening, Kris, Seamus-the-Dog and I went for an evening drive.
The sun set through a rain shower, then the fireflies illuminated the landscape, and as darkness fell a fireworks display colored the night sky on the eve of American Independance Day.
I made this selection of photos using my Nikon Z-series mirrorless digital camera. Even though there’s only one railroad-themed image in this selection, I feel they meet the criteria for ‘Tracking the Light’.
