The other day Pat Yough showed me some examples he made with his digital Nikon of trains glinting in the curve at Madison. Since to emulate this effort, I’d require a longer focal length lens than I have for my FujiFilm X-T1, I opted to fire up my Canon 7D with a 200mm lens, and joined Pat for another evening’s photography on the Shore Line route.
Often I find that by making repeated trips through the same territory will allow me to make the most of my photography. I can learn where the light and shadow fall, how the railroad operates, and how to work with the various elements at hand to make the most effective images. If I miss something or make a mistake on one trip; I learn from it and armed with this knowledge try again.
I made this dramatic glint photo using my Canon EOS 7D with a 200mm lens. The camera’s smaller sensor size contributes to the telescopic effect. If I were using a 35mm film camera, this view would required a lens length of approximately 280mm. [Update; I’ve been given a revised figure of 320mm based upon Canon’s conversion 1.6 factor.]A trailing view of Amtrak’s Boston-bound Acela (train 2168) at the same curve in Madison, Connecticut.
In this situation, I needed a longer lens to make the image work. However since the sun is only sets on the north side of the tracks here for a few weeks, I needed to act while the light was right.
It looks to be Spring of 1979: My parents drove my brother, Sean and me to Springfield (Massachusetts) Union Station to catch Amtrak to New York.
At that time most Amtrak services on the Springfield-Hartford-New Haven run were operated with vintage hand-me-down Budd Rail Diesel Cars, the much loved RDCs.
I always liked the Budd Cars because I could talk our way into a cab-run, which was vastly superior to sitting on the seats.
Bummer about the post; but I made this view from the head-end of another RDC at Springfield Union Station in Spring 1979 (April, I think.)
On this day we were treated to running ‘wrong main’ (against the current of traffic) because of track-work south of Springfield.
Nothing finer than a forward view. The top of Sean’s head is just visible in some this trip’s images. He was only nine at the time. Here we are looking westward at Springfield. Our train will take a hard left before reaching the Connecticut River and follow the former New Haven line toward its namesake.We were running wrong main because of a track gang on the normal southward track.Approaching the Connecticut River bridge between Enfield and Windsor Locks, Connecticut. This span dates to about 1906. Today it has just one track.
At New Haven we changed trains for an electric-hauled run toward New York City. At that time, Amtrak served Rye, New York (rather than New Rochelle as it does today) where our grand parents would collect us. I always hoped for a Pennsy GG1 leading our train from New Haven, but usually had to settle for a boxy General Electric E60.
I made these views from the head-end of the RDC using my Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar lens. The train crews were always friendly and on this day the engineer gave us a detail running commentary about the line, much of which I’ve either forgotten or melded in with my general knowledge of the New Haven Railroad.
Back then all photos were film photos (except for Polaroid, I suppose). If could you make photos like this now with your phone, where do you think you’ll find them in 37 years?
The MBTA platforms at Mansfield, Massachusetts feature modern information displays.
As with many modern signs used by passenger railways these use light emitting diodes (LEDs).
You may have noticed that although LED displays seem clear to the eye, in many instances they do not photograph well and appear in your pictures as random spots rather than full letters and words.
This occurs because many LED systems pulse on and off at a rapid rate. You eye cannot detect this pulsing and so you see a steady light, but when a photograph is made at higher shutter speeds, the exposure may capture an LED during the ‘off’ portion of the pulse sequence.
Since the LEDs may not be synchronized with each other, the result sometimes appears as a random collection of spots (each is an individual LED) or if they are synced the pulse may be coupled with a scanning effect that results wide gaps of LEDs in the ‘off’ portion of the sequence. (Such is the case at Mansfield).
This unfortunate effect is especially pronounced when the message is scrolling laterally.
One effective way to expose images of LED displays is to set your camera to a slower shutter speed. This will allow the shutter to stay open for a full pulse cycle.
I’ve found that shutter settings of 1/60th of a second or less will usually work effectively. (It helps to test this, as display pulse rates vary).
Below is a sequence of images that I made at various shutter speeds to demonstrate the effectiveness of slower shutter speeds in regards to the LED display. In each situation I’ve used an equivalent shutter speed/aperture combinations to allow for uniform exposure between images.
Exposed at 1/250th of a second. Notice the black line as the result of high frequency on-off pulse combined with a scan effect.At 1/125th of a second the effect is less pronounced but still annoying. Please note that the bottom part of the message is scrolling from left to right.1/60th of a second works well in this instance.This final view was exposed at 1/30th of a second during an interval when the scrolling bottom line of the message was not displayed.
In this instance the MBTA train was stationary as it discharged passengers.
Obviously, using slow shutter speeds with rapidly moving trains will present other problems. No solution is perfect.
On June 25, 1986 at 7:18 am, a trio of Amtrak AEM-7s lead the Southward Montrealer (Montreal, Quebec to Washington D.C.) over Metro-North at South Norwalk.
My pal, T.S.H. and I were trackside from 6:50 am. Our primary objective was to catch the venerable former New Haven Railroad FL9s on the move.
Three AEM-7 electrics lead Amtrak’s Montrealer. All pantographs are up. Now, how cool is that?Exposed on June 25th 1986 using a Rolleiflex Model T with Zeiss 75mm Tessar lens, loaded with Kodak 6043 (120 size Tri-X); f5.6-f8 (f6.3) 1/500th of a second. Processed in D76.The Budd-built Heritage Fleet always looked nice behind the AEM-7s.
The late running Montrealer was an added bonus. We knew this as ‘The Bootlegger’—a prohibition-era term relating to the train’s cross-border activities.
Today, this photograph seems doubly appropriate because Amtrak’s AEM-7s made their farewell trip just a week ago.
After reviewing my black & white negatives from the 1980s, I decided it would be productive to use my old camera for some modern photography. So over the last couple of weeks I’ve exposed several rolls of 35mm film and processed them in the darkroom.
Last week I made use of my old Leica 3A at Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
While the passing trains were the primary subject; it was the fleecy cotton-candy sky that really caught my attention.
Successful black & white photography often makes use of texture and contrast. Here the sky worked well.
A New York bound Amtrak High Speed Train (working as an Acela service) blitzes the station at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Exposed with a 21mm f4.0 Super Angulon. I exposed for the sky, while allowing other elements of the scene to remain in relative shadow.Sometimes wires are a nuisance; here they are integral park of the scene. Also rather than emphasize deep rich shadows, I’ve exposed for the sky to allow this textured area to draw the eye. Old Saybrook, Connecticut.Amtrak ACS-64 600 David Gunn pauses at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Here I’ve used a Nikkor 35mm lens on my old Leica. Notice how this lens treats the contrast of the scene. Every lens is different, and choosing the best lens for the circumstance is more than merely selecting the desired focal length.
These images were exposed using Fuji Acros 100 negative film; processed in Kodak HC-110 at 1:32 (with water) for 4 minutes 30 seconds with continuous agitation.
Final image processing was done following scanning with Lightroom.
[Click the link to Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light for the full effect!]
The long days of June offer distinct lighting. In the morning the sun rises earlier and further north than the other times of the year, and this makes for photographic opportunity if you know where to look.
These days much of the Boston & Albany route east of Palmer is a tree tunnel, but West Warren has a nice vista with characteristic 19th century New England mill buildings complete with a mill-dam on the Quaboag River.
As long as I’ve been making photos on the old Boston & Albany mainline, there’s been a westward intermodal train that passes through the Quaboag Valley early in the morning.
In Conrail times it was symbol TV9 (TV=Trailvan; Boston to Chicago). With the transition to CSX operations this became Q119. Now with revised intermodal terminals and changes to train symbols, I think this morning train carries the Q019 symbol (which runs from Worcester, Massachusetts since the closure of Boston’s Beacon Park yard a few years ago).
Sunrise at West Warren, Massachusetts. CSX’s Q-019 has just entered the scene. For me the mist on the river adds a delicious element. June 2016.
In the 1990s, I’d identified West Warren as a place to catch this train on the long days; where the sun rises on the north side of the tracks for about 10-20 minutes. This only occurs over a span of about three weeks, and provides the backlit glint effect that offers a distinct view at this classic location.
The other day, all the pieces came together. The weather was perfect; I was in place at my location with cameras at the ready at the moment the sun illuminated the north-side of the tracks; and CSX’s westward intermodal train passed at precisely the right moment.
Exposed using a FujiFilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens and graduated neutral density filter to hold sky detail.
On June 15, 2016, I posted two views of Pan Am Railway’s leased Slug Set working in East Deerfield hump service and paused on the Connecticut River Bridge east of the yard.
I asked readers to voice an opinion on their preferred image, while explaining that one was exposed on black & white film the traditional way and the other exposed digitally as a monochrome image.
I’ve weighed the comments, email and Facebook messages and found that the response was more or less evenly split, with a slight leaning to the top image (film). One respondent voiced a dislike of both images (see comments).
Below are the two vertical images with details of how they were made.
Number 1; exposed on Ilford HP5 black & white negative film using a Leica 3A with Nikkor 35mm lens. Processed in Kodak HC110 developer.Number 2. This digital image was made using my FujiFilm X-T1 in a monochrome mode. I altered the output through the addition of a digital ‘red’ filter, that slightly darkened the green and blue areas of the image including the locomotive on the bridge. This adjustment was made in-camera, not in post processing.
Both images were scaled for internet presentation using Lightroom.
Madison, Connecticut: until June 2016, I’d never made a photo there in my life, and as it turns out I was there twice inside of a week.
This isn’t really a coincidence; having scoped the location on June 7th, I returned a few days later to make the most of light on the long days.
I exposed these views from the Shore Line East station of Amtrak’s westward (southward) Acela train 2173 flying along the former New Haven Railroad Shoreline route.
For this angle, I employed my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with a Zeiss 12mm Tuoit and a graduated neutral density filter (to retain sky detail). My shutter speed was 1/1000th of a second.
I had the motor drive set on ‘CH’ (continuous high), a setting I descriptively call ‘turbo flutter.’ This automatically exposes a burst of images in rapid succession.
Normally there’s only nominal differences between the frames, but in this situation the train’s rapid motion combined with my super-wide angle perspective resulted in considerable changes in the relative placement of the head-end.
Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.Amtrak Acela 2173 at Madison, Connecticut.
Also, as it turns out, 1/1000th isn’t fast enough to stop the action. Maybe next time I’ll try 1/2000th.
I was on my way to New London, Connecticut in late 1996 when I first learned of the news that CSX was to make a bid for Conrail.
It was a big surprise to most observers. Ultimately CSX and Norfolk Southern divided Conrail.
Armed with the knowledge of Conrail’s pending split, I made many images to document the final months of Conrail operations.
Step back a decade: In the mid-1980s, I’d photographed the end of traditional double track operations on Conrail’s Boston & Albany line.
Long rumored, the B&A’s conversion from directional double-track (251-territory) to a single-main track with Centralized Traffic Control-style dispatcher controlled signaling and cab signals began in late 1985. It was largely complete three years later.
A year or so before the work began, I was sitting in an engine cab and a Conrail crewman pointed out to me that the railroad had re-laid one main track with continuous welded rail while the other line remained jointed.
“See that jointed track, that’s the line they’re going rip up. Better get your pictures kid.”
Sound advice. And I took it to heart. By anticipating the coming changes, I made many prized photographs of the old order—before the work began.
I continued to photograph while the work was in progress, but that’s not my point.
Conrail’s C30-7A and C32-8 diesels roll east with tonnage at milepost 84 in Monson, Massachusetts. In this view, I’m looking toward the Palmer diamond, and in the distance we can see Central Vermont cars for interchange. This was mid-1986. At this stage Conrail was still operating the B&A as a traditional directional-double track railroad, much the way it had been operated for decades. Yet, it was only a matter of weeks before the old westward main (seen here with jointed rail) would be removed from service. . By anticipating the changes to the railroad, I could emphasize the elements soon to change; the westward jointed track and the code lines. However, other more subtle changes also resulted. Without the old signals, the code lines came down, and the bushes and trees grew in their place.
Having observed New England railroading for the better part of four decades, I again have a sense that change is in the works for railways in the region.
Will today’s operators remain as they are for long? Will traffic soon find new paths and may some lines—now active—dry up? Will those antique locomotives, more than four decades on the roll soon be sent for scrap? Those are the questions we should think about. Take nothing for granted and keep a sharp eye for images.
While, my crystal ball remains clouded, I’ve learned not to wait for the big announcement. I hate standing in lines to get my photos or realizing I missed an opportunity when the time was ripe. Act now and stay tuned.
Tracking the Light Offers Insight and Stories Daily.
Ok, how about then and when? (click on the link to Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light to see the modern view).
These photos were exposed 28 years apart from essentially the same place in West Warren, Massachusetts.
One view was made of an eastward Conrail freight in March of 1984; the other of an CSX freight at almost the same spot on November 15, 2012.
In both situations I opted to leave the train in the distance and take in the scene.
Conrail eastward freight grinds upgrade on a dull March 1984 morning. Exposed on black & white film using a Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar lens.CSX Q264 (carrying auto racks for delivery in East Brookfield, Massachusetts). Exposed on the morning of November 15, 2012 using a Lumix LX3 with Leica Vario-Summicron lens.
Over the years I’ve worked this vantage point with a variety of lenses, but I’ve chosen to display these two images to show how the scene has changed over the years.
In the 1984 view notice the code lines (the ‘telegraph poles’) to the left of the train and the scruffy trees between the railroad and the road. Also in 1984, the line was 251-territory (directional double track).
It was my second visit to Eagle Bridge, New York inside a week.
On this visit, We’d driven here on spec looking for Pan Am’s EDRJ (East Deerfield to Rotterdam Junction). No luck with that this time, but on arrival I’d noted that there were loaded grain cars on the interchange for the Battenkill Railroad.
So what?
Well, the Battenkill is known to run on weekdays; this was a Friday, its interchange had been delivered, but as of 1:30pm the Battenkill hadn’t come down to collect it yet.
The Battenkill’s primary attraction is its continued operation of vintage Alco RS-3 diesels. While the RS-3 was among the most common types built in the 1950s, only a scant few survive in traffic today outside of museums. (Perhaps a reader can supply a list?).
Photographer Paul Goewey, who was traveling with me, looked up the Battenkill’s radio information on his smart phone.
“We’ll go up the line and see if we can find the BK.”
So we drove ten yards and over the grade crossing near the old station and . . .
“There he is!”
That was easy, now wasn’t it?
Battenkill’s old RS-3 chortles its way up the interchange tracks. On the right is the old Boston & Maine station at Eagle Bridge, New York. Exposed on Ilford HP5 using a Leica 3A with Nikkor 35mm lens. Film processed using a two bath HC110 developer mix in a Jobo processing machine.Digital image at Eagle Bridge exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens.Battenkill collects part of its interchange. The B&M station is directly at my back.Alco diesels are famous for their exhaust. Note the nicely tamped track.Looks like someone came prepared for the day! I exposed this with my Leica 3A on HP5 (processed as described above. By using a two bath developer I was able to optimize the film’s shadow and highlight detail).Battenkill’s former Delaware & Hudson RS-3 is still lettered for the Greenwich & Johnsonville, a shoreline that operated the route prior to Battenkill.I thought I’d try a low angle.Now there’s some Alco exhaust!
Battenkill runs as required but Tracking the Light Runs Daily.
It was Spring 1984 when I made this black & white photo of Conrail’s SEBO-B climbing east through Warren, Massachusetts.
Until a couple of day’s ago, this negative was lost and unprinted, part of a group of Conrail negatives on the Boston & Albany.
When I first relocated these images after 32 years, I was puzzled.
What had happened and Why?
Then I remember the situation: I’d messed up the processing of the negatives at the time and I was disgusted with the results. And, so I’d put the negatives away in a general file, where they were mostly mixed in with similar outtakes from my High School yearbook collection (I was a sort of unofficial class photographer.)
In 1984, I’d typically use Kodak Microdol-X as my black & white developer, aiming to work with this solution at 68 degrees F.
To mix the solution from powdered form, I’d have to bring the temperature up to about 120 degrees F, then let it cool (often in glass bottles soaking in ice water).
I must have been in a hurry, and in this instance, I’d failed to allow the developer to cool properly. When I processed the negatives the solution was still over 80 degrees F. Worse, the rest of my chemistry was still at 68 degrees.
The result was that my photos were grossly over processed, but since the developer was highly active, it affected highlights and shadow areas differently. This provided much greater shadow detail to highlight detail than I’d normally expect.
Also, the shock to the emulsion when I dropped the hot film into relatively cool stop bath solution caused it to reticulate.
Reticulated emulsion results in grain clumping that lowers the sharpness, produces a ‘halo-effect’, and creates a speckled and uneven grain pattern that is most noticeable in even areas such as the sky.
Since the negatives received much greater development than usual, they are very dense, and back in my day printing photos in the family kitchen, were effectively unprintable.
This enlargement of the front of the engine shows the effects of reticulated grain structure. When processed as intended Kodak Tri-X can deliver a relatively fine and even grain structure. Here we have a mottled speckled structure caused by shock from a very hot developer followed by the cool stop bath.
With modern digital scanning and post processing techniques, I was able to overcome difficulties with the density and contrast.
In the Spring of 1984 (second week of May based on the freshly leafing trees) I made this early evening image of Conrail’s SEBO-B working east through Warren, Massachusetts on the B&A route. (SEBO = Selkirk to Boston).
I find the end result pictorial. Perhaps, it’s not an accurate rendition of the scene, but pleasing to the eye none-the-less.
I’m just happy I didn’t throw these negatives away. After all, Conrail SD40-2s were common, and I had plenty of opportunities to photograph freights on the B&A.
I exposed this view at Dublin Connolly Station in April 1998 using a Nikon F2 fitted with a Nikkor f2.8 135mm lens and loaded with Ilford HP5 black & white negative film.
Ilford HP5 is a 400 ISO emulsion. I processed this roll in Kodak D76 1:1 with water. Today, I still occasionally use HP5, but now I’d opt to process it in HC110, which I find gives it a broader tonality and softer grain. This image was scanned from the original 35mm negative using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner and then adjusted using Lightroom.
The day was a characteristically bright overcast, a typically Irish day with lighting well suited to Ilford black & white.
Tracking the Light posts every day; sometimes twice!
June 10, 2016 was a perfect Spring day. Cool, clear, and sunny.
I made a project of following the Housatonic Railroad’s line up its namesake valley from Canaan, Connecticut toward Pittsfield.
Over the years I’d explored parts of this line, but never put all the pieces together.
So, with the northward freight on its way, and fellow photographer Paul Goewey in the navigator’s seat, I arrived at Housatonic in time to make a few photographs.
Contrast Control
Often, even in nearly ideal lighting conditions, it is necessary to make contrast adjustments to digital files.
You never adjusted contrast with color slides, why is this now necessary?
With slides, what you saw was what you got. The only means of adjusting the slide was through the degree of exposure or in filtration (to adjust color etc). The means was imperfect, yet as photographers we grew to accept the results and refine our technique.
Such was never the case with black & white negatives. The negative was only one step in making the photograph, and in the course of printing, contrast adjustment was part of the process.
A digital RAW file is kin to a black & white negative in that both the RAW and the negative are a work in progress; or can be viewed as a step towards an end result.
With these photos, I made some simple changes in post-processing using Lightroom.
Specifically, on the telephoto view I made the following adjustments by manipulating the slider controls (the numbers indicate the amount of change as indicated by the slider) I brought down the highlights (-21) and lightened the shadows (+36), while making nominal adjustments to clarity and saturation sliders.
All my changes were made globally (to the entire file).
Telephoto view of Housatonic Railroad’s northward freight NX-12 at Housatonic. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
These adjustments were intended to improve presentation on the computer screen.
That is on my screen. I can’t anticipate how they will look on your screen.
Significantly, while I make these changes for presentation, I never alter my original files. Just like back in the day when after making prints I’d file the negatives in archival sleeves. I now store the un-modified RAW files on multiple hard drives. You never know when you might need to return to the original photograph.
Wide angle view at Housatonic. This image was exposed at precisely the same location as the telephoto view above. Here I’ve made a greater change to the shadow areas than with the telephoto view. I felt that the contrast was too harsh and the shadows too inky for the situation. That’s my call. Another photographer might opt to leave them as is.
The long days make for photographic opportunity. While modern digital cameras have the ability to capture scenes previously out of reach with film. Yet, sometimes there’s still work to be done after the fact.
The other day, Pat Yough and I were exploring locations along Amtrak’s former New Haven Shoreline at Madison, Connecticut.
“Headlight!”
“It’s the Acela.”
Working with my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with a 27mm pancake lens, I had very little time to prepare for my image.
However, the colors of the evening sky attracted my attention and I knew I needed to use a relatively fast shutter speed to stop the action. I set the ISO to 6400, which allowed me to use a 1/500th of second shutter speed at f3.2.
(I set my camera manually.)
While the front of the Acela was exposed more or less as I’d hoped, the sky detail was washed out.
Later, using Lightroom for post processing, I was quickly able to produce three variations of the original image that brought back sky detail.
Admittedly the original file isn’t the sharpest image. But, I find one the great benefits of the digital medium is the ability to go back to the camera RAW file and adjust color and contrast sliders to make for a more pleasing final photograph.
Which of the four photos is your favorite?
This image was made from the unmodified RAW file. RAW represents the data captured by the camera. However, often there is greater detail in the file than is immediately evident.First adjusted variation. Using Lightroom, I inserted a digital graduated filter to bring in sky detail and improve color saturation, while making over all adjustments to contrast. I also cropped the image slightly to minimize the intrusive visual elements on the left.Second adjusted variation: My overall work was similar to the first adjusted image (above) except I lightened the shadow areas. This is an interesting example of an illustration, but doesn’t really convey how the scene appeared to me at the time of exposure: the trees to the right of the Acela were pretty dark. In other words I’ve over compensated in my interpretation. It does show the level of information captured by the camera.Third adjusted variation. Instead of using a graduated filter, as with the first two adjusted images, I made all my changes globally (in other words equally to the whole image area). I brought down the highlights, darkened the overall exposure, while nominally lightened the shadow regions to keep them from becoming too dark. I ever so slightly boosted the saturation. While a little darker than the other images, this was is closest to what I saw at the scene. (Also, notice that I’ve run this image full frame without cropping).
Tracking the Lightdisplays new imageseachand every day!
Many photographers typically expose from a standing position, and in many instances this provides a suitable vantage point.
Yet, in some circumstances your natural standing height may not give you the optimal viewpoint.
I’m not talking about gaining elevation; that’s a topic for another day.
Sometimes making a small adjustment, by lowering the height of your camera can make for a noticeably different photograph.
Both images below were exposed the other day from the Shore Line East high-level platform at Westbrook, Connecticut. I was using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera fitted with a 27mm pancake lens. This is a fixed focal length lens, rather than a zoom. My exposure and nominal post-processing adjustment were the same in both images.
The first was made from my normal standing position.
The second was made from the same basic angle to the train, but from about a foot lower down.
I was able to improve on this image by lowering the position of my camera by about a foot (see below).
I was especially troubled by the hooks of the platform lamps on the far side of the cars that makes for an incongruous shapes. These add nothing of value to the image, and could easily be mistaken for some appendage atop the cars.
Although very similar; this photo offers a cleaner perspective that is free from some of the distracting elements that detract from the photo above.
Notice the relationship of the NH herald, and more importantly the change to the distracting elements above and beyond the passenger cars.
Try this technique for yourself.
Use the opportunity offered by a paused train to expose several images from slightly different angles by making small changes in elevation. Pay careful attention to foreground and background elements as well as window reflections.
Tracking the Light displays new material every day.
On 30 April 2002, I found myself in Dresden and perishing low on film.
I’d been photographing in Poland and Slovakia for the better part of two weeks and underestimated how many photos I’d make. (Those who know me well, will recall this being a common occurrence on big trips).
Anyway, I’d found a shop with some black & white film, and exposed a roll of HP5 using my Nikon N90S, (trying to stretch out what little slide film I had left), and making parsimonious use of my 120 film.
This had me in a knot, as Dresden is a visually fascinating place, and I was seeing images everywhere I looked!
When I got back to Dublin, I processed the roll of HP5 in ID11 (Ilford’s relative equivalent to Kodak’s D76) and sleeved it, but I never got around to making prints.
The other day (May 2016), I was searching for some German tram photos, when I rediscovered this roll mixed in with a host of other unprinted B&W negatives from the mid-2000s.
A preserved four-wheel tram grinds along in Dresden on 30 April 2002. I exposed this image using a Nikon N90S with 24mm lens on Ilford HP5 black & white negative film. I used a deep red filter to adjust contrast. The other day I scanned it using an Epson V600 and then adjusted the file using Lightroom to tweak shadow detail, improve sky contrast, and eliminate some unwanted dust specs.
What immediately caught my eye was this silhouetted image of a preserved four-wheel tram. Searching the internet, I can conclude this is a museum car operated by the StrassenbahnmuseumDresden.
Let’s gaze back in time; 30 plus years ago I was a young enthusiastic photographer with a 35mm Leica rangefinder. I was fascinated by the Boston & Maine, operated by Guilford Transportation Industries (as Pan Am Railways was then known).
B&M’s quaint operations, traditional signals, and antique General Motors diesels had a real appeal. Back then I focused on catching the EMD GP7s, GP9s, and GP18s, plus EMD switchers and run-through Delaware & Hudson Alco C-420s and C-424s.
I made hundreds of images trackside in those days.
On June 4, 2016, I picked up my old Leica, as I do from time to time, and loaded it with Ilford HP5 (often my choice film back in the day) and headed for Pan Am Railway’s East Deerfield yard before dawn, (as I have since I learned to drive 33 years ago).
Antiques still run the rails on Pan Am.
Pan Am Railways’ SD40-2s at East Deerfield Yard on the morning of June 4, 2016.A real rare pair in 2016; back to back high-hood GP40s. How sweet is that? This is Pan Am’s EDRJ (East Deerfield to Rotterdam Junction).
As the EDRJ was getting its train together the morning fog began to burn off. Cosmic light.
My lens of choice has a long history.
In the 1970s and very early 1980s, I’d often photograph with a Nikon 35mm wide angle made with a Leica screw-mount.
This lens had gone missing for decades and only recently re-emerged. In the interval it had seized up (as old equipment does when the lubrication dries out). My dad sent it for servicing and its now back in our arsenal of working photographic equipment.
Good lenses are relatively common these days. Most off the shelf digital cameras have pretty good optics compared with many consumer-grade film cameras of yesteryear.
But, truly great lenses remain hard to find.
This Nikon 35mm is a great lens. Not only is it sharp, lightweight and compact, but it has a distinctive optical quality that is rarely found with modern lenses. In short it has ‘that look.’ (look at the photos).
Pan Am’s EDRJ roars upgrade through Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts passing an old Boston PCC streetcar that resides at the Trolley Museum. I used to ride these cars on the Riverside Line in the early 1970s.
After exposing my film, I processed it with the aid of a Jobo film processor to my own custom formula.
Basically, I used a twin bath developer of Kodak HC110 with constant agitation at 71 degrees F for 4 minutes, 15 seconds. Stopbath for 30 seconds; twin bath fixer; rinse; permawash; and final wash. Negs were scanned as TIF files using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner at 3200 dpi . Nominal contrast adjustment was necessary with Lightroom.
Undoubtedly, someone will ask, ‘but isn’t that a lot of work?’
Yes, it is.
And, ‘Couldn’t you just convert your digital files to black & white?’
You could, yes.
And, so I ask, ‘do you have any favorites here?’
With a roar of 645 diesels and a cosmic cloud of exhaust, EDRJ approaches the east portal of the famed Hoosac Tunnel on the morning of June 4, 2016.North Adams, Massachusetts.The trees are taller at Eagle Bridge, but this station looks today much as it has looked for at least three decades. I’ve feature this in my book; Railway Depots, Stations and Terminals.Eagle Bridge, New York, the old Boston & Maine station is a relic of former times.Railroading gone retro! Hooray! Ilford HP5; f8 1/200th of a second.
I’ve said it before, I’ll write it again: If you don’t make the effort, you won’t get any photographs.
Yet, there have been many times where I’ve driven up the valley of the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts and was rewarded with only pleasant weather and fine scenery; not a bad thing, but . . .
On the morning of May 28, 2016, an early start allowed me to catch five trains between East Deerfield Yard and the Hoosac Tunnel.
My familiarity with this railroad and the terrain gave me the insights to act, while some clever driving allowed me to make the most of the opportunities that the railroad provided.
It helped to have fine Spring weather, which aided in creation of some satisfying images.
An empty auto rack train was tied down on the siding between Soapstone and East Portal. I exposed this view using my Lumix LX7 with the HDR setting that combines three images exposed in rapid succession and combines them. HDR infers ‘high dynamic range’, which is one tool available to digital photographers for working in high-contrast situations..The East Portal of the famed Hoosac Tunnel.I heard a whistle deep in the valley to the east. Curiously, this was a second empty auto rack train that was overtaking the train I’d photographed earlier. In the lead was Norfolk Southern SD60E 6900 which features a modern variation of the Safety cab. Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 at East Portal.I exposed this grab shot of NS SD60E 6900 as it roared by, moment before it entered the gloom of the tunnel. I adjusted the contrast in post-processing to make for a more pleasing image. Notice the profile of the locomotive cab. Panasonic LX7 Photo.An eastward freight approaches East Portal.Once a week, Pan Am has run a unit clay slurry train from the connection with Vermont Rail System at North Bennington/Hoosick Falls to Portland, Maine (symbol NBPO). This day it was later than usual. (So I’m told).Pan Am 617 leads the clay slurry train eastward at Charlemont, Massachusetts. Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1.While waiting for the clay slurry train at Shelburne Falls, I was delighted to catch this westward move, Norfolk Southern symbol 11R that runs from East Deerfield to Enola, Pennsylvania.Trailing view of Norfolk Southern DASH9-40C 9258 at Shelburne Falls.I was looking for long sections of tangent track to best feature the effect of the clay slurry train which carries white tank cars full of clay used in the paper making process. Here I photographed it a Shelburne Falls (Buckland). That’s the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum at the right.
Norfolk Southern 11R was held at Buckland. The next siding to the west (Soapstone-East Portal) was occupied by an empty auto rack train. The only eastward freight I’d seen was the once-per-week clay slurry train. ‘Do the math’ as they say; there must be another eastward freight! So I drove as fast as I could (within legal parameters) back up to the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel. I arrived about three minutes before Norfolk Southern 28N (loaded auto racks) exited the mountain. Not bad for one morning’s effort! (PS, it isn’t always this busy).
Continuing with yesterday’s theme of change on the Fitchburg Route, these photos were made on an exploration of recent investment along the old Boston & Maine line between Gardner and Ayer, Massachusetts.
In earlier Tracking the Light posts, I’ve focused on the old searchlights and other changes to the Fitchburg Route.
In May (2016) Rich Reed provided a detailed tour for Felix Legere, Paul Goewey and me, and we examined some of the new signals that have been installed, along with other changes, such as the construction of a new MBTA storage yard near Westminster, Massachusetts.
Panoramic composite view of MBTA’s new storage facility near Westminster. Exposed with a Fuji XT1.
Ultimately these improvements will facilitate expanded MBTA operations on the Fitchburg Line while enabling Pan Am freights to continue to share mainline tracks with commuter rail.
Photographing changes to railway infrastructure is challenging because often construction results in visual discordance. Broken ties, piles of ballast, and messy scenes resulting from digging and other work are hard to photograph in a meaningful way.
New signal bridges at Westminster. Exposed with a Fuji XT1.Pan Am Railway’s freight EDPO (East Deerfield to Portland, Maine) crawls through the worksite at Westminster. Consider my use of foreground and background. Notice the old infrastructure and the new. Exposed with a Fuji XT1.Pan Am’s EDPO at Wachusett; since I last made photos here the trees and underbrush have been cleared away and the cutting widened among other changes. Exposed with a Fuji XT1.New signals on the move. Exposed with a Fuji XT1.Would this photo have been better on a clear day? Mind you I’d be looking into the noonday sun! (I’m on the station platform on the northside of the line).An outbound MBTA train approaches the Fitchburg Station.Pan Am’s POED (Portland to East Deerfield) roars west through Shirley. We learned that the new signals here illuminate when a train is coming from the opposite direction. Good to know!An MBTA HSP46 pushing the back of a Boston-bound train passes the new signal gantry at the Willows (east of Ayer, Massachusetts). Panned with a FujiFilm X-T1.
A few weeks ago, my friends and I met to explore recent changes to the old Boston & Maine Fitchburg Route (Pan Am Southern’s main line) including re-signaling and trackage upgrades.
Among the first places on our tour was Gardner, Massachusetts, where we found Norfolk Southern 66N, which is a loaded Ethanol train destined for the Port of Providence.
This was led by four Norfolk Southern DASH9-40CWs that were followed by an idler car and 80 cars of ethanol. The train was waiting on Pan Am rails for a Providence & Worcester crew to take it south from Gardner.
Among the recent changes was the installation of a crossover at the Gardner yard that makes it easier to make a progressive move from the old eastward B&M mainline track to the P&W, which facilitates operation of unit trains such as the 66N. This is a low-tech solution, as the switches are operated manually (of the ‘hand-throw’ type).
I made this series of images featuring the 66N with my FujiFilm X-T1.
Static and slow moving freights offer many opportunities for photography.
When we arrived the morning was clear and sunny, but over the next hour, clouds rolled in from the west and softened the light.
The classic ‘wedge’ a three-quarter view of locomotives in low morning sun. Clutter from old ties and related track components is part of the scene, should these be cropped? Although these GE’s are leading an ethanol extra, there is nothing in the photograph to indicate this is any thing other than an ordinary eastward freight.Detailed vertical view of the leading engine, a General Electric DASH9-40CW.Using the FujiFilm X-T1’s panorama mode, I exposed this multi frame panoramic composite. This image was assembled automatically in-camera. The wide view offers an interesting perspective on the Gardner yard and the four GE locomotives.After about an hour of patient waiting, the P&W crew was on board and nearly ready to proceed south. I made this slightly elevated view from a parking lot on the site of the old Gardner Station. In the yard is one of P&W’s leased SD60s and some auto racks for interchange. Unfortunately, the auto racks block the view of the ethanol tanks. Note the crossover that links the old eastward mainline with the tracks in the P&W yard.Norfolk Southern 66N takes the switch on to the P&W at Gardner.
Trailing view of the leading locomotive easing down the P&W toward the Route 2 underpass. Soft light is excellent for showing detail on a largely black locomotive. This photo was made in Gardner, yet it could be almost anywhere.Trailing view of NS 66N on the P&W at Gardner. The 80 tanks make for a rolling pipeline. How many gallons of ethanol does this train carry?
Thanks to Rich Reed, Paul Goewey and Felix Legere.
For this view, I used my Nikon N90S with a 105mm Nikkor lens loaded with Fujichrome. To achieve the sense of motion, I panned the front of the HST while using a comparatively slow shutter speed (about 1/30th of a second). The key to a successful pan image is to start panning well-before pressing the shutter and continuing the pan motion until after the shutter has been released. Turn your whole body and not just the camera.
I exposed this panned view of a GNER HST on the East Coast Mainline near the York station in December 1999.
A similar photo appeared in my book Railway Masterpieces published by Krause Publications in 2002.
I was working with three cameras. Previously I’ve published color views exposed with my Contax G2 rangefinder and Nikon N90S single-lens reflex, however until today most of my black & white photos remained unpublished and unseen.
I made my black & white photos using a Rollei Model T twin-lens reflex (120 size film camera). So, rolling along at about 30 mph east of Tallinn, I made this view of a Riga-built Tallinn-area electric suburban train.
Exposed with a Rolleiflex Model T twin-lens reflex fitted with a 75mm Zeiss Tessar. Kodak Tri-X processed in Ilford ID-11 1:1 with water. Scanned at 3200 dpi with a Epson V600 flatbed scanner. Scaled for internet presentation using Lightroom; however there was no post-processing manipulation to density, contrast or sharpness.
Significantly,I made this image by using the Rollei’s field-finder— which is nothing more than a pair of open squares that allow you to frame up a photo while holding the camera at eye-level.
Normally, I’d focus using the camera’s built in magnifying glass on the waist level viewer (which supplies a view through the top lens arrangement that projects onto a Fresnel screen. The down side of this viewing mechanism is that you must look down into the camera and the image is in reverse.
So exposing photos from a moving locomotive cab using the waist-finder is not only impractical, but can lend to sea-sickness.
Another advantage of the field-finder is that you are actually looking at your subject without any distortion caused by a lens. In today’s photography it rare that you actually see your subject at the time the shutter is released. You’d be amazed how this direct viewing can improve composition.
Also, the Rollei’s mechanical shutter release is virtually instantaneous.
Since 1841, the rails of the old Western Rail Road (later Boston & Albany, and for the time-being CSXT’s Boston Line) have served as a conduit of commerce through the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts.
I made this photograph at sunrise using my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with a Zeiss 12mm Touit lens and a graduated neutral density filter to control contrast.
My friend Mel Patrick has often posed the question: ‘must all railroad photos show trains?’
Exposed in May 2016 using FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with 12mm Zeiss lens.
On my visit to London earlier this month, I called into Clapham Junction to visit with my friend Hassard Stacpoole who lives nearby.
Hassard brought me on a tour of the area to highlight the changes south of the Thames since my last visit.
London is a dynamic city. There are cranes and construction sites everywhere you look.
The area around Battersea Park is rapidly being transformed from an old industrial area to a modern residential community.
Using my FujiFilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7, I made these photos from our tour of the area.
Five car Overground trains now serve Clapham Junction.
My intention is to compare these images with similar views exposed years ago, as well as photos showing further change from my next visit.
FujiFilm X-T1 digital photograph at Clapham Junction.Clapham Junction.Wandsworth Road looking toward Battersea Park. Construction now dominates this horizon.The old Battersea Park Generating Station is being repurposed.Massive modern apartment blocks have sprung up around Battersea Park like mushrooms after the rain.Transportation changes are part of the story.Thames bridge on approach to Victoria. Look at all the new building underway.Looking south from Victoria toward Battersea Park. Here the background is the subject.In London little remains unchanged for long. Even the train companies play musical chairs with the franchises every few years. How much longer will South West Trains serve Clapham Junction?A view south of Clapham Junction Station.A South West Trains emu clatters along south of Clapham Junction.It’s been a long time since the London, Brighton and South Coast was a going concern. This is part of the old station complex at Clapham Junction.
Tracking the Light presents new material every day!
Digital photography has made photography of the London Underground vastly easier than with film.
ISO 400 too slow? Notch it up to 1000, or 1600, or higher.
In the old days with film I’d rarely experiment with any lens longer than 100mm underground. Not only were my longer lenses relatively slow, but trying to keep them steady at low shutter speeds was impractical.
Today, I push up the ISO and snap away.
The adjustable rear screen on my FujiFilm X-T1 is a great tool for photographing from the hip. Back in the old days, I’d take the prism off my Nikon F3T for a similar technique, but this made focusing difficult.
I made these photos in Early May 2016. For me the Underground is more than just photos of the trains and tunnels.
Which is your favorite?
Lumix LX7 photo.Lumix LX7 photo at West Brompton.Telephoto view at Embankment with my Fuji X-T1.I like a bit of subtle humor or irony in my photos. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.FujiFilm X-T1 photo. Auto white balance is a blessing when working with artificial light.View of the Circle Line at Embankment.Some of the Tube is well below the surface.Bond Street Station at Oxford Street.
Irish Rail Intercity Railcars work downroad (away from Dublin) at Kildare.
To make the most of this scene I needed to make some global (overall) and localized contrast adjustments in Lightroom. This was necessary to compensate for the contrast characteristics inherent to the digital file produced by my FujiFilm X-T1.
I worked with the RAW file which has substantially more data than the in-camera JPG (which is compressed and thus offers very little information above what is immediately visible to the eye).
Illustration versus documentation: Often I set out to document a scene. My process and techniques are focused toward making images that preserve the way a scene or equipment appear. Often, but not today.
Creation of an illustration may not be intended as documentation. An illustration is created to convey a message; perhaps that needed for advertising, art, or publicity.
While photographing in Bordeaux, I found that the juxtaposition of the modern trams against both modern and historic architectural backdrops looked remarkably like artist’s/architect’s impressional drawings.
So, as an exercise in illustration, I’ve intentionally manipulated the camera RAW files to make them appear more like the artist’s impressional drawings, such as those often displayed as visions of the future.
Specifically, I altered the contrast and de-saturated the color palate to mimic a water-color tinted image. I did not destroy the original files, and so I have the benefit of documentation and illustration with the same photos.
Questions:
Have I done anything fundamentally different here than with images created (augmented) by the manipulation of digital files to produce super-saturated colors, plus intensely contrast adjusted effects that result in dream-like sky-scapes?
Is a posed railway publicity photo that was heavily re-touched by air-brushing or similar alteration to be considered documentation?
In a later post, I’ll explore Bordeaux’s tram network in fully saturated color.
It was a rainy Monday when I arrived in Antwerp. Working with my Lumix LX7, I spent several hours riding the Lijn trams and making photos.
Does the rain and gloom ad atmosphere to this eclectic Flemish port city? There’s a lot of history here.
Lijn has been buying new low-floor articulated Flexity-2 trams to replace its antique fleet of four-axle PCCs, so I was keen to catch the older cars at work while I still can.
A modern Flexity2 tram glides through the rain in Antwerp. Lumix LX7 photo.Complicated track work makes for a more interesting urban image. The PCC is almost incidental to the scene.There are plenty of eclectic establishments in Antwerp where you can grab a bite to eat an enjoy a glass of beer while watching the tram cars grind along cobblestone streets.Antwerp enjoys a complex transport system with tram lines on many streets. However, expansion of the tram subway may soon reduce the number of surface services in some parts of the city center.
Could a bus be as photogenic in such a setting?
Among the advantages of photographing on a cold wet day is that there tends to be few people on the streets to get in your way. Not to sound antisocial, but masses of urban humility can be a hindrence when composing tram photos.
Near the main railway station there’s a tram loop used by route 11 cars.This level crossing is a great place to catch the action.I don’t think everyone was quite as enthusiastic about tram tracks and cobblestones as I was.
Curbside running makes it easier to board the cars.Here’s my car now!
White trams navigating narrow dark cobble-stone streets makes for some interesting contrast. So, would shafts of sun have improved these images?
It was very windy, and I spent the whole morning standing around along the old Boston & Albany mainline reading about 19th century industrial practice while waiting for trains to pass.
I posted the photos I made of an eastward Norfolk Southern detour train near Middlefield, Massachusetts yesterday evening.
My goal was to catch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train, that was rumored to be on the move.
But, after 8 hours standing in the cold, I decided to head downgrade.
Nearing Westfield, the scanner came to life, ‘clear signal CP109’.
Time for a U-turn.
I’d scoped a location near Huntington.
Unfortunately this neatly coincided with a fast moving cloud. Bad luck.
A dark dirty cloud covered the sun at precisely the wrong moment. (It lifted in time for me to grab a wide-angle view on Fujichrome.)
A bit of hard driving got me to Washington Summit ahead of the train. The clouds stayed at bay.
All of these images were exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 mirror-less digital camera.
Slides from the event remain latent.
Near Washington Summit at the location known as ‘Muddy Pond’.The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train is a long consist.Containers and trailers were at the back.
Locked away in an old locomotive shed at Saint Ghislain, Belgium are a wonderful collection of historic SNCB locomotives maintained by Patrimoine Ferroviare et Tourisme. See: http://www.pfttsp.be/index.php/fr/
Mauno Pajunen organized a visit to this collection and provided translation while Rousman Phillippe offered a guided tour.
I was most impressed by the semi-streamlined stainless-steel clad electric (SNCB 1805) that formerly worked TEE international services and by the Baldwin diesel locomotive built under license.
Until my visit the to the shed at Saint Guislain, I’d only seen this class of locomotive in old photos. The pitched cab profile and stainless-steel side panels are very pleasing. They just don’t style locomotives like this anymore!
Photographing in a locomotive shed such as this one requires special technique.
If you just let the in-camera meter do the work you will get under-exposed (dark) images such as this. Why? Because the camera meter is trying to balance the scene for the window which leads to overall under-exposure. Action on the photographer is necessary on-site to avoid this problem.
Direct and indirect lighting from skylights in the roof and large side windows results in extreme contrast with lower regions of the locomotives bathed in darkness that tends to confuse the in-camera light meter. (A meter doesn’t know what your subject is and only provides a balanced reading and doesn’t work in this situation.)
If you are not careful you may end up with an unacceptably dark result. (see above).
By manually controlling the exposure you can compensate for the effect of windows and skylights, thus creating a more pleasing exposure inside the shed.
My solution is relatively simple: manually over-expose in range of 2/3s of a stop to 1 stop, and then control highlight detail in post processing.
The easiest way to do this with a digital camera is used a manual mode and then watch the suggested exposure settings offered by the built in meter and then add 2/3s to 1 stop to the recommended value. Thus if the meter suggests exposing a f2.8 at 1/60th of second, open up the aperture to nearly f2.0 without changing the shutter speed.
Another way of doing this is by adjusting the meter to over expose by 2/3 or 1 full stop. Each camera has its own means of doing this.
In my case, I set the ISO to 400, so my average exposure was f4.5 1/60 of a second (camera meter was recommending f5.6 to f6.3, which would have resulted in an unacceptably dark image).
I adjusted my exposure from scene to scene, while tending toward overexposure based on the meter setting and carefully gauging the histogram to avoid loosing data in the shadow areas.
Since the highlights of the outside windows and skylights are not important to the overall scene, it isn’t a problem to allow for a loss of detail in these areas.
After exposure, I adjusted the files in post-processing to bring the mid-tones and shadow areas to an expected level.
This was one of my favorites: a Baldwin diesel built under license. Careful exposure allowed for adequate detail of the trucks and underbody.
The boiler was outside.Wide angle close up of Walschearts valve gear. Old Egide was a Belgian after all!
Another trick is working in confined spaces. For these images I used a super wide-angle lens, specifically a Zeiss 12mm Touit, which I purchased specifically for photography in settings such engine sheds, signal towers and locomotive cabs.
Last October (2015), I visited Valenciennes in northern France. I stopped by again a few weeks ago during my April 2016 wanderings in France and Belgium.
In these views I focused on the old Chemin de fer du Nord Station (SNCF’s Gare de Valencienes) and the surrounding environment.
Using my FujiFilm X-T1, I made images that feature the old station as both subject and background. Notice how selective focus and use of light shifts the central interest from the old building to the tram.
Outback of the station, there are, of course, SNCF trains and an impressive array of trackage that make interesting subjects in their own right.
Together, the building, trams, SNCF trains and trackage make for a scene, but one not possible to adequately represent in one image. Thus this myriad collection of images. This is a work in progress.
An SNCF train approaches Gare de Valenciennes.
Tracking the Light posts every day! (Have you noticed?)
It was a pleasantly warm Spring day when I set out with Lumix LX7 in hand to make a few photos of the Strasbourg trams.
Strasbourg was among the first French cities to re-adopt the electric tram, and in 1994 introduced an elegant modern tram system using a pioneer type of low-floor car (the first batch were built by ABB) called the Eurotram.
I’ve been meaning to visit Strasbourg for a long time, but only recently managed to finally get there.
Any favorites from this selection?
Among my first views of the Strasbourg tram system. Notice the rail-mounted cleaning truck in the distance.
Contrast of old and new.
Like with many modern tram systems, in Strasbourg you must validate your paper ticket before boarding the car. I noted teams of fare enforcement specialists intimidating non-paying passengers.Strasbourg offers many places to include the trams in attractive cityscapes such as this one.A few of the cars were painted in this lime, red and white livery.
Germany’s traditional large railway stations offer endless opportunities for photographic composition.
Over the years, I’ve made several visits to the Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof (main station) and have always found it photographically rewarding. I made these photos a couple of weeks ago (April 2016.)
The train-shed lends to making geometric images while providing a visually intriguing setting for train photos. I like the sense of scale that the shed offers.
Any favorites?
An InterCity train pauses for passengers. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.When I first visited Karlsruhe in the late-1990s, DB’s 101 class were the latest in new motive power. Now these are battle worn veterans.The curves of this class 146 electric complement the train shed while the bright red livery makes for a stunning contrast with the monotones of the station environs.At the south end of the shed.Pay attention!
Irish Rail has painted 201-class General Motors diesel number 231 into an interim version of the latest Enterprise livery.
This is yet to feature the pink swooshes that now characterize the Enterprise scheme.
This morning (4 May 2016) the clean locomotive worked the scheduled 11am service from Dublin Heuston Station to Cork. I made this image at Islandbridge Junction using my Lumix LX7.
Annoying me was a line of cloud that was just covering the sun. While this appeared to be moving, in fact the cloud was forming as it moved. Bright sun was so close, yet elusive.
This phenomenon is probably explainable by the effects of condensation, wind currents and cool air; but irksome when you are anticipating the sun emerging from nature’s diffusion screen.
Irish Rail 231 on the 11am to Cork at Islandbridge Junction at 1103 on Wednesday 4 May 2016.Irish Rail 231 on the 11am to Cork at Islandbridge Junction at 1103 on Wednesday 4 May 2016. Lumix LX7 photo.
Ultimately, the sun came out. About 45 minutes after the train went by. Poor show.
I’ve made minor adjustments to the RAW file to improve contrast.
Tracking the Light posts every day, don’t miss it!
Evening sun with a textured fair-weather sky combined with well maintained paving stones and a healthy tree at left made for a visually compelling setting.
Freiburg, Germany still operates some of its vintage Duewag trams that feature a streamlined body and rounded front-end.
To make the most of the svelte classic tram I opted for a low angle and favored the angle of sun for reflective glint. The bicyclist was a fortuitous subject that makes for a more interesting photograph by introducing a human element.
To expose this image I worked my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with the rear live-view display tilted upward, which allowed me to compose the photo while holding the camera relatively low to the ground.
I adjusted my 18-135mm zoom lens to near its widest angle.
Duewag tram in Freiburg, exposed using a FujiFilm X-T1. RAW file modified to improve contrast and exposure.
Notice the effect of the bicycle’s double shadow?
The real trick was keeping the composition interesting as the action rapidly unfolded.
In post-processing I darkened the sky and lightened the shadow areas to improve overall contrast.
Which of the three images is your favorite?
(This essay was composed while transiting the Channel Tunnel between Calais and Folkstone on 30 April 2016).
