Last summer, I spent a pleasant afternoon exploring the old Southern Pacific Coast Line between Simi Valley and Moorpark, California.
At CP Madera, I ascended this cutting and made a series of digital photographs of passing passenger trains.
This was not what I expected: an Amtrak ‘Cabbage’ (a former F40PH diesel converted as a cab-car with baggage compartment) and single-level Horizon cars with a Genesis diesel pushing at the back. Amtrak A790 was far cry from the typical Pacific Surfliner consist that features an F59PHI and Bilevel cars. File converted from a Camera RAW using Lightroom to adjust contrast and lighten shadow areas.Trailing view of Amtrak Pacific Surfline A790 at CP Madera, near Simi Valley, California.I made this photo with the camera set in the ‘Velvia’ colour profile.A few minutes after Amtrak A790 rolled past, Metrolink 117 from Los Angeles came the other way. Here I’ve used a telephoto perspective to make the most of the setting.As the train approached, I used the zoom lens, pulling back my focal length to a slight wide angle view.The view looking west into the evening sun was exceptionally contrasty. So in post processing I lightened the shadows, darkened the sky and lowered the contrast in a effort to produce a more pleasing image. Also, on site I’d shaded the front element of my lens with my notebook. If you look carefully, you can just see the fringe of my notebook cover in the sky. I’ve left this imperfection in, rather than crop it out, so that you can get a sense for what I was doing.
These were exposed using my Fujifilm XT1 with 18-135mm zoom lens. I calculated the light using the camera’s center weighted meter and set aperture and shutter speed settings manually. Although bright, exposures can be tricky, especially when dealing with flat white locomotives.
It was a real pleasure to make photos in the warm California sun. (As recall, while sitting in Dublin on damp evening composing ‘Auto Pilot’ posts for Tracking the Light!)
Amtrak’s Maple Leaf near Sunnyside in Toronto on the first leg of its journey to New York’s Pennsylvania Station.
on a frigid February 2010 morning, I exposed this view on Fujichrome using my Canon EOS-3 with a 100-400mm zoom lens.
This was one of dozens of action photos I made while traveling with Chris Guss and Pat Yough that day.
One of the great challenges in working in sub-zero temperatures is short battery life. While my Canon film camera faired reasonably well, my poor Panasonic Lumix LX3 digital camera did not. By noon two of my three batteries had gone flat.
Tracking the Light continues to post Daily while Brian is on the road.
Among the last active installations of ‘somersault’ signals has survived on NI Railways at Castlerock, County Derry, Northern Ireland.
The somersault is an antique variety of two-aspect semaphore where the signal arm and spectacle (lens) frame are separate pieces and move in opposite directions when the aspect changes. The name stems from a description of the signal motion.
Earlier this month Denis McCabe, Stephen Hirsch and I traveled from Dublin to pay a final visit to this classic signal installation and make photographs of modern NI Railways railcars with the antique hardware.
New NI Railway’s signalling is underway on this section of the Coleraine-Derry line. It is my understanding that in early November, NIR plans to close Castlerock’s cabin (signal tower) and the signals will be removed from service as part of a larger re-signalling scheme that will also eliminate this station as a passing point.
The starting signal to Derry has been cleared by the signalman at Castlerock.This rear view of the same signal provides a sense for how the signal works. Unlike the more common semaphore arrangement, the arm and lens housing are separate pieces, but interlocked for coordinated movement.An NIR railcar from Derry to Belfast approaches Castlerock. I’ve intentionally focused on the old signal, rather than the NIR railcar. Fear not railcar enthusiasts, I have sharp photos of NIR railcars on the move! Exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.Looking toward Belfast at Castlerock from the down platform. Soon this view will be forever altered, as the platform I’m standing on will no longer be served and the signals will be removed.A Derry-bound NIR railcar approaches Castlerock as viewed from the footbridge.A trailing view of the Derry-bound train. Exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Although, I’d visited Castlerock previously, it had been a few years since I last photographed these old signals at work.
Special thanks to Colin Holliday reminding me of the pending changes to Castlerock signaling!
Some of Ireland’s finest rail-side scenery is in the North. At Downhill, Co. Derry massive vertical cliffs rise high above the Belfast-Derry line, with the great expanse of the North Atlantic beyond.
In October, lighting can be a bit tricky, as the same cliffs that make the scene and offer elevation also block the sun much of the day.
One trick: filtered sun (that is with thin cloud) makes for a less contrasty scene. By carefully exposing for the shaft of light at the center of the image, and then impose a digital graduated neutral density filter at the top of the frame, I was able to produce a balanced over-all image.
A distant view where the subject is but a spec in a vast scene.Using my 18-135 zoom, I’ve remained at the same cliff-side vantage point, but pulled back the focal length. Here the NI Railways 4001-series railcar is more prominent.The photographer’s quandary: with a wide view, you can include the ocean, but the cliffs seem smaller relative to the whole scene.
The other afternoon, I made these photos with Denis McCabe and Stephen Hirsch which feature a Derry to Belfast NI Railways railcar. While I worked primarily with my FujiFilm X-T1, I also exposed a few 35mm colour slides using my old Canon EOS-3 with 100mm lens.
As of this posting, those slides remain latent (exposed, but unprocessed), so we’ll need to wait to see if I got my exposure correct. (My notes read f7.1 at 1/250th of a second, which is consistent with the reading from my Minolta Mark4 handheld light meter, but a bit on the dark side for the camera meter).
For the last week, Irish Rail class 201 number 231 has been working the International Warehousing & Transport Liner (Dublin North Wall to Ballina, Co. Mayo) with IWT identification marks on the Ballina-end and the sides of the loco.
Photographically this is a boon because it positively distinguishes the IWT liner from other trains.
While last week, I’d either been busy or out of position when 231 worked the train; but this morning I made the effort to catch it from my usual location at Islandbridge Junction in Dublin.
Do I have too many photos from this spot? Undoubtedly, but it’s better to have a publishable image of a distinctive train from an identifiable location, than not to have a photo of the train at all. So, for the sake of a 5-minute walk, I’ve got the IWT Liner looking the part.
Irish Rail’s IWT Liner with 201-class diesel 231 decorated for IWT passes Islandbridge Junction at 9:49am on 10 October 2016.Irish Rail’s IWT Liner with 201-class diesel 231 decorated for IWT passes Islandbridge Junction at 9:49am on 10 October 2016. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Here’s another view I made on Irish Rail’s former Great Northern line at milepost 25 near Mosney. I published a digital colour view of the Grand Hibernian the other day from this same vantage point.
Irish Rail’s 29000-series diesel rail cars are common trains on this route. They do their job well and travel up and down the line all day long. Many photographers ignore them because they are common.
Add in some dull light and tangent track, and the photography threatens to be, well, boring.
Expose on Ilford HP5 using a Nikon F3 with 24mm lens and red filter. Film processed in Kodak HC110 (Dilution B, 1:32 with water) for 3 minutes 30 seconds at 68F (20C).
Here’s what I did to make an interesting image; I worked with the texture of the scene. Rather than make a digital image, I used my old Nikon F3 fitted with a 24mm Nikkor lens and a dark red filter.
The red filter alters the way the film interprets the colours in the scene. Specifically, it allows for better detail in the sky, while darkening the greenery.
I also added a sense of depth by including the vines growing along the bridge parapet. This is a little trick I’ve used on many occasions in Ireland, and it helps to have a wide angle lens to make it work.
So while the train isn’t the most exciting on the rails in Ireland, I’ve used these old-school methods and created an interesting scene by working with the natural textures.
I noted this scene the other evening while walking by the Dublin Bus Conyngham Road bus depot.
Historically this facility was a tram depot for the Dublin & Lucan tramway.
What caught my eye were the reflections in the bus windows that make for array of abstract patterns.
An impressive line-up of road vehicles at the old Conyngham Road Depot in Dublin. The premises of the Irish Railway Record Society is located just beyond the buses on the south side of the River Liffey near Heuston Station.
I exposed this view on Ilford HP5 using my Nikon F3 with an f2.0 135mm lens. My processing was a bit complicated. After a three minute water bath with a very small amount of HC110 to start the processing, I used a dilute developer solution (HC110 1 to 64 with water) at 68 degrees F for 4 minutes.
After a full fix, hypoclear, and wash cycle, I then toned the negatives in selenium at a ratio of 1 to 9 with water for 8.5 minutes with regular agitation. (Please note: selenium solution is poisonous and exceptional care should be considered when working with it.)
The effect of the selenium toning is to accentuate the brightest highlights which produces a silvery glow. A secondary effect is greater longevity: the selenium solution produces an ion exchange with a portion of the silver in the film and selenium offers great stability long term.
Tracking the Light Discusses Photography Daily.
Tracking the light will be on ‘Autopilot’ for the next couple of days, but will continue to display new material every morning.
The other day I made this sequence from the down platform at Mallow, County Cork.
What makes these photo interesting to me was the textures of the sky.
Looking toward Cork from Mallow.By introducing a digital graduated neutral density filter I was able to make the most of the texture in the sky.
In order to get the most of the sky, in post processing I worked with the camera RAW files and adjusted the contrast, colour saturation and exposure. In this situation my manipulation is a little more heavy handed than usual. I paid special attention to the highlight density.
This image was exposed just a few minutes later, notice how the sky has changed.Irish Rail 083 was running around the Railway Preservation Society Ireland’s Cravens set (working as Emerald Isle Express.) This view has the most impressive sky in my estimation. I’ve used a slightly wider focal length to make for a more dramatic view.
I arrived at Kent Station, Cork on the 0800 train from Dublin.
Irish Rail ICR at Kent Station, Cork on the morning of 28 September 2016. Exposed with a Lumix LX7.
My timing was tight; I was aiming to catch Rail Tours Ireland’s Emerald Isle Express under the curved roof.
After arriving in Cork, I had less than five minutes to get into position.
Although visually fascinating, Kent’s Victorian-era shed is a tricky place to make photos. The characteristic curvature makes selecting the best angle tough, while the lighting under the roof is limiting.
Using my Lumix LX7 at ISO 200, I was restricted to 1/15th of second at f2.2.
Sometimes limitations force me to make more interesting photos.
The characteristic roar of an EMD 645 diesel reverberates under the ancient roof.As the Emerald Isle Express approached with engine 083 in the lead I opted to slightly pan the train. This provides a sense of motion while setting the shed off in a sea of blur.
Nearly nine years ago, I made this view of an Irish Rail spoil train passing my familiar location at Islandbridge Junction.
The sun was low in the sky, which can make for nice light, but rapidly moving clouds rolling across the sky made for difficult lighting conditions. The exposure would vary by as much as two stops from one moment to the next.
Further complicating matters I gauged the exposure incorrectly and this resulted in a fairly dark slide. Sometimes, rich Novmeber sunshine isn’t as bright as it looks.
Lastly, the processing was substandard. Overall this batch of slides suffered from inadequate detail in the shadow areas and a strong red-magenta colour-cast, giving this image an unnatural appearance.
The other day I decided to see what I could do to improve this image. You might ask, “Why? Don’t you have plenty of railway photos from the this place?”
I do. Hundreds. But Irish Rail spoil trains are some of the most elusive moves on the network. Also, the equipment is this scene has all been withdrawn. The class 141 diesels no longer work on Irish Rail—although several have been preserved—and the old four-wheel spoil wagons were replaced with modern bogie wagons several years ago.
The scene itself has changed as the old Clancy Barracks to the left of the train has been developed and the area looks quite different today.
Using Lightroom, I implemented a variety of digital changes to a Hi-Res scan, which ultimately produced a far more realistic image. Below are a sequence of images that show what I’ve done.
This scan presents the slide more or less as it appears. Not only is it too dark because of underexposure, but it suffers from imperfect processing that resulted in poor shadow detail and a reddish-magenta colour cast. This is a pity, because it features a difficult train to capture and very interesting lighting conditions. I exposed the photo in November 2007 and it sat in its box for nearly nine years.I scanned the slide with my Epson V500 scanner, the using Lightroom, I was able to implement a variety of changes. I balanced the colour to appear more natural and eliminate the pink tint. Also, I manipulated the contrast control sliders (contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks and clarity) to lighten the image while reducing the overall contrast and improving the appearance of the shadow areas. This screen shot shows part of what I did.This image benefits from my first round of colour and contrast corrections, yet the shadows are still muddy and the overall scene is too dark.This is my semi-final image. I’ve selective lightened some of the muddy areas, while lowering the overall contrast and tweaking the highlights to make for a more pleasing and natural looking image. The files presented here are all scaled Jpgs made from large hi-resolution TIF files.For my final adjustments, I further lightened the whole image, while manually darkening the shadow areas and further softening the contrast. This might not be perfect, but its a huge improvement over the original Fujichrome colour slide.
The Emerald Isle Express is an annual tour train operated Rail Tours Ireland in cooperation with Irish Rail and the Railway Preservation Society Ireland.
I had advanced notice of this year’s schedule and planned to catch it running along the Irish Sea south of Dublin on its way down the old Dublin & South Eastern route toward Rosslare Europort.
I rode the DART electric suburban train to Dalkey then hoofed it out toward Sorrento Point, where my planned location turned out to be fouled by undergrowth and related shadows.
‘Uh oh.’ Time to move to plan B.
More walking brought me to this footbridge between Dalkey and Killiney.
Although supremely picturesque, the maze of direct current overhead wires and related masts make finding a suitable angle difficult.
I wanted to include more of the Irish Sea to the right of the train, but putting the train too far to the left didn’t really work as an effective composition. Ultimately I settled on a more conservative angle. Soft sun helps reduce the distraction of the wires.
Emerald Isle Express at milepost 9. To hold detail in the sky and water, I used a Lee 0.6 graduated neutral density filter. This tool has proved repeatedly valuable in Ireland where sky contrast often presents an exposure problem by exceeding the dynamic range of the camera’s digital sensor.This tight view reveals some of the clutter that makes this location challenging as an effective location.
A minor disappointment; I’d hoped that Irish Rail engine number 071 (in bright orange heritage paint) would lead the train. Instead, I settled for that old stalwart; Irish Rail engine 078.
The trailing view is scenically spectacular but as a result the train is small.Looking across Killiney Bay you’ll notice the thin silver streak of the Emerald Isle Express catching the glint of the noontime sun.
Too often railway photographs focus on the equipment—locomotives, railway cars, signals—and exclude the people who work on the railway.
I’ll admit I’m guilty of that sometimes. However, I’ve always made photos of railway workers, and try to include people in my photos whenever it’s practical.
That’s not always easy, especially on many modern railways that have streamlined their workforces.
These days I’ll work my personal connections and photograph railway friends when it’s appropriate.
Cork-based Irish Rail train driver Ken Fox poses for a portrait with his InterCity Railcar at Dublin’s Heuston Station. Exposed on Ilford HP5 using a Nikon F3 with Nikkor f1.8 50mm lens. Processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution D) and scanned with an Epson V500 flatbed scanner.
I like this portrait because it puts the train driver in a positive light while his train takes a supporting roll, serving as a relevant backdrop rather than primary subject.
Sunday morning was overcast. Not the best weather for photographing Belmond’s dark blue Grand Hibernian. (Luxury cruise train).
However, since when the sun is out, the cutting at Cabra in Dublin is badly shadowed the best time to try this location is on an overcast morning.
Exploring this option, I found the most dramatic angle was the trailing view. Using a telephoto perspective, I was able to draw in the Dublin Mountains in the distance.
Waterford bound, the Grand Hibernian passes Cabra in Dublin.
Looking south, I saw that the rain was coming my way.
These images were exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
I processed all three images using Lightroom.
I made nominal global adjustments to contrast and saturation and sharpened for the computer screen. Also, I used a digitally applied graduated neutral density filter to better retain detail in the sky.
Back in the day, when I set out to make photographs, I had a finite number of images that I could make on any given adventure based on the amount of film in the camera bag.
It might be one roll, or ten, but the number of exposures was a distinct number. Not only that, but certainly in my younger days, there was a definite cost to each and every photo exposed.
When I was in college I could afford just 74-76 frames of Kodachrome per week and still eat. (Sometimes I cheated and just starved). On the morning of January 14, 1989, I put this New York, Susquehanna & Western SD45 on film—carefully placing the the old upper quadrant semaphore in the frame. I had my two rolls of Kodachrome, and probably some black & white, but a lot of ground to cover that day. I knew that the old Union Switch & Signal Style S signals were on borrowed time, and I might not have another chance to make this photograph.
This was a limitation, but like many handicaps it encouraged discipline. Every time I released the shutter I wanted to make the photo count. At times I’d experiment with exposure, lighting, and angles, but I avoided gratuitously wasting film.
Running out of film before the end of a trip could be a disaster.
Yet, I found that my photography was at its best at the very beginning of a trip (when I still had plenty of exposures left) and toward the end (when I was making the absolute most of each photo, and really concentrating the mechanics of making photos having benefitted from days of being in the field).
In the 1950s, my dad would set off on a two week trip with just 6-10 rolls of Kodachrome. He’d carefully budget each day’s photography. Just imagine visiting Chicago in 1958 with its vast array of classic railroads but only allowing yourself to make 15 photos during the whole day.
By comparison today, digital photography doesn’t impose such limitations. You can buy storage cards that will hold hundreds (if not thousands of images). Even if you run out, you can go back and erase select images to free up space.
True, digital-photography allows great freedom to experiment, there’s no cost associated with each and every frame, nor the level of concern that you might run out. In retrospect, it was that strict limitation of film that often helped me craft better photos.
A sunny September Saturday afternoon in Dublin; what better time to make a visit to the airport. Not to travel to distant cities, but simply to watch and photograph the parade of commercial aircraft.
Lots of different airlines make for a colourful parade of planes.
I used this as an opportunity to test my FujiFilm X-T1’s various auto-focus settings.
The ‘C’ (continuous) setting seemed to produce the sharpest results, but introduced a slight delay from time I pressed the shutter-button until the actual moment of exposure. I found the delay difficult, but so long as I could anticipate the delay I was able to work around it.
Another challenge was trying to keep the camera level while panning the rapidly moving planes.
On an evening in 1978 my father and I visited South Station, Boston.
It was very different then; much quieter, low level platforms, no electrification, mechanical semaphores controlled movements on the approach to platforms.
I’d fitted my dad’s 21mm Super Angulon to my Leica 3A. I exposed several Kodachrome slides by resting the camera on something solid and making a 1 second exposure (or so).
I didn’t understand the concept of reciprocity failure, and so even though I’d taken the light reading of the hand-held Weston Master V literally, most of the slides were underexposed (too dark).
This one was the best of the lot, and in my early years was among my favorite railway photos.
In the interval since I made this image, I’ve perfected my night photography technique.
MBTA F40PH 1004 was nearly new at the time of this 1978 photograph. I’ve lightened the shadows a little bit for improved presentation here. This slide projects well despite its age, and my formative understanding of the peculiarities of exposing Kodachrome in low light.
I saw the wonderfully textured evening sky with hints of pink and orange. But what to do with this and how to best expose for it.
Working with my Lumix LX7, I exposed for the sky, controlling exposure using the +/- dial for overall ease of operation.
My intention was to retain detail in the sky, rather than risk blowing out the highlights, and then make adjustments to lighten the shadow area in post processing to compensate for an overall dark image.
Here I’ve displayed both the uncorrected file (converted from a camera RAW to a small Jpeg necessary for internet presentation) and my manipulated image.
Irish Rail 085 with a ballast train rests in the old Guinness sidings at Heuston Station, Dublin. This Jpg was converted directly from the Lumix camera RAW file. Other than necessary scaling and watermark, I did not alter the image. Under exposure was necessary to hold detail in the sky.My modified file; using the Lumix camera RAW, I adjusted the photo in Lightroom. Specifically, I applied a digital graduated filter to the lower half of the image and used to this to locally lighten the image while manipulating contrast and color saturation. Once completed, I then made further global adjustments to contrast and exposure, focusing on lightening shadows. Despite these changes, my intent was to maintain the scene as closely as possible to how I viewed it.
A minor point: I’ve not ‘fixed’ these photos. Rather I applied a known technique to hold both sky detail and shadow areas, beyond what the in-camera Jpg is capable of delivering without adjustment. From the moment I released the shutter, I planned to make these adjustments.
The other evening, I was passing Dublin’s Heuston Station, where I noticed a heron standing on the banks of the River Liffey during relatively low-tide.
Using my Nikon F3 with f1.4 50mm lens, I made this exposure on Ilford HP5 to show the bird and the classic 1840s-built railway terminal.
On a September 2016 evening, a lone heron stands in the River Liffey near Dublin’s Heuston Station. Exposed on Ilford HP5 black & white film (rated at 400 ISO) and processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution B) for 4 minutes at 68 degrees (with a presoak water bath containing a hint of developer to help actuate initial development and improve shadow detail).
I made some nominal localized post-processing adjustments in Lightroom to help draw the eye to the bird. It’s reflection in the water helps make it more obvious.
I wonder if this effort will be obvious as the photo transcends the irregularities of the internet.
Internet imposed cropping and compression are never the friends of subtle photography. Perhaps that’s one reason that brash, bold super-saturated images prevail on the web today?
Tracking the Light posts something different every day!
The First mystery: finding out what was on that long-unprocessed roll of Fuji Neopan 400 black & white film that sat in my back-log for the last few years.
The other day, I finally souped the film using Kodak HC110. My process time included a water-bath (with a hint of developer) then four minutes at 68 degrees F using dilution B (1:32 with water) at full strength.
Once processed, I recognized these images that I’d exposed way back in March 2007.
The Second mystery: toward the end of the roll, I found a sequence of photos along a double-track line in England. But where?
I recalled that David Hegarty and I were driving from suburban London to the ferry at Holyhead. Sadly, my notes from the day are in North America, and I’m in Ireland. So I’d have to work strictly from memory.
I remembered that we diverted from the M6 and used two-lane roads.
I pulled out my atlas and traced the railway line from Crewe to Chester in England, trying to figure out where we’d been. This isn’t an area I frequent often. I figured the old station would help me.
This station was my clue to the location.
My next step was to go to Google Earth. Using the satellite view, I closely examined a variety of overhead bridges. Finally, I figured out where we’d been. The station’s distinctive chimneys gave me a positive ID. The location is from Saighton Lane in Waverton immediately southeast of Chester.
The third mystery: what train is this?
Here comes a special train led by an English Welsh Scottish class 67 (EMD) diesel. Exposed using my Canon EOS 3 with 100mm lens.
Now I’m at loss. This was some kind of special passenger train led by an EWS class 67 diesel. We were very lucky to arrive in time to watch it pass, but I never knew what it was, who operated it, or where it was going. It was just dumb luck that we saw it at all.
Trailing view of the special at Waterton, UK in March 2007.
Have you willingly deleted a railroad photo because of an exposure error? Or perhaps pitched an underexposed color slide? Maybe traded away a photo that you dismissed as substandard. Or maybe even dumped an entire roll into the trash because of a camera flaw?
I have.
Step back to August 1998. That wasn’t yesterday. Denis McCabe and I were photographing on the Northern Line at Balbriggan. Our aim was to catch cement trains on the move.
It was a mostly sunny afternoon with the occasional puffy cloud in the sky.
An inbound suburban train approached the platforms with Irish Rail 078 in faded orange paint leading a pair of Cravens and the requisite generator van.
Just as the train reached the optimal location for my photograph, the sun was suddenly blocked by a cloud. [Most of us familiar with making railway photographs has experienced this phenomena, and it has many names, most of them are unsuitable for reiteration here.]
Despite this setback, I released the shutter anyway, and exposed this lone 35mm black & white negative.
This is the scaled scan of the otherwise unmodified black & white negative (made positive).
After I processed the film a few days later, I made prints from the best images on the roll, then sleeved all of the negatives: good, bad, and otherwise.
I never considered printing this one. At the time, seeing an 071-class diesel leading Cravens was not unusual. It happened daily. Nor was having a cloud ruin a photo in Ireland especially unusual.
I scanned the entire roll in November 2015, not for this photo, but for the better shots either side of it. It was only on close examination on the computer that it occurred to me that now, in 2016, this image is both interesting and historic.
Its lighting/exposure defect is easy enough to compensate for using Lightroom. So I present it to you now. In retrospect it offers a better lesson and a more interesting story than the perfectly lit images of cement trains exposed on the same roll.
Irish Rail class 071 General Motors diesel number 078 leads a pair of Cravens plus gen-van at Balbriggan in August 1998. Exposed on 35mm black & white film using a Nikon F2 (on a long-term loan from Brian Jennison) and Nikkor 24mm lens with yellow filter. Film processed in ID11, and image adjusted for exposure and contrast in Lightroom.A further refinement using Lightroom.One more variation with greater contrast.
In July, I spent a few minutes on the Long Island Rail Road platforms at Woodside in Queens, New York.
LIRR’s busy multiple-track third-rail route from Penn-Station to Jamaica, New York is one of the few places in North America where you can experience train-frequency on par with busy European mainlines.
In the course of only a few minutes I saw a half dozen trains.
These are a sample of the photos I exposed with my Lumix LX7.
My compact Panasonic Lumix LX7 is ideal for urban railway photography. This camera compact, lightweight and unobtrusive, while it uses a Leica optical system that yields excellent images. I have mine set up to expose both RAW and JPG files simultaneously.Trailing view of an outbound train.One of LIRR’s older Metropolitan-series trains is heading toward Penn-Station.It was nice to catch the older cars on the move.I made this view from the concourse of the Flushing Line station (operated by the NYCTA). Woodside offers a convenient connection between LIRR and NYCTA trains.
The sinuous alignment of the old Southern Pacific in the Tehachapis is ideally suited to lining up sunrise photographs.
A blanket of airborne particulates filtered the rising sun, softening the light and giving it a luminous golden tint.
In the 1990s, I made many glint photos on Kodachrome. This one I exposed digitally and adjusted contrast in post processing to make for a more pleasing image.
Where K25 slide film would have retained the ring of the sun, now I have to settle for a golden blob of light.
BNSF symbol freight Z-LPKNBY7-05L (priority intermodal train from Logistics Park Kansas City to North Bay, California) catches the glint at Caliente, California. ISO 200 at f20 1/500th of a second.
A key to making an image such as this one is manually setting the aperture to control the amount of light reaching the sensor. I metered manually and ignored the camera’s recommended exposure, which wouldn’t have given me the desired effect.
Since I was preparing a classic silhouette, I wasn’t interested in retaining detail in the shadows, but instead aimed to hold tonality in the sky.
Where my ‘normal’ daylight exposure with ISO 200 is about f8 1/500th of second, for this photo, I closed down the aperture to f20, which made for two and half stops less exposure.
I watched as a band of high cloud inched across the morning sky.
Irish Rail class 071 diesel number 080 brought Belmond’s Grand Hibernian Mark 3 consist through the wash at Heuston Station. Interesting light with an unusual train.
To hold detail in the textured sky, I used a Lee 0.6 graduated neutral density filter with the darker portion of the filter positioned at the top of the frame.
FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm lens and Lee 0.6 graduated neutral density filter. Minor post-processing contrast and saturation adjustment was made using Lightroom.FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm lens and Lee 0.6 graduated neutral density filter. Minor post-processing contrast and saturation adjustment was made using Lightroom.
Thursday morning on my way to breakfast, I made this photo of Irish Rail’s IWT Liner (Dublin to Ballina) passing Islandbridge Junction.
I timed my visit well and so only waited a few minutes for the freight to pass.
I’ve often photographed the IWT at this location, so this was really just an exercise.
Soft morning clouds made for some pleasant lighting, but also a post-processing quandary.
My FujiFilm XT1 allows me to simultaneously expose a Camera RAW file and a camera interpreted JPG. Among the features of the Fuji cameras is the ability to select a film-like colour profile for the Jpg.
In this instance I’ve opted for the Velvia profile, which closely emulates the colour and contrast of this popular slide film.
Another colour adjustment is the white balance control. In this situation I selected ‘auto white balance’, which means the camera interprets the color temperature.
When I processed the photos, I wanted to see if I could improve upon the camera JPG by making subtle changes to the Camera RAW file (which has ten times more information imbedded in it than the Jpg, but serves in the same role as a ‘negative’ and is intended for adjustment rather than uninterpreted presentation).
Below are three images; the a JPG from the unmodified Camera RAW, Camera created JPG, and my interpretation of the Camera RAW file.
This is an uninterpreted JPG made directly from the camera RAW file. (The RAW file is way too large for presentation on Tracking the Light.) I have not made any modifications to color profile, color balance, sharpness or exposure. This file is not really intended for presentation.My in-camera JPG using the FujiFilm digitally applied Velvia colour profile with ‘auto white balance’ setting. I made no modifications to this file, except to scale it for presentation and add my watermark on the left.This is my modified JPG. Starting with the Camera RAW, I imported this into Lightroom and implemented the following adjustments: I masked the sky using a digitally applied graduated filter and custom adjusted to increase highlight saturation, decrease highlight exposure, and make for cooler colour balance. On a global level, I made minor adjustments to white balance (warmed it up) and to contrast by lightening the shadow areas, reducing highlight exposure and altering the contrast curve. I also made select exposure adjustments to the pilot area on the locomotive. To match the Camera JPG’s perceived sharpness, I applied some nominal image sharpening. (This uses edge effects to make the photo appear sharper on the computer screen.) Got all that?
Incidentally, by using Lightroom, I can make adjustments to the RAW files without permanently changing the original data. This is very important since it would be a mistake to modify the original file. That would be like adding colour dyes or bleach to your original slide to ‘improve’ the result.
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway dates to 1834, which makes it among the earliest steam railways built outside of England.
Today the route composes a part of Irish Rail’s electrified Dublin Area Rapid Transit system. Outer suburban and Intercity trains (to Rosslare), plus occasional Railway Preservation Society Ireland steam trains also use the line.
Much of the old D&K is scenically situated along the Irish Sea, yet the electrification masts and wires, combined with sea walls, fences, graffiti and suburban growth can make it difficult to obtain a satisfactory vista with the line.
In late August, I rode the DART from Tara Street Station to Blackrock, where I exposed these views using my FujiFilm XT1.
My train accelerates away from the platform at Blackrock. The modern footbridge makes for a dominant visual element, but also offers a photo platform.A Dublin bound German-built DART train approaches Blackrock. I aimed to feature the terrace houses above the line while minimizing the visually obnoxious elements of catenary and graffiti covered seawalls.This view from the modern footbridge shows the old Blackrock Station. Here soft lighting is a real benefit.I applaud Irish Rail for installing attractive maps near the station. More of this please.
Looking toward Blackrock station and Dublin.A 29000-series diesel multiple-unit approaches Blackrock. I made this view from the public footbridge south of the station. Here the terrace houses make for added interest and a nice compositional element. The Irish Sea is on my left, but there’s a host of ugliness between the railway and the water.
Here, soft afternoon lighting helped minimize obtrusive elements, but there’s little in the photographs that convey the historic significance of the line.
The challenge continues . . .
Tracking the Light offers a daily views on railway photography.
It was dull mid-August day at Worcester, Massachusetts. I had my Leica 3A loaded with Ilford Pan F (ISO 50) and made a few exposures.
This hasn’t been my usual film choice. More typically, when working in black & white, I’d use Ilford HP5 or Fuji Acros 100.
I’ve found that difficult light can be a better measure of materials than clear bright morning. And flat summer light is about as difficult as it gets.
For this trial, I processed the film using a Jobo with Ilford Ilfosol 3 developer.
This was a crap shoot, as I’d only used this film/developer combination once before.
Exposed using a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor 35mm lens.
I opted for a 1:9 dilution, but scaled back my process time from the recommended amount to just 3 minutes 45 seconds. As is often the situation, I intentionally over-expose my black & white film and then under-process to obtain a greater range of tonality.
Once processed my negatives looked pretty good, but these still required a bit of contrast control using Lightroom. While my end results look ok, I’ll need to refine my chemical process for Ilford Pan F (ISO 50) if I expect this film to perform as well as Fuji Acros 100.
Also, I was hoping that the Pan F would approach the results I used to get with Kodak Panatomic X (ISO 32) back in the 1980s, but so far I’ve not achieved that goal.
Exposed using a Leica 3A fitted with a Nikkor 35mm lens.
It was a sunny Saturday morning and the old Boston & Albany mainline was quieter than a rural Polish branch line.
Finally about 10:30 am Mike Gardner and I heard distant stirrings of an eastward freight.
We made our way to Warren, Massachusetts.
The long days of summer have resulted in the B&A route becoming unfortunately brushed in. Much of the line is largely obscured by bushes, trees and undergrowth, which make railway photography difficult.
The old Boston & Albany station at Warren remains one of my favorite surviving structures on the line; it harks back to a time when the railroad was the principle corridor for commerce in the region. Recently it has been restored.
Here we made our photographs.
A few strategic shafts of sunlight illuminate the line. I set my FujiFilm XT1’s shutter release dial to ‘CH’ (continuous high—the setting I casually refer to as ‘turbo flutter’) and waited as the train approached.
When it neared the shafts of sunlight, I held the shutter down and exposed a rapid burst of digital images, knowing that at least of one of them would place the front of the locomotive in full sun.
This satisfied my desired composition to juxtapose CSX’s modern General Electric diesel with the 1890s-era railway station building.
To demonstrate the effect of ‘turbo flutter’ as a compositional exposure tool, I’ve displayed the below sequence of images. In practice my camera exposed about three times as many photos. (Frame numbers are sequential)
Since the real cost of making a burst of exposures is very small, in this situation, I’ll happily make as many images as I need to in order to produce the photo I want. Later, if I choose, I can throw away the unsatisfactory images to save space on my hard drives.
The familiar sound of 645 thunder down in the valley spurred me into action.
A southward New England Central freight was climbing Stateline Hill in Monson, Massachusetts. This is an old routine (and yes, I’ve written about this before.)
When I hear a train coming through Monson, I have a few minutes to get organized. In this instance, a brilliant clear blue dome with nice morning light was the deciding consideration.
En route, I heard the southward train get its ‘paper’ (radio–issued track authority) to proceed toward Willimantic, Connecticut. In this instance, I was alerted to the location of the train; south of milepost 55 (near the Massachusetts-Connecticut state line).
I headed for my preferred spot in downtown Stafford Springs, Connecticut south of milepost 49.
FujiFilm XT1 digital photo.
One advantage of Stafford Springs is that the railroad makes an east-west twist through the village on its otherwise north-south run. This favors the morning light for a southward train.
The other advantage is Stafford’s quaint and distinctive New England setting.
In the longer months, there’s nice morning sun on the north side of the tracks at Palmer, Massachusetts and this seems to offer a potentially good vantage point.
There are several interesting structures here: including the former Union Station (now the Steaming Tender restaurant) and the old Flynt building (painted grey and lavender with fluorescent pink trim).
Yet I’ve found that placing a train in this setting rarely yields a satisfactory composition.
Here’s the on-going compromise; using a wide-angle perspective if I place the train far away, it tends to get lost in the scene. And, yet when it’s too close it obscures the old station building. The Flynt building either dominates on the right, or ends up cropped altogether. A telephoto view here presents its own share of complications.
The other day, I turned on to South Main Street in time to see the CSX local freight (symbol B740) west of the New England Central diamond (crossing). This gave me just enough time to park the car, walk briskly across the street, set my exposure and use my FujiFilm XT1 to make this sequence of photos.
CSX local freight B740 has a pair of vintage GP40-2 diesels. To the left of the train is the old Palmer Union Station.This closer view obscures the station.The trailing view lacks a satisfactory sense of place. It is CP83 in Palmer, but it could be anywhere. Yet, it does offer a good view of the antique diesels and the signals, so that’s something.
Not bad for grab shots, but they still suffer from my visual quandary as described.
Puzzling through these sorts of vexations is part of my process for making better photos. Sometimes there’s no simple answer, but then again, occasionally I find a solution.
In the meantime I present my photos as work in progress.
Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light is a Daily Blog.
Yesterday’s Tracking the Light featured the gripping headline:
“OH NO! I JUST WIPED MY CARD . . .”
And there I’ve told the story of how I accidentally erased my day’s finest efforts (and brought them back again.)
It’s bad enough to accidentally destroy your own work, but it’s especially galling to ruin the photos from such a great day. Bright sun, clear blue skies and a polished executive train moving a moderate speeds.
Simply we’d nailed the Pan Am train at multiple locations in great light, and there were several sets (groups of photos) that I was really happy about.
Followed by the sickening feeling of loss.
The day’s finest photos: GONE!
The film equivalent of this sort of disaster is the accidental opening the camera-back before rewinding, where-in you lose a half dozen photos or so, but if you close it up quickly you can usually save most of the roll.
The worse film-related catastrophe was when your box of film came back from the lab with a little green slip; ‘Owing to a unique laboratory occurrence, we are sorry to report . . .’
By contrast, my digital disaster was an easy fix (Click the link to read Monday’s post for details: http://wp.me/p2BVuC-4ih).
As I mentioned yesterday, when this sort of thing happens: avoid making it worse by continuing to use the card.
Although I’d ‘erased’ (wiped, zapped, cleaned) the camera’s memory card. In truth, all I’d done was erase the catalog. All of my photos remained on the card. Yet, resurrecting them was a slow painstaking process.
Here are some of my favorite photos that’d I never thought I’d have opportunity to post on Tracking the Light
Working west at Buckland. Exposed on a SanDisk Extreme PRO 32 GB memory car using my FujiFilm XT1. Erased accidentally and retrieved using RescuePRO Deluxe. For details see Monday’s Tracking the Light.My friend Tim D. was behind the wheel, and driving well-known back roads along the Deerfield River scored us this view near Charlemont, Massachusetts.This was a grab-shot near Zoar. I have to admit, it was this view that I was most disgusted having lost.Pan Am’s office cars disappear into Hoosac Mountain.A friendly wave near Eaglebridge, New York.Lots of folks were out for this view at Fisherman’s Lane in Schagticoke, New York.
Quantification isn’t the best approach. Yet, I like to consider various elements of the railway scene when reviewing my photography.
I realize that many photographers focus their work on those elements that grip their interest.
In my travels, I like to keep my spectrum as broad as possible. I’m always seeking to capture different scenes that relate to the railway as a whole.
Below are some of the many categories covered in my photography and in the posts on Tracking the Light. Undoubtedly some topics are more popular than others.
North American Class 1 lines.Freight cars.Suburban railways.Mainline steam trips.Signals.Railway maintenance equipment.Railway precursors.Subways and rapid transit.Train crews.Light rail and streetcar systems.North American short lines.Railway tracks.Preserved railways.Abandoned railways.Heritage streetcar lines.Maintenance trains.Amtrak.Railway bridges.Railway stations.Trolley museums.Disused lines.Advertising liveries.Industrial railways.Tourist trains.
Metrolink runs the Los Angeles-area heavy rail commuter/suburban services. Metro Rail runs LA’s subway and light rail lines.
Earlier this month (August 2016), I made some views of the Gold Line extension to Atlantic from First Street. This offers some nice views of the cars with downtown Los Angeles skyline.
Looking east toward Atlantic. Gold Line’s Pico/Aliso stop can be seen in the distance. (Not to be confused with Pico on the Blue Line/Expo Line that is located southwest of downtown. Just in case you were confused).This trailing view of an in bound Gold Line set was made with a slightly wide-angle focal length using my FujiFilm X-T1.Here’s the same light rail train exposed from the same vantage point, but using a telephoto focal length, which compresses the distance and allows for the skyscrapers to visually loom above the road. A secondary benefit from this perspective is that it crops out the high-voltage wires that featured prominently in the earlier view. (Not so good, of course, if you are a wire enthusiast!)
To pull in the skyline, I used a telephoto lens, which makes the buildings seem larger when compared to the light rail cars. When taken to extremes this effect can make the skyscrapers appear surreal.
I was keen to explore one of the Los Angeles-area’s most recent light rail extensions: Metro Rail’s so-called Expo Line that runs west from a connection with the Blue Line (near downtown) and roughly follows the alignment of an old Pacific Electric route along Exposition Boulevard to Santa Monica.
The portion of the line from Culver City to Santa Monica was opened in May this year, and so still has that newly-built appearance.
LA Metro Rail pays tribute to the old Pacific Electric at its stations with artwork and historical interludes.
Attention to the platform art will yield the viewer bits of history and PE heritage.
Using my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm X-T1 I made these images under bright sunny skies. Yet, I wonder about the opportunities for evening and twilight images on this line?
The Expo Line’s largely east-west alignment combined with LA’s propensity for air-pollution should present some impressive lighting conditions.
I’m not the first observer to embrace the pictorial effects of Los Angeles air quality.
Perhaps a visit with a very long lens during a smog alert could yield some colorful results?
A telephoto view exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 of a modern light rail car approaching Santa Monica.The Expo Line features a variety of light rail equipment, which is an uncommon feature for such a new line. Exposed at Santa Monica with my FujiFilm X-T1Many stations are decorated with artwork and embellished with historical tidbits. Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1Expo Line station at Santa Monica.A Lumix LX7 view of an LA-bound car departing Santa Monica.Trailing view of the same cars. Metro Rail is advertising the Expo Line on the side of this car.An old car in new paint graces the streets of Santa Monica. LX7 photo.Clean new signs are a feature of the Expo Line extension.Outbound cars at Jefferson. Lumix LX7 photo.Jefferson; cars stop just long enough to make a photo before boarding. This one is 1027; do YOU remember the significance of that number?
At Pico, the Expo Line shares platforms with the Blue Line (that runs to Long Beach). Careful, you might board the wrong car outbound!Pico looking toward downtown LA. Lumix LX7 view.
For more on the Expo Line see this article in the LA Times:
Combine agricultural dust from the San Joaquin Valley with Los Angeles-area air pollution and you get some wonderful golden light. Throw in a few wild fires and it gets even better!
All that pollution acts as a huge red-orange filter.
On this evening in late July 2016, fellow photographer David Hegarty and I were fortunate to be in place in the California Tehachapis to make good use of the golden light.
As previously featured on Tracking the Light, the railroad was a bit backed up. This enabled us to find a train at the moment of sunset.
A timetable-southward BNSF freight gets a green signal at Belleville, California. FujiFilm X-T1 photo. Image was not altered in post processing except to scale for internet presentation.California golden glint; exposed digitally using a Fujifilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens. Sorry about the wires. I’d crop them, but then the photo would have been ‘altered’. Right?Here I’ve included the setting sun. This shows the angle of the light relative to the train necessary to produce the glint effect. I’m standing at the Bealeville grade crossing.
These images have not been altered digitally in post processing, except for scaling necessary for digital presentation. To maintain the rich rosy glow, I selected a daylight white balance, and was very careful with my exposure, which I selected manually to maintain texture in the sky.
And yes, I also exposed a slide using Fujichrome Provia 100F.
