Classic Chrome: On this Day in 1988 I had 2020 Vision.

Ok, make that a vision of Conrail 2020.

It was just after 8am on May 27, 1988, when I exposed this portrait (vertical) view of Conrail BAL013 stopped at CP123 east of Chester, Massachusetts.

The sun was perfect and I used this opportunity to make several photos of the train as it held for westward Conrail intermodal freight TV9, which passed CP123 at 8:13am

This is a Kodachrome 25 slide (using the professional PKM emulsion) exposed using a Leica M2 with 50mm Summicron lens.

I scanned the original Kodachrome slide with a Nikon Coolscan5000 scanner using VueScan. Later I scaled the file using Lightroom. I did not alter color balance, contrast, sharpness or other inherent characteristics. The original image has an overall cyan (blue-green) bias that was characteristic of Kodachrome from that period.

I calculated my exposure using a Sekonic Studio Deluxe light meter, and set the camera at f6.3 (half way between the marks for f5.6 and f8) at 1/125thof a second. This was equivalent to my standard exposure for ‘full sun’.

I learned when I moved west that ‘full sun’ is brighter in the Western states than in New England. A bright day in the Nevada desert is a full stop difference than in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.

Tracking the Light Posts Every Day.

2 comments on “Classic Chrome: On this Day in 1988 I had 2020 Vision.

  1. Maybe its just my rose colored glasses, but I remember all of Conrail’s engines clean, its freights frequent and operating to schedule and it’s crews friendly! BS

  2. Phil on said:

    Nice shot! Kind of looks like a promotional photo for a potential buyer.
    On a clear day in Western MA the sky is blue but I don’t recall it being THAT blue!
    Do you have a filter that removes dirt and grime from an image? Maybe those units were straight out of the paint shop because I NEVER saw a Conrail unit THAT clean! It’s kind of like seeing a U.P. unit clean!? An old “head” once told me the dirt adds weight for traction…..

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