I made these views of New England Central job 608 working timetable northward at Stafford Spring, Connecticut.
It was about 7:30am, and the sun was just tinting the eastern sky.
Rather than set my camera with ‘auto white balance’ (a typical default setting), I opted to fix the white balance with the ‘daylight’ setting.
Auto white balance arbitrarily selects a neutral color balance and adjusts the balance based on the conditions at hand. This is a useful feature in some situations, such as photography under incandescent lighting, or in situations with mixed lighting, such as in a museum or subway.
However, auto white balance settings have the unfortunate effect of minimizing the colorful effects of sunset and sunrise and so using the ‘daylight’ setting is in my opinion a better alternative.
But there’s really much a more complex problem; the way that digital cameras capture images is completely different to the ways the human eye and brain work in fixing visual stimuli. You could write a book on that!
Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
In this case, closer view is better for many reasons, the sky being one. As for the book, please announce here when it is published!
If the train is the attraction, could both pictures be extremes? The first, being too far away and the second too close causing the locomotive to be out of proportion although presenting an interesting perspective.
WINTER! UGH! Gray cast to the sky, recent snow, , ice on the sidewalks, what I used to call “Stick City” in re: the trees with no leaves, presents more and less photographic situations. We used to lament, “Spring is just (fill in the number of) days away!” Considering all the occasions I visited Stafford Speedway, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this location which seems to be “just down the street” from the speedway. Small world!