photography

Ghost of the Western Maryland

We paid a nocturnal visit to Middletown, Pa., where I photographed Middletown & Hummelstown’s Alco S-6 switcher in Western Maryland paint from Brown Street.

I worked entirely from ambient light, which included street lights near the railroad yard, and a background glow from the nearby Harrisburg Airport.

Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens, ISO 200, f4.0, 25 seconds. Viewing the scaled file on my computer, screen the stars are evident in the sky.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens, ISO 200, f4.0, 25 seconds.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens, ISO 200, f4.0, 25 seconds.

With my Nikon Z7-II mounted on a 3Pod tripod, I exposed a series of relatively long exposures with the camera set to low ISO (200) to allow for greater data capture. My exposures were nearly 30 seconds. In post processing, I reduced overall contrast, lightened shadow areas to reveal detail not evident with the naked eye, and controlled highlights.