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Lighting up the Signals at Washington Boro.

Last night Kris suggested we drive around to find a train on the move, so we went over to Washington Boro, Pa., on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch to check the signals.

We were in luck! And as soon as I saw that these had been cleared for an eastward move, I set up my 3Pod tripod.

Manipulating the camera in the inky darkness is easier said than done. As the train whistle announced its approach, I struggled to find my desired setting. I couldn’t see the dial and I was fighting with the camera to get the shutter speed, ISO, and lens settings where I wanted them.

Ultimately, I selected a default setting where the camera automatically set the ISO to 25,600 and allowed me to adjust the aperature.

All very well, but unable to see what I was doing led me to select some ‘random’ mode in the darkness that only exposed photos as JPG, rather than my usual setting that exposes both JPG and NEF (RAW) files simultaneously.

As the coal cars rolled by at speed on continuous welded rail, I finally got the camera into ‘M’ (manual mode), which enabled me to set the ISO to 200, the shutter speed to 90 seconds, and the aperture to f4. Unfortunately the White Balance was set to a daylight setting rather than an automatic, so I needed to fix the White Balance in post-processing.

It was pretty cool to finally catch a train here in darkness.

Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.
Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.
Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.
Auto ISO at 25,600-in camera JPG scaled for internet presentation.
Final frame; ISO 200 in Manual Mode. 90 sec exposure at f4.0. White balance corrected in Lightroom.

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Glint Season at Jefferson Drive

It’s that time of year again. The setting sun is at a nice angle for reflective glint at Jefferson Drive in Lancaster, Pa. With the smoke from Canadian wildfires continuing to tint the setting sun, I thought I’d try a 200mm view of Amtrak Keystone 658 on its eastward journey.

In post processing, I made a variety of minor adjustments to shadows, highlights, saturation and contrast to improve the overall appearance of the photo.

Below are two images in my sequence. Both received the same adjustments.

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OBB Selzthal—Red signals in the blue hour.

What is in a title?

My hope is that it—the title— will capture your curiosity so that you will open the post and view the photo. Sometimes, I opt for the elusive, the subtle, or the vague. Other times, I simply spell it out.

On rare occasion, I’ll imply a contest.

This is not one of the latter.

There is no prize but the photo itself.

I exposed this image on a visit to the ÖBB bahnhof at Selzthal, Austria on January 7, 2012.

Dusk had fallen, and the snow was falling too.

My Lumix LX3 proved the perfect tool to capture the ‘blue hour’ (I’heure bleue in French; and no, neither jazz nor perfume)—that elusive moment between day and night, which is perhaps best experienced in falling snow in a distant nation far from worries present and past.

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ICE Train for a Hot Day

Lately, it’s been really hot, so I thought it would be nice to look back to a day-almost 20 years ago-when I photographed a DB InterCity Express train on a frosty cold January morning at Jenbach, Austria.

Denis McCabe and I had traveled on this train from Innsburck. Upon stopping at Jenbach, I jumped out and walked to the headend to expose this Fujichrome slide using my Contax G2 rangefinder.

Later, we changed to a Zillertalbahn narrow gauge local and traveled through the hoar frost up the Ziller Valley.

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Banking into the Curve at Gap

Yesterday evening, I set up at Gap, Pa., on the former Pennsylvania Railroad to wait for Amtrak Keystone 651.

This is a great time of year for the light at Gap as the low evening sun illuminates the sweep of the curve, while leaving a textured dark backdrop.

When I saw ACS-64 626, I smiled. If there was one of these electrics that I could claim as a favorite, it would be old 626.

I was so fixated on the leading engine that I didn’t even notice the second ACS-64 at the back of the consist until it hummed by.

Exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom.

Exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom.

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Sunset at Mount Sidney Road—Smoketown

What better place to catch a smoky sky than in Smoketown?

I’ve eyed up this location for a few years now. It’s not great in bright daylight, but I’ve thought it might make a nice view in the evening.

Last night, Kris and I had gone for ice cream, and afterwards were driving around in the post sunset glow. Canadian fires continue to tint the evening sky.

We parked off Mount Sidney Road, I had time to frame up the scene, set the ISO rating on my Z7-II to 8000, and lo-and-behold, there was the blue-white sheen of an ACS-64’s headlights on the rail.

Even at ISO8000 my exposure was f4 at 1.60th of a second.

I processed the NEF RAW file using DxO PureRaw to create a DNG file, which I then imported into Lightroom for minor adjustment. Among other corrections, PureRaw eliminated the granular effect of ISO.

Below is the straight NEF RAW scaled and converted to JPG but unaltered in terms of appearance (exposure, color, contrast, grain or vignette-control).

Straight NEF RAW scaled and converted to JPG but otherwise unaltered.
NEW RAW after conversion to DNG and cosmetically adjusted in Lightroom to enhance appearance.

Above is my interpreted NEF RAW file after conversion to DNG with changes to color, contrast, exposure etc.; below is the same file with extreme interpretation of color, contrast and exposure. The result is surreal.

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Amfleet in New Dress

Over the last couple of months, I’ve seen several of Amtrak’s mid-1970s vintage Amfleet cars rolling by in a variation of the modern Phase VII livery.

Catching these cars on the move takes a sharp eye and quick reflexes.

Below are a few of my attempts at various locations.

Leaman Place.
Bird-in-Hand.
Christiana.

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Working with a Silhouette

Friday evening we rolled by Amtrak westward Keystone Train 651 near Shelley Drive in Lancaster.

I’d calculated the running time from Parkesburg based on the departure listed in the ASM.transitdocs app, and it passed within 30 seconds of my estimation.

I made several photos. The leading image is a fairly straightforward view of the former Metroliner cab control car leading the consist. As the train passed, I exposed several digital images in rapid succession.

One of these trailing views made for a graphic silhouette.

Upon review, I decided to play with the NEF RAW file in Lightroom to see if I could improve the image.

Below are several variations, concluding with a converted image using PureRaw software to create a DNG file that I then adjusted in Lightroom.

Details below.

Amtrak Keystone 651 rolls west near Shelley Drive in Lancaster. ACS-64 617 works at the back of the consist.
Trailing silhouette; NEF RAW file without interpretation. This straight out of the camera. File scaled as a JPG for internet presentation.
NEF RAW file adjusted in Lightroom to lighten shadows, control highlightes, enhance color, and alter contrast.
NEF RAW file following conversion to a DNG file using PureRaw.
NEF RAW file following conversion to a DNG file with heavy-handed adjustmentin Lightroom to lighten shadows, control highlightes, enhance color, and alter contrast. Version 1. File cropped to show the primary image area.
Same arrangement as above (PureRaw converted DNG, Lightroom etc). Adjustement version 2.

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No. 90 in Hazy High Sun.

Not every situation is made to order for photography.

I was on my way to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to conduct research for my next book. Since I was just a little early, I opted to divert via Esbenshade Road and roll by Strasburg Rail Road’s returning 1pm train.

I heard the engine working the grade. On most recent visits, former Canadian National 2-6-0 No. 89 has been assigned to the run. Since this is a relative small locomotive the crews have to work it reasonably hard ascending the grade from Cherry Hill.

However, on this afternoon I listened carefully; the softer bark of the stack told me that the engine wasn’t working especially hard. This couldn’t be 89, so it must be No. 90—the former Great Western 2-10-0 (a relatively big Baldwin).

Inded it was!

Canadian wildfires made for the air thick with particulates, and the sunlight was tinged with brown. Not pretty light at all.

Photos exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.

NEF RAW files were adjusted using Lightroom to maximize detail.

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Pennsylvanian with Phase VII painted Genesis.

Last weekend, Kris and I were running some errands when I got a tip from our friend Dan Cupper that Amtrak no. 42, the eastward Pennsylvanian was led by a freshly painted Genesis P42 in the new Amtrak phase VII scheme.

This livery was introduced a few years ago on Amtrak’s Siemens Changer diesels, but those are as rare as hen’s teeth in these parts.

Kris and I stopped at Home Depot near Parkesburg, then timed our arrival at Christiana to coincide with the passage of both east and westbound Pennsylvanians.

Owing to the angle of the tracks and the nice old buildings near the line, Christiana is a choice place to catch eastbounds in the early afternoon.

I made these views of the passing train using my Nikon Z7-II.

It’s always neat to catch something in new paint. I wonder how many of the Amtrak Genesis diesels will get this treatment?

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Mine locomotive in the Mine.

During our coal mine tour a few weeks ago, I exposed this image of a coal mine locomotive on display deep below the surface.

It was pretty dark inside the Lackawanna Coal Mine, so I set my Z7-II for ISO 8000 in order to record this photo handheld.

Afterwards, I made four versions of the same image. The first is a NEF RAW straight out of the camera. The second has been processed using Lightroom. The third is the NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format using PureRaw; the last is the Lightroom adjusted PureRaw DNG formatted file. Each is captioned appropriately.

All have been scaled for internet presentation.

Image 1: NEF RAW file straight out of the camera.
Image 2; NEF RAW that was processed using Lightroom.
NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format and without adjustment or post processing adjustment.
NEF RAW after conversion to DNG format following post-processing adjustments to color, contrast and exposure.

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Mon-Con Century

On my visit to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania last week, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the outdoor displays.

One of the last photos that I exposed was of former Monongahela Connecting Railroad Alco C-415 701 that had nice light on it.

Although I’ve seen several preserved Alco Century-series-415 diesels, this was never a common model, and I never caught one in service.

Exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens, NEF RAW file processed in Adobe Lightroom.

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Christiana Crayola Blue

My earlier fortuitous photographic fog-fail was a blessing in disguise.

With an hour to spare before the next eastward Keystone, I drove east toward Gap and at the last minute decide to try for Christiana.

Since Amtrak’s westward Keystone 611 was running late, I figured I’d try to intercept it, and Christiana was a good place to catch morning trains in both directions.

Not long after I arrived at Christiana, the former Metroliner Cab Control car leading 611 came into view, so I made a sequence of it passing.

I began to wonder, what if the next eastbound train doesn’t have Amtrak 621 (the Crayola Blue ACS-64) in the lead?

Then the rail tinged, and a headlight came into view . . .

Crayola Blue!

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Cursed by Lens Fog

I anticipated that Amtrak’s Crayola-Blue ACS-64 621 would lead the first or second eastward Keystone from Harrisburg.

With this in mind, I arrived at Jefferson Drive in the morning to intercept the first train. For me this was a good news/bad news scenario.

The good news: although I’d cut it a bit fine, I arrived ahead of the train.

Bad news, the ambient humidity was extremely high, so as soon as I stepped out of the car my camera lens fogged. No amount of cleaning would keep it clear.

Good news: the Crayola Blue locomotive wasn’t leading.

Bad news: my photo of the first train was fogged.

Good news: Kris suggested I use the ‘Dehaze’ effects slider in Lightroom to correct for the fog, and to my surprise this trick worked very well.

Better news: I had another chance at catching Amtrak’s Crayola Blue locomotive on the move. So I drove east with the heat on in the car and the windows open. My hope was that, while uncomfortable, this might bring my camera up to temperature so that it would be less likely to fog when I got out of the car.

This is scaled, but otherwise unmodified RAW file as it came out of the camera. Although it was a bright clear morning, high humidity fogged the front element of my lens, which had the side effect of resulting in underexposure as well as reducing clarity and contrast.
Kris suggested that I try Lightroom’s ‘Dehaze’ slider. This effect compensated for the undesirable effects of lens fog. Afterwards I lowered the saturation slider and lightened the image using exposure controls. It’s not perfect, but much better than the flat, soft and underexposed image that I had out of the camera.

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In the Ink of Night Something Blue Blurs By

Kris wanted to go for an evening drive.

Amtrak Keystone 653 from Philadelphia was running behind the advertised. I figured we could drive against it and catch it passing Gap, Pa.

We arrived with a few minutes to spare. I had time to set up my 3Pod Tripod and framed up a scene with a tree by the former PRR Main Line.

I exposed a couple of test photos to check exposure and focus.

Before long, I heard the squeel of steel wheels on steel rails. I made this series of time exposures. To my surprise, Amtrak ACS-64 621 wearing the Crayola-blue advertising livery was working the back of the consist.

Wow! That was neat! Trailing, eh? Hmmmm.

It did little for the photos, except add an ever so slightly blue tint to the second image in the sequence. But, I knew what I’d be after the following morning! Stay tuned . . .

When we spied the blue ACS-64, Kris smiled and said to me, ‘You’re welcome!”
Wow that really was cool, even if didn’t mean much in the photo, just a fleeting hint of blue.

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SD38s for Dessert

We’d finished our meal at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant.

I’d been watching the signals for a southward train and saw that the previously all red lights had cleared to ‘approach’ (yellow-over-red-over-red).

Kris ordered a fancy dessert from the dessert cart, and then we heard the whistle . . . the second in less than an hour.

I wandered down toward the old tower just in time to catch a pair of Reading & Northern SD38s with a short freight.

Exposed with my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 27mm (to include the signals).

Reading & Northern SD38s pass the old Reading Company station at Tamaqua, Pa.,

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DL&W Heritage at Steamtown

Scranton’s Steamtown is a museum of North American railroading. But it is also a citadel of Lackawanna heritage. It is the respository of Lackawanna equipment and artifacts.

In its heyday more than a century ago, Lackawanna was an increadibly busy and very profitable railroad. In 1915, some 32 freight and passenger trains in each direction would work the mainline east of Scranton on a daily basis. Today these rails still host the occasional freights operated by Genesee Valley Transportation’s Delaware-Lackawanna, but its a far cry from the busy thoroughfare it was once.

Outside of Scranton, fragments and vestiges of the Lackawanna survive, but decades have passed since these represented a cohesive and vital transportation network. West of Binghamton, New York, little remains of the Lackawanna main line.

Photos exposed using a Nikon Z7-II.

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SD40-2s at Tamaqua Station

“Let’s sit out on the platform.”

A fortuitous suggestion.

We decided to stop by at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant on the way back from Scranton. It was sunny and bright, but not too hot, and during our previous visits we’d always dined inside, so why not try one of the outdoor tables?

A waitress came by to take our drink order. Kris had iced tea, and I ordered a Rusty Rail Fog Monster (a New England Style IPA, brewed in Mifflinburg, PA). About that time, Kris said, ‘”Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“A whistle! There’s a train coming.”

And, indeed, there was! Or at least a set of light engines.

A pair of Reading & Northern SD40-2s came up to the station and stopped, almost directly opposite our table. The crew changed ends, waited for the southward signal to clear, and then proceeeded into the Tamaqua Yard.

That worked out well!

Our meals were delivered, and afterward Kirs ordered dessert as the signal cleared to ‘Approach’.

Stay tuned for more . . . .

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Roundhouse Groundbreaking

Yesterday (July 29, 2025), I attended the Roundhouse Groundbreaking ceremony at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.

Work has begun on the long-planned six-stall roundhouse that will be used to house six former Pennsylvania Railroad steam locomotives that are in the museum collection.

Museum Director Patrick Morrison led the ceremony with an introductory speech, followed by speeches by several key dignitaries, including former Museum Director David Dunn who, many years ago, got the ball rolling for the roundhouse construction.

Afterwards the assembled group was invited outside to see the site for the new structure and to ceremonial move some earth. I missed the earth moving as I was chatting with other guests, but I did make a few photos of the gilded shovels and other proceedings.

It was a landmark day in Pennsylvania railroad preservation! (Capital ‘R’ optional on ‘railroad’).

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Anthracite Mine Tour—Part 2

We were hundreds of feet below ground on the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour. We were led by John, our guide, and much of the tour was conducted on foot through the maze of subterrainian tunnels. We had ample opportunity to inspect the old mine and learn about the perils of anthracite mining.

I made all of these photos hand-held using my Nikon Z7-II with the ISO set at 8000 to 12,800 ISO.

Although shadows and highlights have been adjusted in these image, the files are converted directly from the camera RAW images, and not processed using PureRaw. At some point I will convert a few images using this advanced processing software for comparision.

Stay tuned for more anthracite images!

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Sunrise in Scranton

It was a bright morning in Scranton, and I thought there was no better time to make sunlit photos of the old Delaware, Lackawanna & Western station than at first light.

This is now the Radisson’s Lackawanna Station Hotel, and we were staying on the 6th floor in the room behind the clock.

I grabbed my Nikon Z7-II, and I walked around the street-side of the classic Kenneth Murchison building making photos from various angles.

No Phoebe Snow this day and we weren’t ‘off to Buffalo,’ yet this classic old building still feels, looks, and even smells like a traditional railroad station.

Soon it was time for a coffee!

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Journey into the Earth

Scranton is a multi-leveled place.

What you see passing through on I-81 doesn’t give you any sense for what the place is about.

At one time there were dozens of active anthracite mines in and around the city with hundreds of miles of tunnels, many served by narrow gauge colliery railways.

The Lackawanna Coal Mine tour has been on my ‘to do’ list for a long time.

On our most recent visit to Scranton, Kris and I finally made time to take the tour. It was worth every minute and I’m looking forward to taking the tour again.

John, our guide, did an incredible job of conveying the history and the process of mining and stories of the hazards, trials, and difficult times endured by generations of anthracite miners in decades ago. In the early twenthieth century miners would start very young, with children five to ten years old being sent to help extract “black diamonds” from the earth.

Mines, even those opened and santized for visitors, are dangerous places, and we signed waivers before boarding the cable-hoisted railcar that lowered us deep into the earth. Although the last coal was mined here the year I was born, this is a real mine, and it was really cool to see in person.

Despite the inky darkness, thanks to my Nikon Z7-II and its high-ISO settings, I made many images.

More to follow in the coming days. Stay tuned . . .

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Steamtown Visit

One of the great things about Steamtown in Scranton, Pa., is that admission is free.

Last week, Kris and I arrived shortly after the park opened and spent several hours wandering around. There’s a lot to see and I hadn’t visited inside the museum in a number of years.

I made these images using my Nikon Z7-II and performed post processing using Adobe Lightroom. I’ve lightened shadows, reduced contrast and warmed the images as required for improved presentation.

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Lumix Views of Scranton’s DL&W Station

I work with different cameras to make various types of photos.

For this post I’m displaying a few photos made with my Panasonic Lumix LX-7 of the Radisson Lackawanna Hotel in Scranton. Using the Lumix lent to a distinct view point and the photos exposed offer an alternative to those that I previously made of the same building with my Nikon Z7-II.

These are not better or worse, just different.

Playing with myriad camera systems allows for a continued exploration of familiar subjects.

Compare these photos from those previously display in my earlier post: https://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/murchison-masterpiece-dlw-station-scranton/

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High Water along the Lititz Secondary

On July 14th an intense thunderstorm dumped between five and seven inches of rain between Mt Joy and Manheim, Pa.

The next day after the storms had ended, Kris and I had some errands and went up to take a look at Norfolk Southern’s Lititz Secondary where we found several roads closed and others flooded.

I made a few survey photos of the standing water using my Lumix LX7.

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Delaware & Hudson Lightning Stripe

Back in the winter of 1985, I was delighted to have photographed a Delaware & Hudson Alco RS-3 working at Colonie Shops in Watervliet, New York. My only regret was that I made all of my photos using black & white film.

Last week on our visit to Scranton, we had the fortuity to witness a local freight operated by Delaware-Lackawanna (a Genesee Valley Transportation short line). This featured a pair of antique Alco diesels including a former D&H RS-3 recently repainted into the classic lightning stripe livery.

I made these digital photos of the American classic as it switched the former Lackawanna yard adjacent to the Steamtown complex. I also exposed a few 35mm color slides (but no black & white views).

I never would have imagined back in 1985 that a Delaware & Hudson RS-3 would still be working in revenue freight service forty years later! Today, I wonder if any of the diesels working today will still be in service in another 40 years.

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Antiques of the Anthracite Roads

It was a blistering hot afternoon when we exited the Steamtown Mall on the elevated footbridge that offers views of the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western shops and yards that are now part of the Steamtown complex at Scranton, Pa.

Below us was a selection of Central Railroad of New Jersey passenger cars, DL&W multiple units, various cabooses and sad looking freight cars, plus a Reading Company RS-3, some F3s masquerading as a set of Lackawanna units, a few old steam locomotives, and a Leslie rotary plow.

As I was making studies of the museum’s antiques, we heard the unmistakable chortling sound of an Alco 244 diesel . . .

Stay tuned!

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Murchison Masterpiece—DL&W Station Scranton

Last week, Kris and I stayed at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton.

I remember when this architectural masterpiece was but a forlorn ruin.

Today, it is a testimony to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western and architect Kenneth Murchison.

I’ve previously written about this station in my book Depots, Stations & Terminals, published by Voyageur Press ten years ago. Below is an excerpt:

Murchison, was a respected New York architect who earned several important commissions for railroad stations in the early twentieth century. Murchison had studied in Paris and made prominent use of the Beaux-Arts style in his railway architecture. Among his significant early projects was Delaware, Lackawanna & Western’s new Hoboken Terminal on the west shore of the Hudson River across from New York City. This elaborate station complex replaced an earlier facility that had succumbed to fire and made prominent use of copper sheathing believed to be left over from the erection of the Statue of Liberty in nearby Upper New York Harbor.           

Murchison followed up his success with Hoboken with an impressive five-story station for the DL&W at Scranton, Pennsylvania, constructed in 1908 . . .

. . .The importance of Scranton to Lackawanna, and to the competition from a host of other railroads here, mandated magnificence on the part of DL&W’s new Scranton station. Murchison was the right man for the job. Working in French-Renaissance style characteristic of the Beaux Arts movement, Murchison imparted Continental elegance on this Pennsylvania coal capital. He used massive colonnades on both the street and track sides of the station, and maintained classic symmetry. At the center of the roofline an enormous clock was flanked by stone eagles. The building was faced with Indiana limestone. An unusually deep hanging canopy encircled the structure to protect passengers when arriving and boarding trains, while Bush-style smokeless sheds, originally designed by DL&W chief engineer Lincoln Bush for Hoboken, were installed trackside. In the 1920s an additional story was added.

It was in this 1920s addition that we stayed on our recent visit. Our room was immediately behind the fifth story clock that faces the parking lot. (See below).

Photos exposed in July 2025 using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens.

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Lunch at Tamaqua Station

On our way to Scranton, Kris and I stopped at Tamaqua, Pa., for lunch at the Tamaqua Station Restaurant.

I was pleased to see that the article I wrote for Trains Magazine last year that features the restaurant had been laminated and displayed for visitors to enjoy.

This former Reading Company station has great atmosphere and offers a great menu selection. Kris didn’t have the opportunity to sample the desserts on this visit, so we agreed to return soon.

Photos exposed using my Nikon Z7-II.

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Czech Class 122 and 123 Electrics

Sometimes gems can be found in ugly places. See: https://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/a-busy-but-bleak-austere-place-where-am-i/

On our January 2009 visit to Trebusice, Czech Republic, several freights passed, led by classic CD 122 and 123 electric locomotives. In addition, we saw these locomotives coming and going to collect empty and loaded coal trains from nearby yards.

This added a little bit of color to a monochromatic environment.

Photos exposed on Fujichrome using a Canon EOS-3.

The original images were scanned using a Nikon LS5000 slide scanner and the TIF files were processed in Adobe Lightroom to improve color and contrast.

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Exploring Peach Bottom

Last week Kris, Seamus and I took a drive to Peach Bottom, Pa. This is among the river towns along the Susquehanna River with photographic opportunites of Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch.

We investigated several places with views of the river and I made these photos with my Nikon.

Exploration is part of the fun and part of my process. Perhaps someday we will get lucky and catch a train passing Peach Bottom.

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A Busy, but Bleak, Austere Place; where am I?

Trebusice. . . .

Long ago I noted that there seems to be an inverse ratio regarding railroads with traffic and those passing bucolic photogenic scenery. With a few notable exceptions, the rule is simple: pretty places require lots of patience or great fortuity; while grim, dire venues often benefit from a concentration of traffic.

Rural Vermont: pretty and pretty quiet. Industrial overbuilt northern Indiana: bustling with trains seemingly on the move at every bend in the line.

It was a cool, gray afternoon in January 2009 when Denis McCabe, Tim Doherty, and I visited Trebusice in western Czech Republic (Czechia). Here we found an intensively utilized multiple track electrified line surrounded by strip mines, yards, and heavy industry.

The place was crawling with trains, and correspondingly bleak.

Fascinating, yet apocalyptic. Photogenic because of its exceptional severity.

I exposed a roll of Fujichrome using a Canon EOS 7D. Monday, I scanned a few of the slides. Did I also expose some Kodak Tri-X? I should have. Gray was the operative color. I’ve included a few images here. More to follow in the coming days.

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Steam from the Graveyard

We paused at Blackhorse Road to roll by Strasburg Rail Road’s evening train. I’ve made countless photos from Blackhorse and the adjacent Carpenters Cemetery, so I thought I’d try something a little different.

As engine 89 approached the crossing, I took a position in the graveyard. To make my photo, I adjusted the flexible rear display on my Nikon Z7-II, and held the camera at arm’s length over my head to gain some needed elevation.

Although, I was able to frame up my composition, I found it difficult to keep the camera level. Ultimately, I straightened the image in post processing, which also included adjustments to contrast, exposure and saturation.

I can’t complain about the car in the photo; it’s ours!

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Difficult Light at Amos Herr Park

Hazy midday summer sun presents difficult lighting for photographing trains on the move.

The overall light quality is flat, yet shadow areas are muddy and indistinct. This especially challenging on the underside of equipment and tree leaves.

The other day at Amos Herr Park in Landisville, Pa., I photographed Amtrak’s eastward Pennsylvanian. Moments before it came into view, a small fuzzy cloud dulled the already dull light.

The simple solution to this problem is to avoid photographing in midday summer light.

In this instance, I am seeking a post-processing solution to mitigate the problem and help produce a better image.

Below is a sequence of images. The first is the scaled, but otherwise unmodfied NEF Raw file. Next is my first attempt at adjusting color, contrast and exposure in an effort to improve the overall appearance of the photo. I wasn’t satisfied with this effort, so for my next attempt I converted the image to black & white and then selectively adjusted contrast and exposure.

In the final image, I manually reintroduced color to the photo, carefully controlling saturdation and luminance for specific parts of the spectrum using the Lightroom slider controls. Although imperfect, this allowed me to control the amount and intensity of color in defined areas of the image. If it looks a bit artificial that’s because it is! This is the product my controlling AI technology to colorize the image using information stored in the original file. It is not organic or natural.

Unmodified NEF RAW file.
Adjusted NEF RAW file using slider controls to modify color balance, color temperature, contrast and exposure, with a mask on the sky to make specific adjustments.
File converted to monochrome and with significant adjustment to contrast and exposure.
This is the product my controlling AI technology to colorize the above monochrome image using information stored in the original file.

Tracking the Light Posts Daily!

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Lunar aspect-Full Moon 11 Years Ago

On July 13, 2014, I visited Palmer, Massachusetts to try to make photos with trains and the rising full moon.

At the time I was working with my Canon EOS7D and a 100-400mm Canon zoom lens.

With the camera firmly mounted on a tripod, I exposed this photograph near milepost 83. It was a relatively long exposure (2/5ths of a second) using ISO1000 and a 190mm focal length.

This image vexed me. It is nearly there, but the moon is overexposed and the headlight is too bright.

Last night, I imported the Canon CR-2 RAW file into PureRaw for correction and conversion into DNG format. Then I imported the DNG into Lightroom for adjustment.

The processed photo is better than the unconverted image, but it’s still lacking. I wonder if using my modern Nikon Z cameras and PureRaw processing if I could have overcome some of the flaws inherent with this photo?

Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the first round of image adjustement using Lightroom
Lightroom work window reflecting the first round of corrections and original metadata.
Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the second round of corrections.
Adobe Lightroom workwindow showing the changes to create the PureRaw converted image with second round of corrections

Tracking the Light examines the process of Railroad Photography Daily!

Railway photography by Brian Solomon