A nearly full moon and foliage with rusty yellow hues can accentuate railway night photography.

The moon will lend a bluish tint to the sky, while illuminating clouds that makes for a more dramatic scene than inky black.

Streetlights, passing automobiles, and locomotive headlights help to brighten the foliage.

Rain makes for puddles that can add atmosphere and interesting reflections. Get low to the ground and use puddles as mirrors.

If a train pauses, use a tripod to make very long exposures. A common error with night photography is failing to leave the shutter open long enough to capture sky detail.

Use post processing software such as Lightroom or Photoshop to control contrast, and always expose RAW files to ensure sufficient data is captured.

If time allows, bracket and study exposures on site to see if you’ve caught what you were seeing. Or perhaps find something in the photograph that looks completely different than the scene itself.

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