Southern 6900 at Spencer, North Carolina, May 30, 2014—Tracking the Light Special Post.

A Classic E8A at Speed.

Using the LX-7, I made a pan of Southern E8A 6900 working an excursion at North Carolina Transportation Museum’s Streamliners at Spencer event.

This beautifully restored locomotive is a vision from an earlier era. Passenger trains just don’t look like this anymore.

Exposed on May 30, 2014 using a Panasonic Lumix LX-7. Exposure f8 at 1/40th of a second. Except for scaling for internet presentation, this file is unmodified. There were no corrections to exposure, color or contrast.

I made a spot decision to pan in order to visually separate the green on the locomotive from the densely foliated background.

Since I had only a few seconds to adjust my exposure, I left the camera in ‘A’ mode (aperture priority), added +1/3 of a stop (to lighten the scene), and turned the external aperture ring to f8, the smallest setting. This forced the camera to select a slower shutter speed, which is what I needed for a successful pan.

I moved the camera with the front of the locomotive as it passed.

One other trick: this engine was trailing, not leading.

For more Steamliners at Spencer photos click HERE.

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