The Main Line at Night.
Here’s a pair of opportunistic images. I’d not gone out to make photographs, but while at dinner near Ardmore, Pennsylvania, I noted that Amtrak’s former Pennsylvania Railroad four-track Main Line ran adjacent to the car park.
After dinner, I wandered up to the tracks to investigate the potential for photography. At the edge of the car park was a sign post that I co-opted to use an impromptu camera support (I’d call this a ‘tripod’ but in fact it really was just a post), and placed my Lumix LX3 on the post.
The prevailing darkness and extreme contrast combined made for a tricky exposure. Instead of relying on the camera’s internal meter. I first made a test photo, then using that as a gauging point, set the camera to ‘over expose’ by about a full stop for each angle.
To avoid camera shake, I set the self-timer for 2 seconds, pressed the shutter button and stepped back. These are my results. It was cold, and I didn’t believe that any train movements were very close, so I didn’t opt to wait for a train.
Would have a train improved the scene?
See my earlier posts on night photography for suggestions and guidelines:
Lumix LX-3—part 2: Existing Light Digital Night Shots;
Palmer, Massachusetts 11:01pm November 30, 2012.
Also, click to see related posts:
Vestiges of the Pennsylvania Railroad;
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Tomorrow: Story behind a dramatic view of Wisconsin Central.
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