Tag Archives: Arts

DAILY POST; West Warren Contrasts; 2010 and 2013

Difficulties of Photographing in the Spring and Summer.

That’s just what you want to read about right now, isn’t it!. Gosh, those awful warm months with the long days, soft sunlight and thick foliage.

Well, here I have two views, both made at about the same location off Route 67 in West Warren, Massachusetts at approximately the same time of the morning. Both views show a CSX eastward freight.

On July 31, 2010, an eastward CSXT intermodal train works the former Boston & Albany at West Warren, Massachusetts. At the time heavy line-side brush made photography challenging. Canon EOS 7D.
On July 31, 2010, an eastward CSXT intermodal train works the former Boston & Albany at West Warren, Massachusetts. At the time heavy line-side brush made photography challenging. Canon EOS 7D.
This sequence of photos was made at almost exactly the same location, but after CSXT performed undercutting work and brush cutting along the Boston & Albany route. These views were exposed on the morning of May 10, 2013.
This sequence of photos was made at almost exactly the same location, but after CSXT performed undercutting work and brush cutting along the Boston & Albany route. These views were exposed on the morning of May 10, 2013.
Slightly closer view that nearly approximates the position of the train in the July 31, 2010 photo.
Slightly closer view that nearly approximates the position of the train in the July 31, 2010 photo.

The first was exposed on July 31, 2010; the second two views were made on May 10, 2013. While I’ve used one of these views in a previous post (see: Quaboag Valley in Fog and Sun, May 10, 2013 ), I thought these made for an interesting contrast with the earlier image.

The primary difference is that in the interval between 2010 and 2013 CSXT cut the brush along the Boston line and performed undercutting work at West Warren. This is just one of many locations that benefited visually from such improvements.

A secondary difficulty about photographing when foliage is at its summer peak is selecting the optimum exposure. In the 2010 image, I took a test photo and allowed for some nominal overexposure of the locomotive front in order to retain detail in the foliage. I then made a nominal correction in Photoshop during post processing to make for a more pleasing image.

This is the 'unprocessed' camera-produced Jpg to show the slight 'over exposure' on the locomotive front.
This is the ‘unprocessed’ camera-produced Jpg to show the slight ‘over exposure’ on the locomotive front.

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Tomorrow: CSX in the snow!

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Misty Morning on the Boston & Albany near Edwards Park, New York October 14, 2011.

 

Fall Colors near State Line Tunnel.

CSX L022 rolls west near Edwards Park, New York. Exposed at ISO 640 with a Canon EOS 7 with 28-135mm lens set at 53mm f5.6 at 1/200th second. To accentuate the autumn foliage, I manually set the white balance for a warmer setting rather than use the auto white balance that I find to be too cool for autumn trees.
CSX L022 rolls west near Edwards Park, New York. Exposed at ISO 640 with a Canon EOS 7 with 28-135mm lens set at 53mm f5.6 at 1/200th second. To accentuate the autumn foliage, I manually set the white balance for a warmer setting rather than use the auto white balance that I find to be too cool for autumn trees.

On the morning of October 14, 2011, I crossed the Berkshires on the Mass-Pike as I drove west to meet with accomplished railway photographer John Pickett.

I had a few hours before our meeting, so despite low cloud and mist, I exited the highway at the Massachusetts-New York state line and drove toward Boston & Albany’s State Line Tunnel. While on Tunnel Hill Road in Canaan, New York, I noticed this colorful scene from the road side.

As I got out of the car, I heard the unmistakable sound of a train roaring west. I had just enough time to get out my Canon EOS 7 and make a test image before the train passed.

Another case of just being at the right place at the right time, and being ready to act.

 

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Former Erie Railroad Mainline, West of Union City, Pennsylvania, October 8, 2009

Four Years Ago Today.

Western New York & Pennsylvania Alco diesels.
I exposed this image after sunrise just west of Union City, Pennsylvania. I was working with a pair of Canon EOS-3s. This photo was made with the EOS-3  loaded with Fujichrome Velvia 100 and fitted with a 24mm lens.

On the morning of October 8, 2009, I made a project of photographing Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad’s westward freight HNME (Hornell to Meadville) that was working along the former Erie Railroad mainline in northwestern Pennsylvania.

I started before dawn near Niobe Junction and followed the train to its terminus at the former Erie yard in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Speed restrictions on the line made for ample opportunities to photograph the freight as the sun brightened the sky.

See Tracking the Light post from December 11, 2012, Erie October Morning, for more images of this train exposed on October 8, 2009.

Tracking the Light posts new material daily.

See my Dublin Page for images of Dublin’s Open House Event in October 2013.

Please spread the word and share Tracking the Light with anyone who may enjoy seeing it!

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

 

 

 

 

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