Tag Archives: Belfast

photography, Tips and Technique

Transport Museum at Cultra

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Below are a selection of contemporary digital photographs that I made on visits to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum at Cultra, near Belfast, Northern Ireland.

See: https://www.nmni.com/our-museums/ulster-folk-and-transport-museum/Home.aspx

Museums offer opportunity to study historic equipment and take in the spirit of earlier times. But can be challenging places to make captivating photos. Confined quarters, cluttered arrangements, and other visitors can complicate composition.

Contrasty mixed source lighting is another problem. Thankfully modern digital cameras do an excellent job of balancing  florescent, incandescent light with direct and indirect daylight. While the ability to make test shots helps to obtain better exposures.

I exposed these images using my FujiFilm XT1 with a 12mm Zeiss Touit lens.

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NI Railways at Botanic, Belfast.

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Sometimes a station name conveys a grander image than what’s really there.

Cherry Orchard in Dublin comes to mind.  Put out visions of lush blossoming trees in a bucolic pastoral setting, and replace it with industrial squalor, palisade fencing, graffiti and garbage. Yet, it’s still a good place to catch trains on the move.

Then we have today’s featured location: NI Railway’s modern station at Botanic in Belfast. For me the name invokes images of flowing beautiful gardens, tall majestic trees and rows of manicured flowers, perhaps a fountain.

Er, not exactly.

While more salubrious than Dublin’s Cherry Orchard (and undoubtedly safer too), Botanic isn’t a wonderland.

But it’s not a bad place to picture trains.

Here’s a couple of Lumix Views.

Lumix LX-7 view, August 2018.
Lumix LX-7 view, August 2018.

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Lumix on the Enterprise—Extra Post

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I’m on my way from Dublin toward Belfast on the cross-border Enterprise.

Working with my Lumix LX7, I made these photos and I’m posting them via the Enterprise Wi Fi using my Apple MacBook.

The light weight Lumix LX7 with its easy to use controls and flexible zoom lens makes it an ideal travelogue device. Yet, it’s more than just a snapshot camera.

It makes simultaneous RAW and Jpg files while allowing adjustment of exposure via shutter speed and aperture controls. Plus it has a variety of pre-sets and automatic modes.

View at Drogheda.
Old Great Northern Railway station at Dundalk. This morning just a few minutes ago.
Near Newry, Northern Ireland.
Moo?

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Belfast-Dublin Enterprise at City Hospital—4 Views.

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On two occasions on 27 March 2018, I made sequences of the Belfast-Dublin Enterprisepassing NI Railway’s City Hospital station.

The Enterpriseservice typically consists of a push-pull De Dietrich sets with a General Motors built 201-class diesel at the Belfast end.

These views were exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm lens.

A southward Enterprise passes an NI Railways CAF set at City Hospital station.
A cab control car normally works the Dublin-end of the Enterprise, as pictured here.
Trailing view looking through the arches under Belfast’s Donegall Road toward the north junction connecting Great Victoria Street Station. (at right). That’s Irish Rail class-201 number 207 shoving at the back of the train. Hmm 207, so this is a continuation of yesterday’s post is it?
Horizontal version at the same location.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Blue and Silver Train on a Gray Day.

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I’d arrived at Adelaide Station in Belfast on this NI Railways 4000-series CAF railcar from Portadown.

Although it was windy, spitting rain and dull, and I had made photos at Adelaide at various times in recent months, I exposed this view anyway.

You never know when the common will seem fascinating. Someday something in this scene will be gone, and then the picture may take on new significance.

Lumix LX7 photo at Adelaide in Belfast.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Fool in the Rain, Irish Weather Part 1.

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On the way to Belfast from Dublin a couple of weeks ago, the rain lashed down. Instead of changing trains at Portadown, I opted to remain dry a little long and remained on the Enterprise all the way to Belfast Central.

It was still cloudy in Belfast, but the rain had stopped.

I traveled to Great Victoria Street, then changed for an all stops NI Railways train and alighted at Adelaide just as the clouds receded and bright evening light prevailed.

An express to Lisburn passes Adelaide. You’d hardly know that an hour earlier it was lashing rain.
A few minutes later, a 4001-series CAF passes on an all stops service. This pair of photos offers a good comparison between the 3001 and 4001 series CAF railcars employed by NIR.
NIR 4010 slows for its station stop at Adelaide.

I exposed these views with my FujiFilm XT1 fitted with a Fujinon 18-135mm zoom lens.

So I wasn’t a fool in the end; or was I?

If I’d changed at Portadown, I would have arrived at Adelaide sooner and I may have photographed a train with a rainbow.

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Looking Down on Great Victoria Street, Belfast.

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Plans are afoot to redevelop Belfast’s Great Victoria Street Station.

Although NI Railway’s platforms are not an architectural wonder, I’ve been making photos of the present arrangement before it changes.

Belfast Great Victoria Street Station from Durham Street.
Great Victoria Street at dusk 1/5 second at f1.8 ISO250 with Lumix LX7.
Inbound NIR train arriving Great Victoria Street at dusk 1/5 second at f2.0 ISO250 with Lumix LX7.
Great Victoria Street at dusk 1/5 second at f1.7 ISO250 with Lumix LX7.

I made these views with my Lumic LX-7 from the Durham Street bridge which crosses above the platforms.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Holywood Sunset?—Febraury 2018.

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At Holywood, NI Railways skirts the Lagan estuary on its way from Belfast to Bangor.

Although a mostly overcast afternoon,  hints of colour and the occasional shaft of light appeared in the evening sky.

I’d been trying to put the pieces of a lighting puzzle together where I could feature an NIR train with the dramatic sky, but I didn’t manage to get what I envisioned.

By the time I found the optimal location for a photo with a train, the really dramatic light had faded.

I exposed these views with my Lumix LX7.

Sunset over the Lagan looking toward Belfast. Exposed with m Lumix LX7.
Train on the left; dramatic light on the right. (And no suitable location on the far side of the tracks.)
This location would have made for a perfect angle of a train with the dramatic sky, but by the time I reached this spot the light had faded. You can’t win all the prizes.

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Belfast Great Victoria Street in four Views

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Plans are afoot to redevelop Belfast’s railway hubs. With this in mind, the other day I made a few views around Great Victoria Street Station to document the way it looks now, before the changes.

Documentation is a large part of my photography, and it always helps to anticipate change.

NI Railways CAF-built trains at Belfast Great Victoria Street.
Among Belfast’s infamous icons is the Europa Hotel seen here above NI Railway’s CAF railcars at Great Victoria Street.
It was a rainy morning when I exposed this view with my Lumix LX7.
0710 (710am) train to Derry on platform 2 at Great Victoria Street. Lumix LX7 photo.

I look back with satisfaction at photographs I made in the 1980s at Boston’s South Station that show the terminal before it evolved into the modern transportation center that it is today.

Yet, I also regret not making better images of the classic semaphores at South Station that controlled train movements at the terminal.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Lumix LX7 at Belfast Central.

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I had a few minutes between trains at Belfast Central, so in the interval I made a few photos with my Lumix LX7.

To compensate for less than ideal lighting I made nominal adjustments to the RAW files in post processing using Light room.

Essentially I lightened the shadows, brought down the highlights in the sky, and boosted colour saturation while slightly increasing overall contrast.

Douglas Adams once wrote something to the effect: ‘There’s no language that has a word that means “as pretty as an airport”‘.
An inbound NI Railways train.
Red ‘tail lamps’ indicate that this is a trailing view.
NI Railways 8209 on the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise.
No flash was used in the exposing of this photo.

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NI Railways on the Roll—Panned Views Crossing the Lagan.

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A few weeks back on a trip to Belfast, I exposed these views of NI Railway’s CAF-built diesel railcars crossing the River Lagan.

To convey a sense of motion I panned the trains using a relatively slow shutter speed with a medium telephoto lens. By using an even panning motion I was able to keep the train sharp with the background is blurred.

Exposed at f 22 for 1/60th of a second. 135mm focal length.
Exposed at f20 for 1/60th of a second.

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NI Railways at Adelaide Depot, Belfast.

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The other day I made this view of a CAF-built NI Railways train at the railway’s Adelaide Depot in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Exposed using a Panasonic Lumix LX7 digital camera.

Sometimes its hard to resist perfect three-quarter lighting. The elevation helps too!

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NI Railways—Belfast

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September 26, 2014.

Great Victoria Street, Belfast. Exposed with a Lumix LX7. I also made a similar view on Fujichrome Provia 100F.
Great Victoria Street, Belfast. Exposed with a Lumix LX7. I also made a similar view on Fujichrome Provia 100F.

 

It had been nearly four years since my last visit to Northern Ireland, so during the course of my recent exploration of Belfast with my cousin Stella (as mentioned in yesterday’s post) I took a few minutes to photograph NIR’s trains.

 

After arriving at Belfast Central on the Enterprise from Dublin, we changed to an NIR local bound for Great Victoria Street.

 

Later in the day we reversed this exercise on the return to Dublin. In the meantime, I also made a few photos from a location I previously explored along the River Dargan.

 

Photographing NI Railways [http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways/] is relatively easy, since there is ample access from public places and trains run on interval frequencies to most destinations.

 

In addition to these digital photos, I also exposed a handful of colour slides with my Canon EOS 3.

My first up close experience with a 4001 class railcar.
My first up close experience with a 4001 class railcar.
Interior of a CAF-built diesel railcar. Lumix LX7 photo.
Interior of a CAF-built 3001 series diesel railcar. Lumix LX7 photo.
An NIR train crosses the River Lagan in Belfast. Lumix LX7 photo.
An NIR train crosses the River Lagan in Belfast. Lumix LX7 photo.
Wide angle view of the River Lagan on September 26, 2014.
Wide angle view of the River Lagan on September 26, 2014.
A bit of glint; NIR 3020 arrives at Great Victoria Street in the evening light. Lumix LX7 photo.
A bit of glint; NIR 3020 arrives at Great Victoria Street in the evening light. Lumix LX7 photo.
Waiting to depart Great Victoria Street in the afternoon.
Waiting to depart Great Victoria Street in the afternoon.
Contrasty evening light at Belfast Central. To compensate, I adjusted the image locally and globally using Photoshop. Hopefully the result is more pleasing. Lumix LX7 photo.
Contrasty evening light at Belfast Central. To compensate, I adjusted the image locally and globally using Photoshop. Hopefully the result is more pleasing. Lumix LX7 photo.

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Enterprise to Belfast.

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Friday, September 26, 2014.

I’d booked tickets on-line for my cousin Stella and I. As planned we took a spin from Dublin down to Belfast on the Enterprise.

Dublin's Connolly Station is the terminus for the Enterprise, Ireland's only cross-border service. Lumix LX7 photo.
Dublin’s Connolly Station is the terminus for the Enterprise, Ireland’s only cross-border service. Lumix LX7 photo.

I made a variety of photos to capture the experience. The train departed Connolly at 9:35am, as per schedule.

The Enterprise under the shed at Connolly Station Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.
The Enterprise under the shed at Connolly Station Dublin. Lumix LX7 photo.
The Enterprise service is one of the only regularly scheduled locomotive hauled trains in Ireland. Irish Rail 231 worked our trains on both legs of the journey.
The Enterprise service is one of the few regularly scheduled locomotive hauled passenger trains in Ireland. Most trains use diesel rail cars. Irish Rail 231 worked our trains on both legs of the journey.
In long standing tradition, I walked to the top of the platform for a photo of the train before boarding. LX7 Photo.
In long standing tradition, I walked to the top of the platform for a photo of the train before boarding. LX7 Photo.
I reserved our seats on-line a week before traveling. LX7 Photo.
I reserved our seats on-line a week before traveling. LX7 Photo.

I’d first made this journey in February 1998. Back then Belfast still had a bit of an edge to it. I’d stepped out of Belfast Central Station on blustery damp morning and was immediately cautioned by a middle aged couple who told me to watch out where I walked.

On Friday’s trip, we were greeted by bright sunny skies and a much warmer welcoming Belfast. I was traveling light: only my Lumix LX7 and a Canon EOS 3 with just two lenses.

We rode an NIR local train from Central to Great Victoria Street, then spent the next six hours exploring on foot. We opted to return on the 6:05 pm train, which put us back in Dublin early enough for dinner and to meet a few friends.

Northern Ireland is blessed with some wonderful scenery. Lumix LX7 view from the Enterprise.
Northern Ireland is blessed with some wonderful scenery. Lumix LX7 view from the Enterprise.
Looking west from the Enterprise.
Looking west from the Enterprise.
The Enterprise has its own logo and runs with distinctive equipment.
The Enterprise has its own logo and runs with distinctive equipment.
While we walked around Belfast, locomotive 231 made a round trip to Dublin with the Enterprise. More than six hours after we left the train, it was back again waiting to take us up to Dublin.
While we walked around Belfast, locomotive 231 made a round trip to Dublin with the Enterprise. More than six hours after we left the train, it was back again waiting to take us up to Dublin. An NIR DMU rolls into Belfast Central as the Enterprise idles before boarding.
The trains were well patronized in both directions. Afternoon light illuminates the subdued carriages of the 6:05pm Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. Soon we were rolling along in the evening glow back to Dublin. LX7 photo.
The trains were well patronized in both directions. Afternoon light illuminates the subdued carriages of the 6:05pm Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. Soon we were rolling along in the evening glow back to Dublin. LX7 photo.

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 Tomorrow: Northern Ireland Railways

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Belfast & Moosehead Lake, Unity, Maine, August 29, 1986

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27 Years Ago Today.

I spent a pleasant and memorable week photographing in Maine in August 1986.This was shortly before I began my studies at the Rochester Institute of Photography, and represented a moment of visual freedom, unburdened by demands of professors, intellectual assumptions, or assignment deadlines.

Belfast & Moosehead Lake
A Belfast & Moosehead Lake General Electric 70ton diesel leads a short freight on poor track near Unity, Maine on August 29, 1986.

On August 29th, Brandon Delaney and I had photographed the Maine Central. At Burnham Junction we stumbled upon the Belfast & Moosehead Lake working the Maine Central interchange.

Although this wasn’t my first experience with B&ML, I was delighted to catch this elusive operation at work. We chased the train back toward Unity. I made this image featuring a classic farm with barn and silos.

I exposed it on 35mm Kodachrome slide film using a Leica M2 with 200mm Leitz Telyt telephoto lens mounted with a bellows using a Visoflex viewfinder arrangement on a compact Linhof Tripod. Although cumbersome, this was my standard arrangement for making long telephoto views. Exposure was calculated manually using a Sekonic Studio Deluxe handheld light meter (photo cell).

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