Tag Archives: Biogon

photography

DAILY POST: Springfield, Massachusetts, April 2004

1 Comment

Old Pointless Arrow and the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Springfield, Massachusetts Union Station, where Boston & Maine, Boston & Albany and New Haven once shared common space. Today, its a local Amtrak hub. Exposed with a Contax G2 with 28mm Biogon lens.
Springfield, Massachusetts Union Station, where Boston & Maine, Boston & Albany and New Haven once shared common space. Today, its a local Amtrak hub. Exposed with a Contax G2 with 28mm Biogon lens.

Ah Springfield! Probably best known because of the Simpson’s cartoon set in a mythical city of that name. Could be Springfield, Massachusetts, or Illinois, any of a couple dozen other cities with this common name.

On April 5, 2004, I met Tim Doherty for lunch and we made a few photos in Springfield.

A visit to Union Station found a westward CSX freight with a Conrail blue General Electric DASH8-40CW rolling through.

Later, we went down to an footbridge near the Basketball Hall of Fame to catch Guilford Rail System’s elusive EDPL (East Deerfield to Plainville, Connecticut) freight.

In 1982, Boston & Maine bought several Connecticut-based former New Haven Railroad operations from Conrail, and EDPL was one the only remnants of that transaction. At the time, the freight ran once a week. Catching it was a matter of planning and good luck.

Westward CSX freight rolls through Springfield Station on April 5, 2004.
Westward CSX freight rolls through Springfield Station on April 5, 2004.
Guilford's weekly EDPL against a backdrop of the Springfield skyline on April 5, 2004.
Guilford’s weekly EDPL against a backdrop of the Springfield skyline on April 5, 2004.
This slightly closer view of the same train suffers (or benefits, depending on your perspective) from tree-branch shadows on on the front of the locomotives. Contax G2 photo.
This slightly closer view of the same train suffers (or benefits, depending on your perspective) from tree-branch shadows on on the front of the locomotives. Contax G2 photo.
Guilford's EDPL with Springfield's top tourist attraction (or one would assume); the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Guilford’s EDPL with Springfield’s top tourist attraction (or one would assume); the Basketball Hall of Fame.

I exposed these photos on Fujichrome Velvia 100F (RVP100F) color slide film using my Contax G2 rangefinder with a 28mm Biogon lens. The film was processed locally in Springfield at ComColor, which back then offered a 2-hour turn-around time for E6 films (processed and mounted).

In 2008, ComColor ceased processing E6 film. At the time, I was told my rolls were ‘the last run.’

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

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

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

The Amherst Railway Society ‘BIG RAILROAD HOBBY SHOW‘ is on this weekend (January 25 and 26, 2014) at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.

See: http://www.railroadhobbyshow.com/

Brian Solomon will cover the train show in Tracking the Light.

Enhanced by Zemanta
photography

DAILY POST: L’viv—Railway Paradise

3 Comments

Ukrainian Adventure, 2007.

An eastward Ukrainian Railways passenger train catches the evening glint in L'viv. The Soviet-built passenger cars took their queues from Milwaukee Road's lightweight Hiawatha cars from the 1930s.
An eastward Ukrainian Railways passenger train catches the evening glint in L’viv. The Soviet-built passenger cars took their cues from Milwaukee Road’s lightweight Hiawatha cars from the 1930s. Exposed on Fujichrome slide film with a Contax G2 with 45mm lens.

For me, a casual visit Ukraine in July 2007 was a great opportunity to ride and photograph former Soviet Railways.

Although the weather was scorching, the sun remained out for days and the quality of light was fantastic.

My favorite place was L’viv, a former Hapsburg provincial capital (previously known as Lemberg), and one of the great un-sung European cities. I found the railways here accessible and very easy to photograph. The city itself was completely fascinating: dusty cobble stone streets with trams everywhere. The beer was cheap and the vodka cheaper.

L’viv’s railways were some of the busiest I’ve ever seen. Here heavily built double track electric lines were saturated with a mix of local electric multiple units, very long intercity passenger trains, and an unceasing parade of heavy freights. In addition to electrics, occasionally a matched pair of 2M62 diesels would chortle by.

Still photographs cannot convey the traffic density; no sooner than one train was out of sight, and the next could be heard grinding along.

Among the wonderful things about Ukrainian railways; lots of carload traffic and virtually no graffiti!

Ukrainian Railways
A Riga-built electric multiple unit in local passenger service hums along in L’viv. These cars were plentiful and colorfully painted. The styling reminds me of North Shore’s classic Electroliners.
Ukrainian Railways
A bit of telephoto compression with my Nikon F3HP and 180mm Nikkor lens focuses on the glint of westward passenger train. The track and trains were heavily built and well maintained.
Ukrainian Railways
Freight rules in the Ukraine; long freights like this ore train roll along every few minutes. This one is led by the common VL80 electric. Contax G2 with 28mm Biogon lens, Fujichrome film.
A trailing view of the same freight. Also, exposed with a Contax G2 with 28mm lens on Fujichrome. I burned through several rolls at this one s-bend.
A trailing view of the same freight. Also, exposed with a Contax G2 with 28mm lens on Fujichrome. I burned through several rolls at this one s-bend.
At the back of the ore train were this semi-permanently electric pair. The ore may be headed for the US Steel plant at Kosice, Slovakia.
At the back of the ore train was this semi-permanently electric pair. The ore may be headed for the US Steel plant at Kosice, Slovakia.

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

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

http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
photography

DAILY POST: Irish Rail, Clonmel, County Tipperary, July 2003.

1 Comment

Atmospheric Image of a Rural Branch Line.

 

In the damp evening gloom on July 18, 2003, Irish Rail’s signalman at Clonmel awaits the arrival of the Waterford-Limerick passenger train. He holds the metal staff that will authorize the train to proceed over the line to Tipperary.

Irish Rail Clonmel
Although the train is small in the frame, the composition focuses the viewer’s attention to the approaching locomotive. So! What is primary subject? The signalman, the station, or the train? Incidentally, I cropped the bottom of the photo to eliminate unnecessary foreground that featured the platform. Normally I object to cropping of images, yet as the photographer I reserve this right.

Often the most telling railway images don’t emphasize a train. In this photo, the Irish Rail General Motors diesel and Cravens passenger carriages are incidental. Here: the evening light, poised signalman eying the approaching train and quiet rural station tell the story.

I exposed this photo on Fujichrome Sensia 100 using my Contax G2 rangefinder with 28mm Biogon lens on a Bogan tripod. It was part of a series of images I made that evening at Clonmel of the signalman, the station and passing trains.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta