Tag Archives: Chessie System

photography

Chessie System Against the Sun; Lightroom instead of Darkroom!

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On a trip to the Pittsburgh area, I made these black & white photos on Tri-X in February 1987 at New Castle, Pennsylvania.

While, I like the effects of back lighting on this westward Chessie System train, I was thwarted in my efforts at producing satisfactory prints.

Complicating my printing problems were edge effects that had resulted in un-even processing that affected the sky highlights more dramatically than shadow areas.

This is a scan of the original black & white negative. The photo suffers from flare, uneven processing and less than ideal contrast. Also the sky is a bit over processed and thus appears too dark on the negative (and too light in the prints).

After about a half dozen attempts using Kodak double-weight paper I’d given up.

The other day this roll of 120 Tri-X finally worked its way to the top of the scanning pile, and after scanning at high-resolution, I thought maybe I’d try to work with the back-lit photos using Lightroom to see if I could improve upon my printing efforts from 1987.

This is the un-modified scan from the negative. I’ve not made any corrections to contrast, exposure, or provided localized improvement. Nor have I spotted the image.
Here’s the photo after my first round of corrections.

Instead of dodging and burning on the aisle, working digitally I’ve applied digital graduated filters to control highlights and shadows, contrast, and the overall exposure.

After some more adjusting this is my final image. Not perfect, but a big improvement over the muddy mottled original photo.

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photography

Cumberland, Maryland May 1985.

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In the course of a ten-day Amtrak trip, I spent twenty-four hours at Cumberland, Maryland, where I made a variety of photos of Chessie System’s Baltimore & Ohio.

I found many railroaders on the B&O to be cordial and helpful. A man in this trackside office near the west-end of the sprawling Cumberland Yard invited me to make a photograph from his window.

Cumberland, Maryland as seen from a yard-side office in May 1985. I remember making the photograph, but I can't recall what function the office served. I was there only once. I also recall that it was very warm for May and I was happy to get out of the sun. Exposed with a Rollei Model T on Kodak B&W film, scanned with an Epson V600 scanner.
Cumberland, Maryland as seen from a yard-side office in May 1985. I remember making the photograph, but I can’t recall what function the office served. I was there only once. I also recall that it was very warm and humid for May and I was happy to get out of the sun. There appears to be a thermometer in the window which reads about 85 F.  Exposed with a Rollei Model T on Kodak B&W film, scanned with an Epson V600 scanner.

I exposed the image on Kodak black & white film using my dad’s Rolleiflex Model T that I’d borrowed for the duration of the trip. I also made a few color slides that day. I’ve always liked the framing of the B&O locomotive.

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