Tag Archives: composition

photography, Tips and Technique

Experimenting with A Lumix LX100.

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For me the Lumix100 poses an imaging quandary.

It is an excellent tool. The camera is compact, well-built, packed with features, and has a superb lens that contributes to stunning image quality.

Fota Island, Cork.
Midleton, Co. Cork.

My difficulty with the camera is fitting it into my arsenal of imaging tools.

The LX100 lens range is lacking compared with my other cameras. It is fine for photos exposed in the ‘normal’ range. Its zoom spans the range from 24 to 75mm. In my younger days that range would have been enough to offer me virtually everything I needed for my photographic vision.

I’ve been spoiled by wider and longer lenses. These days, I want to push the range of view just a little further. I often see images that are beyond the range offered by the LX100.

That says more about the way I photograph than about the LX100.

As readers of Tracking the Light are aware, I carry a Lumix LX7 with me just about everywhere. While the LX100 is unquestionably a better camera, the LX7 suits me better for three reasons: 1) it is very compact and light weight, so fits nicely in my jacket pocket 2) it is comparatively inexpensive so when I wear it out or destroy it, I’m not out of pocket for a huge replacement sum. 3) The LX7’s zoom lens covers my vision more closely.

That said, I’m now coveting an LX100 because it is such a fantastic image making tool. Also, because its narrow zoom range limits my comfort zone, it will force me to make better photographs and consider compositions that otherwise I might not see.

But that is just speculation now. Last week, I gave back the borrowed LX100 to Denis McCabe who had lent it to me. I made about 500 photographs with the camera during the week I had it in my camera bag. As I write this Denis and his LX100 camera on are a grand adventure to the far side of the globe.

I’m still sifting through my LX100 images. There’s many more.

Carrigaloe, Cork.
Glounthaune Village, Cork.
Irish Rail Mark4 interior.

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Tips and Technique

CSX Intermodal on the Edge of Spring.

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On my way through Palmer, Massachusetts, I noticed New England Central’s northward 608 blocked at the diamond crossing with CSX’s Boston Line.

That was a good indication that a CSX train might be close.

After a very short wait this eastward CSX intermodal train came into view. It was probably Q012;‑one of several daily trains that runs to Worcester for unloading.

The trees are still bare, but the sun was bright. In just a few more days the trees will begin to leaf, the grass will become green, and Spring will be in the air.

Exposed digitally with my FujiFilm X-T1 fitted with a 90mm Fujinon telephoto. I’ve composed the image to take in the old Union Station, now Palmer’s Steaming Tender restaurant, while positioning the lead locomotive between the control signals at CP83, and keeping the horizon in view.

Mid morning light in Palmer, Massachusetts, April 2018.

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When a Rainy Day allows for a Better Photograph.

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Here’s an example of when a rainy day allows for a better photograph.

Dublin’s recently extended LUAS Green Line passes the famous Fusilier’s Arch entrance to St. Stephen’s Green.

Two problems with a bright sunny day:

  1. the arch and foliage/trees in the park cast shadows that often make for a less simplified composition
  2. While the popularity of the park on nice days results in a continuous procession of people in and out of the park, making it difficult to frame up a tram beneath the arch. Simply getting an unobstructed view can be problematic.

Exposed on Kodak Tri-X with a Nikon F3 with 50mm lens.

Certainly you can make some kind of photo here on a bright day, but it will look pretty different than this classical view.

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Tracking the Light Photo Challenge Part 1.

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Make it hard on yourself. Give yourself a handicap, but make it work.

 

Try this example: Limit yourself to one fixed lens.

Back story: Most camera systems these days give you a wide-range zoom that allows you to easily adjust the focal length from wide-angle to telephoto. This is convenient, too convenient. So how about forcing yourself to use just one fixed focal length lens, regardless of the circumstance.

Back in the day, many beginning photographers started with a camera and just one lens. Some photographers were happy to use one focal length for all their photos.

What do I mean by fixed lens? I mean a prime lens; in other words a lens with non-adjustable focal length, so not a ‘zoom lens’. Fill the frame as you see fit; you might need to walk around a bit to make your composition work.

So why not give it a try. Pick a lens, maybe a 50mm, but make it work.

In my examples, I was using a prime 90mm lens with my FujiFilm XT1.

90mm Fujinon prime lens.

90mm Fujinon prime lens.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Swiss Colour—Trams at the Basel Hbf.

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25 April 2017, I spent a few minutes making photographs of trams at the transit hub in front of the Basel Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).

In the vertical view I’ve included some flowers in the foreground for colour and depth.

The railway station makes for a nice transportation  backdrop.

Exposed using a FujiFilm X-T1 with 18-135mm Fujinon zoom lens.

The flowers mimic the colours of the the trams.

 

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photography, Tips and Technique

CSX at Warren, Massachusetts—Lessons in Composition Revisited—Six views.

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Yes, I’ve done this before.

Warren, Massachusetts is a favorite place to photograph, but also a tricky one.

I used Warren as an example for a similar compositional conversation in Trains Magazine, published about two years ago and  featured photo of Amtrak’s westward Lake Shore Limited.

Yesterday (December 29, 2017), I arrived in Warren just in time to set up and catch CSX’s late-running Q264 (loaded autoracks for East Brookfield) race up the grade and pass the recently restored former Boston & Albany station.

Using my FujiFilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens, I exposed a burst of images.

I’ve selected three of these, and then annotated versions of the image that I like the best so that you may benefit from my compositional considerations.

I prefer this view over the two closer images. I think the composition works better (as illustrated in the annotated versions) and it emphasizes the station, which personally I find more interesting than the train.

This view was made seconds after the one above. Although the train is closer, most of the interesting elements of the old station have been obscured.

This is a nice photo of CSX’s Q264, but it could be anywhere on the Boston & Albany line. Why bother going to Warren if the station and town are cropped?

There’s no correct answer to composition; in this instance I prefer the more distant view of the train because it better features the old passenger station and the town of Warren; here’s why I feel the composition works:

Important, yet subtle compositional elements at work. Look at the position of the locomotive cab where it visually intersects the station building. It does this as cleanly as possible, without obscuring the dormer window or resulting in visual confusion. The similar color of the locomotive cab and clock tower make for interesting counterpoint. What if the tower was red brick and the locomotive cab was blue?

Here I’ve highlighted several areas of interest. These are points that naturally attract the eye and are focal points to the composition,  providing both  interest and balance.

Here’s is general outline of the composition. The trees provide visual support and context, but are not central subjects. Would this image work as well without them?

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photography, Tips and Technique

Mount Holly, Vermont—June 7, 2017; close and closer.

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When is closer better?

Vermont Rail System’s freight 263 climbs at Mt. Holly, Vermont.

Working from a selection of photos I exposed on Wednesday June 7, 2017, I’ve picked these two similar views as a composition comparison,

Both were exposed digitally using my FujiFilm X-T1 with 90mm f2.0 fixed telephoto.

Red diesels and lush green scenery under an azure sky make for a pleasant railroad setting. So, which view do you like better?

Version 1; The locomotives are slightly further away and there’s more greenery.

Version 2; I’ve opened up the aperture about a half stop to lighten up the red engines, which occupy the majority of the photo.

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Italian Challenges.

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It was a bright April 2017 morning when I arrived at Genova Piazza Principe. The station is scenically situated in an open area between two tunnels.

The challenge of making visually impressive photos of Italian railways lies in finding ways to handle the infrastructure effectively.

Italian Railways are very heavily built and largely electrified. The result is a plethora of columns, poles, masts, wires and other necessary, yet visually distracting elements that can make finding a clean composition a difficult task.

Throw in some graffiti, litter, and a few dodgy shadows, and a photo can appear overly busy and cluttered, so careful attention to detail is a must.

FS intercity passenger train 659 running from Milan to Ventimiglia departs Genova Piazza Principe in April 2017. Exposed using a Lumix LX7 from a public footpath west of the station.

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Why not include a bit of foreground to add depth and make a more interesting image?

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Too often railway images lack depth owning to a tendency to place all the elements of the scene near or at infinity (from the perspective of camera focus).

Consider including closer elements to add a bit depth.

Exposed on Fomapan 100 using a Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens. Film processed in Ilford Perceptol (stock solution, mixed from powder) for 6 minutes at 68 degrees F. Negatives toned with selenium solution mixed 1 to 9 with water for 7 minutes.

Here the fences, which would often be viewed as obstructions, have been used to make for a more interesting image, which, by the way, tells a story about the location.

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Cal-Train at Oyster Point—June 1991.

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Consider this composition. Since the eye is naturally drawn to the front of the on-coming locomotive, I’ve made for a more complex image by placing this primary subject off-center.

When setting up this photograph, I was interested in secondary emphasis on the jointed rail, then still in use on Southern Pacific’s mainline at Oyster Point, railroad-timetable east of the old Bayshore Yard.

Note the careful framing of the on-coming train beneath the crossover of the codelines. This one of several compositional elements in this photograph that has been  employed to emphasize railroad technology.

I was also interested in the wafting sea fog, a common atmospheric condition of the summer climate in San Francisco.

Key to my interest and another  crucial compositional element was the dual-headlight arrangement on the Cal Train F40PH-2 locomotive. Although not purchased by SP, these were the last locomotives delivered new to feature the once-standard SP lighting arrangement—a classy characteristic of SP diesel operations.

By 1991, the application of oscillating headlights (commonly called ‘Mars lights’) had fallen out of favor and the practice was already on the wane. The headlights standout because of the slightly backlit lighting that leaves the front of the locomotive dark.

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Underground in the Los Angeles Subway with a Lumix LX7.

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Los Angeles subway as seen in August 2016.
Los Angeles subway as seen in August 2016.

I violated various rules of composition in this candid view exposed in the Los Angeles Subway.

Ok, maybe not ‘rules’, but certainly common compositional conventions that encourage gratuitous blandness and unnecessary repetition of vision.

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Lesson at Wisdom Way: Down on view of Symbol Freight 14R Enola to East Deerfield

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This is an old favorite location with a great name. How can you go wrong with a street called Wisdom Way? Much better than Losers Lane.

The other day, Norfolk Southern/Pan Am Southern symbol freight 14R was on its way east. I was struggling to find a suitable place to make a photograph, and the best I could come up with was old Wisdom Way.

The light was ‘wrong’ (is that possible?). So I opted for an unusual angle.

Notice that I’ve made the most of the vertical framing by allowing the length of the freight to run diagonally from the top right of the photo to the bottom of the image. This culminates with Norfolk Southern’s emblematic horse and ditch lights on the point of the common General Electric wide-nose cab diesel.

While the locomotive is dominant, my down-on angle emphasizes the machine’s angular shapes from a decidedly different perspective yet includes the freight behind it. Where does your eye fall first?

My aim is to show the power of the machine, the length of the train, and yet capture the atmosphere of the autumnal scene. Notice the dead track to the left, that’s the old eastward main, long out of service.

Would this have worked as well if I was at ground and level with the train using classic ‘over the shoulder’ three-quarter lighting and common centered composition?

NS_14R_Wisdom_Way_close_P1340033

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photography, Tips and Technique

DAILY POST: Susquehanna SD45 and an Erie Semaphore, Canaseraga, New York.

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How Change Affects Composition.

On April 7, 1989, I exposed this Kodachrome slide at f4.0 1/125th of a second using my Leica M2 with 35mm Summicron lens. Today, if I visited the same location, I’d make a completely different image because all the elements that encouraged this composition are gone. This slide is a little bit of history.
On April 7, 1989, I exposed this Kodachrome slide at f4.0 1/125th of a second using my Leica M2 with 35mm Summicron lens. Today, if I visited the same location, I’d make a completely different image because all the elements that encouraged this composition are gone. This slide is a little bit of history.

Three elements of this image interested me when I exposed it on April 7, 1989.

The Union & Switch & Signal Style S upper quadrant former Erie Railroad semaphore; New York, Susquehanna & Western’s former Burlington Northern SD45; and the unusual grade separated mainline, where the eastward track is on a higher level than the westward line.

I could write in detail about anyone of these three things. And someday I will. But not now.

Instead, I’ll examine the composition in a effort to offer a lesson on observing change.

The reason I made this photo in the way I did was specifically to juxtapose the signal with the locomotive. The grade separation not only offered added interest, but facilitated the over all composition because it allowed the locomotive to be relatively higher in the frame while enabling me to include the entire signal (complete with base of mast mechanism and subsidiary boxes/equipment) without producing an unbalanced image.

Today, none of the main elements in the photo are in place. If you were to visit Canaseraga, New York (located about 10 miles railroad-west of Hornell on the former Erie Buffalo mainline) you would find that the semaphore is gone; as is the old eastward main track. If by chance there’s an SD45 in the photo (unlikely, but not inconceivable) it would be on the close track.

In other words, the essential components of the image have changed to such a degree that there is little reason to consider making a photo at this location. And that’s the point!

When photographers (myself included) make railway images, they consciously and unconsciously include (and exclude) line side infrastructure which helps define and structure the photographs.

Changes to railway infrastructure alter the way we see the railroad, and thus the very way we compose and plan photographs. By anticipating change, we can make more interesting images and preserve the way things look for future viewers.

When trackside make careful consideration for those elements you may include or deliberately exclude. Might you be missing a potentially great image by trying to avoid some wires or litter along the line? Is an old fence potentially a graphic element that not only will help located the photo in the future but also key to a dramatic composition?

It is these types of thoughts than can make the difference when trying to compose great (or at least, relevant) railway photos.

See: Erie Mainline Revisited and Curiously Seeking Erie Semaphores.

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