I’ll offer Freiburg as one of Europe’s most colourful tram cities.
The combination of variety of cars, a range of paint liveries (advertising and otherwise), interesting trackage plus varied and interesting historic backdrops makes Freiburg hard to top.
Any suggested contenders?
Photos below exposed in April 2016 using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Evening sun with a textured fair-weather sky combined with well maintained paving stones and a healthy tree at left made for a visually compelling setting.
Freiburg, Germany still operates some of its vintage Duewag trams that feature a streamlined body and rounded front-end.
To make the most of the svelte classic tram I opted for a low angle and favored the angle of sun for reflective glint. The bicyclist was a fortuitous subject that makes for a more interesting photograph by introducing a human element.
To expose this image I worked my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with the rear live-view display tilted upward, which allowed me to compose the photo while holding the camera relatively low to the ground.
I adjusted my 18-135mm zoom lens to near its widest angle.
The real trick was keeping the composition interesting as the action rapidly unfolded.
In post-processing I darkened the sky and lightened the shadow areas to improve overall contrast.
Which of the three images is your favorite?
(This essay was composed while transiting the Channel Tunnel between Calais and Folkstone on 30 April 2016).
On 20 April 2016, I made this image of a Swiss BLS Cargo (Bern Lötschberg Simplon) electric leading a northward freight on DB’s (German Railways) heavily traveled double-track line north of Freiburg, Germany.
Although clear and sunny, the direction of the light was directly behind the locomotive, which is anything but ideal.
To make the most of this awkward lighting situation, I opted to feature the flowering tree that was well-lit by the angle of the sun, and work with the locomotive in silhouette, while taking a low angle to minimize distracting elements on the far side of the line.
In post processing, I’ve lightened the shadow areas of the RAW file to restore detail and improve the overall contrast to the locomotive.
Below are both the unimproved RAW file (only scaled for presentation) and my modified file.
Tracking the Light posts daily.
Among my favorite German locomotives are the old ‘Rabbits’ (classes 215-218 and rebuilds), so-called because of their rabbit-ear shaped exhaust stacks.
On Monday, 18 April 2016, Gerry Conmy, Dennis McCabe, Stephen Hirsch and I made a project photographing this declining class of diesel on the line running east from Lindau.
The Zurich-Munich long distance trains are still worked with these vintage machines. Several years earlier, Dennis and I had explored locations on this scenic non-electrified double track line.
Soft morning light aided the effect of the pastoral setting.
I exposed these views using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera.
Tracking the Light posts every day!
Freiburg has a complex tram system with a great variety of equipment.
I made this view with my Lumix LX7 a week ago that features a new CAF tram gliding along cobblestone streets.
More Freiburg trams in future posts.
On the morning of 21 April 2016, I had a few minutes to make photos of Basel’s trams using my Lumix LX7.
Low clear morning sun helped make my brief efforts a photographic success.
Perhaps on future visit, it would be nice to re-explore the Basel network to a greater extent.
The boards at Andermatt indicated that an unscheduled train was due to arrive.
Our curiosity was piqued.
This turned out to be a charter using a Glacier Express train set.
I’ve augmented the views of the train descending to Andermatt with a few images of another Glacier Express set parked in Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn’s sidings at Andermatt.
Tracking the Light is Daily.
Below are two versions of an image I made of a Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn narrow-gauge train engaging the Abt rack system on its steep ascent from Göschenen to Andermatt.
These were made with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera on my visit to the Alps with Stephen Hirsch, Gerry Conmy and Denis McCabe in mid April 2016.
The first is the unadjusted (except for scaling) Jpg produced in camera. Notice that the sky is washed out and lacking in detail.
The second image is a Jpg that I produced from the camera RAW file by making nominal contrast and saturation adjustments in Lightroom.
The aim of the second image was to hold the sky and highlight detail that was lost by the camera Jpg. This demonstrates the ability of the RAW file to retain greater detail than the Jpg.
Instead of using an external graduated neutral density filter, as I had with some previous images displayed on Tracking the Light, I used the equivalent graduated neutral density filter in the Lightroom program.
Why not use the external filter in this situation? Two reasons:
Both are valuable tools for improving a photograph.
I remember seeing open auto racks on American railroads. One of my few pre-Conrail images is of a former Pennsylvania Railroad tri-level.
Open car trains are still common in Europe. I made this view last week of a train load of new cars climbing southward on the Gotthard route heading for Italy.
Its nice to see the cars out in the open instead of sequestered inside full-enclosed multi-levels.
Using my FujiFilm X-T1, I exposed this image last week looking across a field of dandelions near Erstfeld, Switzerland.
By using the tilting live-view display screen, I was able to hold the camera very low to the ground which allows for this exaggerated perspective of the foreground greenery and flowers.
Compare this photo to the conceptually similar view of the Italian tilting train I posted a few days ago. See: Italian Tilting Train at Gurtnellen—15 April 2016
The technique for both photos is essentially the same, however with the photo below of the Swiss ICN passenger train I used a slight telephoto and opted to crop the sky, rather than use a graduated neutral density filter to balance the contrast/retain detail.
Below is another view from the same location near Erstfeld. Same camera, same lens, but I’ve set the zoom to a wide-angle view and I’m not as low to the ground.
The result is that the flowers remain in relative focus to the train and distant scenery. (Also I’m using the graduated neutral density filter to retain highlight detail at the top of the image).
The train is a bit small, but this photograph is more about the whole scene rather than being focused on the train.
For this image I blended several techniques.
To emphasize the wild flowers in the foreground, I’ve held the camera low to the ground and used the tilting back screen to compose the angle. (Aiding this approach is the FujiFilm X-T1’s built in line-level which appears as a ‘heads up’ display on the screen.)
By applying a Lee graduated neutral density filter to the front of the lens, I’ve maintained highlight detail in the sky.
My adjustments the RAW file in post processing lightened shadow density and increased color saturation to help make for a lush scene.
Notice the four layers: foreground, middle ground (the train), near background (the village of Gurtnellen), and the far background (snow crested peaks).
Once the new Gotthard Base tunnel is open to traffic at the end of this year, scenes such as this one of the Italian tilting train on the old route may be rare.
In the last three days, I’ve exposed more than 1000 digital images of the railway over Switzerland’s Gotthard Pass.
Although, I haven’t had time to thoroughly examine all my files, this image struck me as capturing the sprit of Swiss mainline mountain railroading in Spring.
Iridescent green grass and distant snow crested peaks, with modern electric locomotives humming upgrade with an intermodal train.
If you haven’t visited the Gotthard Pass, here’s my advice to you: don’t wait.
At the end of this year the Gotthard base tunnel opens and most of the traffic will be diverted away from this classic Alpine crossing.
Tracking the Light Posts Every Day.
Last weekends Irish Railway Record Society 071 trip offered countless opportunities to make detailed views of the trains, stations and other equipment.
When I wasn’t focusing on the people or on scenes with the special train, I looked for iconic images of Irish Rail closeup.
These were exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1.
I will be on the road beginning 14 April; Tracking the Light posts should continue to appear daily for the duration of this trip.
Irish Railway Record Society’s ‘071 class two-day 40th anniversary railtour‘ covered a lot of ground in just two days.
The trip represented a mastery of coordination; special to thanks to everyone at Irish Railway Record Society, Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, and Irish Rail!
This a selection of 20 new images I made with my Lumix LX7. (I’m still down-loading the photos made with my FujiFilm X-T1).
We started and finished at Dublin’s Connolly Station, running to Ballybrophy (with train continuing ‘empty carriages’ to Lisduff sidings to change direction, then via the Nenagh Branch to Limerick.
Limerick to Cork, Cork back to Mallow, then to Killarney for an overnight stay. In the morning to Tralee (my visit there since I bought a digital camera!) then back to Kilarney.
Back via Mallow to Limerick Junction, then down my favorite line to Waterford via Carrick-on-Suir. From Waterford to Killkenny and via Cherryville Junction back up to Dublin.
There were lots of intermediate photographic stops along the way.
I’ll be posting more photos from the popular trip soon!
Tracking the Light is a Daily Photographic Blog.
Yesterday morning, Saturday 9 April 2016, I made this panoramic composite image at Connolly Station featuring the Irish Railway Record Society ‘071 class two-day 40th anniversary railtour.‘
(If you are not viewing Tracking the Light directly, you may need to click the link to the site to get the full effect of the panorama.)
I traveled on this epic and ambitious diesel-hauled special and I’m presently downloading the hundreds of digital photos I exposed of the trains and the people involved with it.
More soon!
I like to have at least two cameras handy. This especially true when I’m in a situation where photographic opportunities are rapidly unfolding.
These days I usually have both my FujiFilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7 at the ready.
Both are very good image-making machines, yet each has its strengths.
My Lumix is great for candid views and situations where it isn’t necessary or practical to have the camera at eye level. Often I use strictly with the live-view rear screen.
This is a selection of photographs of last Sunday’s (3 April 2016) Dublin Rivera steam excursions operated by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily.
Yesterday, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) operated a pair of excursions from Dublin’s Connolly Station to Greystones, County Wicklow and return using former Dublin & South Eastern 2-6-0 461.
The trains were well patronized, which demonstrates a continued interest in Irish steam trains.
Dull weather prevailed, while cool temperatures made lots of steam condensation.
Sometimes I find that dull days makes for better steam photos.
Here’s a sample of digital images I made with my FujiFilm X-T1.
Most required contrast and saturation adjustment in post-processing.
Any favorites?
Today, Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) operated Dublin Rivera excursions from Dublin Connolly Station to Greystones, County Wicklow.
The trains were hauled by preserved steam locomotive 461, while engine number 4 was kept under steam in reserve.
Ireland has been celebrating the Easter Rising Centenary.
Liberty Hall is an iconic Dublin skyscraper that makes for a interesting prop when juxtaposed with Irish Rail trains on the Loop Line Bridge over the River Liffey.
I explored this scene on 26 March 2016, when a swollen overcast sky made for typical Dublin lighting.
On Easter Sunday, I revisited my locations of the previous day. The sun was out, which changed the look of the setting. Perhaps, I’ll try again with film.
As part of the Easter Rising Centenary several Dublin post boxes have been temporarily painted red to mark significant locations of this historic Irish event.
Mark Healy suggested this location to me as a place to photograph one of the specially painted post boxes with the LUAS. It is located near the Royal College of Surgeons across from St. Stephens Green.
Tracking the Light is Daily.
This is a cursory survey of new trackage now being installed for Dublin’s Cross City extension of the LUAS Green Line tram route. (The first portion of the Green Line had opened in 2004.)
A couple of weeks ago, Mark Healy and I inspected progress on Dublin’s North Side.
We made a follow up trip last week and these photos were made walking the route along Hawkins Street, College Green, Nassau and Dawson Streets to St. Stephen’s Green (present southern terminus).
I made these photos with my Lumix LX7.
One downside to the completion of the line will be the necessity to string catenary through the Dublin city centre. This will complicate photography of historic architecture.
Of course this same architecture will make for some nice backdrops.
Last Tuesday, I noticed a shaft of sunlight that had illuminated a pair of trains under the shed at Dublin’s Heuston Station.
(Hint: if you aren’t on Brian’s site, click on Tracking the Light to get the full view!).
The other day I offered a view of Dublin’s Heuston Station lit for St. Patrick’s Day.
A day or so later, I rode by on the top of a double decker bus, and it occurred to me that I’d missed the image.
By showing the station face-on, I inadvertently minimized the effect of the lit Irish Tricolour.
Here, I show the station at a more oblique angle the I feel does a better job of capturing the effect. I’ve included the LUAS but in a marginal role.
What do you think?
Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
My Lumix, always handy, makes a near-perfect tool for capturing the spirit and colour St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin.
Click on my Dublin Page for more photos!
Check out my Dublin Page for more photos!
Last Friday, 11 March 2016, I went up to my favored Irish local location; Islandbridge Junction. This is a handy place for me.
This is great place to catch a freight train exiting Dublin’s Phoenix Park Tunnel on a bright clear day, yet can be visually problematic on a dull day.
On this day, I thought it would be a good place to experiment with a Lee graduated neutral density filter as a means of controlling contrast and allowing for a more effective overall exposure.
The filter I use offers subtle 2/3s of a stop gradation. This is adjustable both up/down and rotationally left/right.
I made a few test photos with and without the filter to gauge my exposure before the IWT arrived with Irish Rail 088 in the lead.
A similar effect can be accomplished digitally, yet the digital effect doesn’t add information to the RAW file, but only makes a visual adjustment in the final image.
In other words to apply the filter digital may be viewed as a ‘correction’ rather than an in-camera technique. Yet, it is often easier to apply a filter in post-processing than in the field.
I’ve used both methods depending on the circumstance.
Below are some results.
This gives a nice overall of my experiment, but in the middle of all this I got a little greedy. Using my zoom lens on the FujiFilm X-T1, I made a tight view of the IWT (with the filter).
As is often the case with last second changes, I didn’t get my exposure quite right. My feeling was that the RAW file was about 1/3 of a stop too dark.
As with most of my photography, I consider this a work in progress. In all likelihood, before long I’ll be back at Islandbridge Junction to further refine my experiment.
Sunday morning was warm but dull.
Railway Preservation Society Ireland had scheduled a trip to depart Connolly Station Dublin for a run out the Sligo Road to Carrick-on-Shannon and Boyle.
Where to catch it?
There’s a bit of a pull up toward Glasnevin Junction with the stiffest climb as the line passes Croke Park.
At Claude Road a pedestrian bridge over the line offers an excellent view to the east.
On a clear day this isn’t a preferred mid-morning view, because you’d be fighting the sun (to no advantage).
No chance of the sun presenting a problem yesterday morning.
I could hear number 4’s shrill whistle as the engine departed Connolly, followed by more than five minutes of stack talk as the engine worked its consist of Cravens upgrade.
Using my FujiFilm X-T1, I exposed this sequence of digital images as the train worked by me.
I wonder, perhaps I’d have been better off with my old Nikon and 400mm Tokina telephoto to hone in on the working engine? That would be a slide of course. Maybe next time.
Tracking the Light Posts Daily!
It’s become an annual tradition to illuminate notable buildings around Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
I made this image of Heuston Station using my Lumix LX7 mounted on a mini Gitzo tripod.
Heuston is among the stations featured in my book Railway Depots, Stations & Terminals published by Voyageur Press in 2015.
Yesterday, Mark Healy brought me on a walking tour of LUAS construction in Dublin’s north inner city.
We started at Marlborough Street and walked to Broadstone and Phibsborough.
I made these documentary views with my Lumix LX7.
When trams begin operation in a year or so, I plan to return for some comparison views.
Once upon a time, long ago Boston & Albany’s main line over Washington Summit represented an engineering achievement and a lifeline of commerce that connected Massachusetts to the West.
Today, it is CSX’s Boston Line; but effectively a branch railway off the old Water Level Route.
Amtrak’s daily Lake Shore Limited traverses the line, as do periodic CSX freights, but its relative importance is but a pale shadow of it former greatness.
I made this stark image at Muddy Pond using my 12mm Zeiss Touit lens; I controlled contrast using a Lee graduated filter, which I adjusted to even the exposure between sky and foreground.
Key to my composition is the jet contrail overhead, which for me represents both historical symbolism and my next step.
Yesterday (March 1, 2016) I posted a view of a CSX intermodal train working upgrade at Warren, Massachusetts in the nice morning sun. This was a nice start to a very productive day.
What I didn’t explain was the back-story.
Although I’ve been at railway photography for more than four decades and I spend a lot of time at making my photographs. Occasionally I make mistakes.
Some are minor ones. Others can have more serious implications.
On Saturday February 26th, I was traveling with Mike Gardner. We’d met Tim Doherty and Pat Yough at CP83 (near the Steaming Tender restaurant) in Palmer, Massachusetts.
Shortly after we arrived, CSX’s talking equipment detector in Wilbraham sounded, alerting us to the eastward train. We decided to drive to West Warren to make our photographs. We had ample time to do this, but not enough time to waste.
Upon arriving in West Warren, I noticed that both my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm X-T1 cameras had only a few photos left on their respective cards. I should have checked this the night before and put fresh cards in the cameras.
However, since I had a minute, I hastily put new cards in the cameras and wiped them clean.
The day was extraordinarily productive. Mike and I photographed trains on CSX, New England Central, Berkshire Scenic and Pan Am Railways, making it Millers Falls, the Hoosac Tunnel, and Washington Summit among other notable locations.
My Fuji camera was acting strange.
Among other problems, it was taking forever to store the images from the camera buffer to the card. I’d expose a burst of images, and two minutes later it would still storing them.
Meanwhile the Lumix was giving me so much bother, I put it down and instead opted to work with my Canon EOS 3 loaded with slide film.
By the end of the day, I notice that the 32GB card in the Fuji was nearly out of space, but I’d only exposed about 150 frames. (Normally I get about 840 images saved as RAW and JPG on a 32GB card). Something was wrong.
I was getting a bit worried, because the next day I was booked on a transatlantic flight, and there’s nothing worse than having serious camera trouble when traveling.
Digital cameras don’t start acting strange because they are in a bad mood.
However, when I went to down load my photographs, I quickly discovered the source of my problems.
In my rush to put cards in the cameras, I inadvertently put the card formatted for the Fuji in the Lumix and vice versa. Also, rather than re-format the cards, I simply wiped them. Each type of digital camera uses different protocols for storing data, which is why the cameras were acting slow.
I put new cards in each camera and re-formatted them (which effectively erases all data on the card). Problem solved.
Tip for the day: Don’t mix your cards up, take the time before embarking on a fast-paced day to make sure you have clean, formatted cards in your digital camera(s).
Or, if you use film, to make sure your camera is loaded and that your ISO setting is correct.
. . . with the moon.
I can’t say that this composition works for me, but I’ve made a lot of photos from this location over the years and I wanted to try something a bit different.
Instead of a more typical horizontal view, I opted to include the moon that was high above the tracks.
Brian Solomon’s Tracking the Light is a Daily Blog discussing Railway Photography.
Another set from the old school: On January 29, 2016 at West Haven, Connecticut, I exposed a series of Fujichrome color slides of Amtrak train 137 (Boston to Washington) using my Canon EOS-3 with 40mm pancake lens.
I’ve found that Fujichrome works very well capturing the wide dynamic range and subtle colors of a stainless-steel train reflecting the sunset.
I scanned these slides using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 scanner. The files will be ultimately be archived in three locations on portable high-capacity external hard drives, while the slide will be stored with my other film photographs in a cool dark place.
In the last few months I’ve been lucky to catch a variety of the more obscure operations on the Pan Am Railways system.
Last week, Mike Gardner and I spent the afternoon around North Adams, Massachusetts.
EDRJ arrived with two locomotives to drop for local freight AD-1.
Although, we had high hopes of following EDRJ west toward the Hudson River Valley (uttering the now-famous battle cry, ‘To the River!’), Pan Am had other ideas.
History will forgive them.
So instead we followed AD1 down the old Boston & Albany North Adams branch to Zylonite.
I was familiar with the run, since my father and I traveled over it back in October on the Berkshire Scenic RDC (see: Berkshire Scenic’s Hoosac Valley—A Dozen Photos!)
After a taste of this surviving segment of B&A’s extension to North Adams, we followed the abandoned vestige of the line that runs southward to Pittsfield, then made the most of the late afternoon on the former B&A mainline!
Dennis LeBeau was giving me a tour of post-industrial Worcester.
We called into ‘The Space Studios’ located in old brick factory buildings immediately north of CSX’s former Boston & Albany mainline near Webster Street. The building complex once hosted an array of sidings, including a small coal trestle.
Inside the studio Dennis’s son Tommy LeBeau was recording The Green Sisters who were energetically performing traditional Bluegrass with a variety of stringed instruments.
Using my Lumix LX-7 to its best advantage, I made a few evocative images of the session.
So what’s this have to do with railroads? Not much really, but its all related. Sometimes when you look for one thing, you find something else.
Later in the afternoon Dennis and I reviewed a vintage collection of B&A photos depicting the Worcester area. In the last 115 years a great deal has changed.
There was no Lumix LX7 in 1901.
I wonder what Worcester will be like in 2131?
Too often I find that a brand or a ‘team theme’ is applied by photographers to railway photography. Their intent may be good spirited, but the results can be limiting.
Specifically in regards to equipment: Cameras and lenses are tools. (As are digital sensors and film emulsions). While each camera system has advantages and disadvantages, obsessive loyalty to one brand or another may stand between a photographer and their ability to make better photographs.
Over the years, I’ve worked with a variety of different cameras. Most have had their strengths, but also limitations.
30 years ago, I worked largely with Leicas. The lenses were very sharp, and when I loaded them with Kodachrome 25 or Kodak Panatomic X, I often produced very acceptable results.
20 years ago, Nikons were my primary tools. I was fussy about my selection of lenses, and I experimented with a variety of films.
10 years ago, I carried a Contax G2 range finder loaded with Fujichrome with me everywhere, yet exposed many images with Canon EOS3s.
Today, I work with a Lumix LX7 and Fuji X-T1 digital cameras, as well as my old Canons and Nikons loaded with film. Occasionally, I borrow my dad’s Leica M rangefinders. Depending on the circumstances I’ll use digital or film, sometimes working with both at the same time.
Over the years I’ve made photos with Rollei 120 camera, and Hasselblads, Sinars and Linhofs, Pentax SLRs, along with a host of other equipment.
Why do I choose one camera over another?
Not because of loyalty to one brand or another. Not because one uses film and other is digital. But, because I’ve learned the strengths and weaknesses of individual camera systems and specific camera models. No two camera systems work the same way, and thus in similar situations no two cameras perform the same.
I’m not a team player. I won’t use a Canon because it’s a Canon, or grab my Lumix LX7 simply because it is a digital camera. I work with these tools because of the results they can produce in different circumstances.
Optical quality is always important, as is ease of use and relative affordability. But these days camera weight is often a deciding condition when I choose which tools to carry. My camera bag of the 1990s weighed about 4 times what my bag does today.
I’m always on the lookout to see what a new piece of equipment can do. And, I’m always interested in finding ways to make old equipment work for me.
In the end, my camera selection is about the result and not the camera.
I made these photos the other evening at Bridge Street in Monson, Massachusetts.
New England Central 608 from Willimantic, Connecticut was paused waiting for traffic ahead to clear up.
Despite the cold, I took the opportunity to make a few time exposures with my Lumix LX-7. My exposures were aided by a blanket of crusty snow that reflected some of the ambient light.
To keep the camera from shaking, I rested it on the handrails of the bridge and used the self timer to actuate the shutter. I exposed in ‘M’ mode (manual) using the camera’s histogram to gauge the length of my shutter opening.
Owing to the dimly lit scene, I still needed to boost the shadows in post processing to allow for a more visually appealing image. Opportunities such as this make for good exercises in existing-light night photography.
