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Haze Be Gone!

Today, something a little different.

Instead of working from a camera RAW file, I’m adapting an in-camera JPEG. The image in question is a photograph I made in June 2013 of Massachusetts Central’s rare EMD NW5 No. 2100 working a surviving fragment of the former Central Massachusetts line in Ware, Massachusetts.

It was a hot, humid, and hazy day when I exposed this view using my Canon EOS 7D fitted with a Canon 100mm f/2.0 prime telephoto lens. All of the illustrations shown here are derived from the original in-camera JPEG. (And compressed by Word Press for internet delivery)

The top image is presented without any post-processing adjustments. Its color, contrast, and tonal values are as rendered by the camera’s JPEG settings.

The middle image shows the same file processed in DxO PhotoLab 9 using the program’s automatic ClearView Plus feature to reduce atmospheric haze. (This PhotoLab feature is activated by checking a box on the program’s control panel.)

DxO describes haze as follows: “Light obscuration is a natural phenomenon that appears in images as a loss of contrast and detail, often caused by fine particles in the atmosphere. Dust, mist, rain, fog, smog, and smoke are the most common causes of hazy, low-contrast photos.”

Highlighting the feature, DxO adds: “ClearView Plus is designed to tackle light obscuration head-on. It analyzes your image to restore lost contrast and reveal hidden detail, and can be adjusted so that you can fine-tune the effect to your liking.”

I find that DxO’s ClearView Plus provides an instant improvement. Some photographers may debate its interpretation of color saturation and balance, but it certainly produces a high-impact image with very little effort.

An alternative is the final image, which I adjusted manually in PhotoLab 9 to improve contrast and color saturation while maintaining a more natural interpretation (based on my eye and recollection of the scene).

Canon JPG and not adjusted in post processing, other than scaling for internet presentation.
Same JPG file as above, but adjusted with DxO PhotoLab9 using the one-click ClearView Plus feature to reduce atmospheric haze. 
Canon JPG, contrast manually adjusted using PhotoLab 9 to retain a more natural color interpretation without the ClearView Plus treatment.

PhotoLab 9 includes many additional tools and features that I’ll explore in future posts.

Tracking the Light viewers have been offered a discount on DxO software. New customers can receive 15 percent off purchases made at shop.dxo.com by using the discount code TRACKINGTHELIGHT.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Rockville file 2357.

It was a hot, hazy afternoon when Kris and I paused at the west end of the famous Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River.

I sensed that a westbound freight was near. To make the most of the bridge’s graceful arches, I fitted my old Nikkor 135mm f/2.0 prime lens to my Nikon Z6 III. Before long, a set of Norfolk Southern GE diesels appeared with a heavy mixed freight. As the train crawled across the Susquehanna, I exposed a series of images, carefully focusing manually and using the Z6 III’s magnification feature to verify critical sharpness.

Later, I imported the NEF RAW files into Lightroom and adjusted the color and contrast.

I wasn’t 100 percent satisfied with the results, so I imported one file (NEF2357) into DxO PureRAW 5 for correction and conversion to a DNG file. I then opened the DNG in DxO PhotoLab, a photo-processing program similar to Lightroom, where I made a series of additional color and contrast adjustments.

The results offered several improvements and produced a decidedly different look from the Lightroom version. I was especially impressed by how PhotoLab rendered the sky and the river. Although I find the final image far more pleasing than the original NEF file, I’m still not 100 percent satisfied.

I may just have to head back to Rockville and try again!

NEF RAW File 2357, scaled as a JPG without correction or adjustments.
NEF 2357 Adjusted with Lightroom to improve contrast and sky detail and color balance.
NEF file 2357 converted to a DNG file using DxO PureRaw 5 with DeepPRIME corrections.
NEF file 2357 was converted to a DNG file using DxO PureRAW 5 with DeepPRIME corrections, then imported into DxO PhotoLab for a series of minor cosmetic adjustments to color, contrast, and exposure. These refinements were intended to improve the overall appearance, reduce aerial haze, enhance sky detail, and produce a more dramatic visual impact. Scaled as a Jpg for presentation here.

Tracking the Light viewers are eligible for a discount on DxO software. New customers receive 15% off software purchased through the DxO online store at shop.dxo.com by using the discount code TRACKINGTHELIGHT at checkout. The offer may be  subject to DxO’s terms and conditions, if applicable.

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Is there room for subtlety?

In a world of short attention spans, sensory overload, an expectation of hyper-saturation, the realities of unwanted image compression, is there any room for subtle images?

The other night I made this panned high-ISO image of Amtrak ACS-64 616 westbound at Gap, Pennsylvania.

Afterward, I experimented with various tools to make post-processed interpretations of my original NEF RAW file.

I used DxO PureRaw, and imported this file into DxO Photolab, and later into Adobe Lightroom.

There are three of my variations below.

I wonder if the variations will translate via WordPress, or if the subtleties will be lost in translation?

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DxO PureRaw and PhotoLab

I’m still pushing the limits of my night action photography.

Working with existing artificial light—in other words, streetlights, locomotive headlights, and the ambient glow from surrounding buildings and signs—I set up near Leaman Place in Paradise to make images of Amtrak Keystone 655.

I set my Nikon Z6 III (fitted with an f/1.4 Nikkor 50mm) to ISO 40,000 and placed it on my 3Pod tripod.

A light fog prevailed, making focusing a challenge. The camera’s autofocus system had difficulty locking onto my chosen focus point, so I had to scroll through the menu options to select manual focus mode. I then enlarged the image in the viewfinder to help set focus on the railhead.

When the train came into view, I made a series of exposures.

For post-processing, I first converted the Nikon NEF RAW file to a DNG file using PureRAW 5 (corrects for lens imperfections and minimized pixelization stemming from the high ISO setting). This gave me the option to import the corrected file directly into DxO PhotoLab 9, a program similar to Adobe Lightroom for making cosmetic corrections.

The results of my post-processing are shown below.

In future posts, I will examine DxO PhotoLab 9 in greater detail.

DxO is offering a discount to Tracking the Light readers. If you are interested in buying DxO PureRaw, PhotoLab9 or other DxO programs, the discount code “TRACKINGTHELIGHT” will work for 15% off for any new customer at shop.dxo.com.

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FilmPack-8 First Trial

I recently downloaded DxO’s FilmPack8. Over the last few weeks I’d been experimenting with the older FilmPack-7 and I wanted to sample the latest offering to see what I can do with it.

My approach is not scientific, but rather a trip into the past.

I’ve been scanning my father’s black & white negatives and I came across a roll of 35mm Kodak Plus-X that he exposed in 1963. Many of these photos were made around Bird-in-Hand and Paradise, Pennsylvania, near where Kris and I now live.

Some of the photos depicted Pennsylvania Railroad GG1s near Irishtown Road in Bird-in-Hand (I’m saving those for a later post), others show Strasburg Rail Road’s excursions in its early days.

He has some interesting photos made with a Leica M and a telephoto lens.

Saturday, Kris, Seamus-the-Dog and I were driving around, and I decided to emulate some of my father’s images of the Strasburg Rail Road using my Nikon Z7-II digital camera. Then I converted one of the images using DxO FilmPack-8 with the Kodak Tri-X plug in.

Although exposed in the same general vicinity as my father’s image from 63 years ago, it is not in precisely the same place. I was aiming to re-capture the spirit of the earlier image, but not recreate it.

I thought they make a neat comparison.

DxO is offering a discount to Tracking the Light readers. If you are interested in buying DxO PureRaw, FilmPack 8 or other DxO programs, the discount code “TRACKINGTHELIGHT” will work for 15% off for any new customer at shop.dxo.com.

My father’s image exposed with a Leica M using Kodak Plus-X in 1963, 35mm neg scanned with an Epson V600 scanner, file scaled using Adobe Lightroom.
My photograph from Saturday (Feb 21, 2026); Nikon NEF RAW file exposed using a Z7-II with 70-200mm lens, file converted using DxO FilmPack8 with the Kodak Tri-X 400 plug in to resemble the visual quality of that traditional black & white film.
Same file as above, with some nominal adjustment to contrast and exposure to make the image more pleasing while retaining the classic black & white film appearance.

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Dusk: Color, plus Film and Digitally Simulated Black & White Profiles

Let’s have some fun with photography:

It was a rainy evening at Bird-in-Hand. Amtrak Keystone 649 was approaching on the former Pennsyvlania Railroad and I made a series of digital photographs with my Nikon Z6-III.

I kept my f-stop at the widest opening, which allowed me a 1/500 shutter speed at ISO 16000. The streetlight behind the building at right supplied necessary light to better illuminate the front of the cab car.

In post processing, I used DxO PureRaw8 to transform my Nikon NEF RAW file into DNG format. This minimized noise from the high ISO setting and eliminated lens defects.

Then, I made some very nominal adjustments to the DNG file in Adobe Lightroom and imported the DNG file into DxO Filmpack 7 and converted the digital color photo to black and white images using the Fuji Neopan 400, Ilford FP-4 Plus and HP-5 Plus profiles for comparison.

For the fun of it, I’ve included an actual Kodak Plus X black & white image exposed at dusk on December 23, 1988, and scanned digitally using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner. This photo was part of a sequence that I made at Newark Penn Station in Newark, NJ. The lighting conditions were similar to those at Bird-in-Hand, but in the 1980s with I had been limited by the film’s 125 ISO.

I’m in the process of upgrading to DxO Filmpack 8, and recently upgraded from DxO PureRaw4 to PureRaw5. The DxO and Adobe software have proved very useful tools for processing my digital images.

DxO is offering a discount to Tracking the Light readers. If you are interested in buying DxO PureRaw, Film Pack 7 or other DxO programs, the discount code “TRACKINGTHELIGHT” will work for 15% off for any new customer at shop.dxo.com. 

A Jpg scaled in Lightroom from an DNG file converted by PureRaw8. This was exposed at dusk using a daylight white balance.
Lightroom work window displaying camera settings.
Same DNG file but converted using DxO Filmpack7 profile to resemble Fuji Neopan 400.
Same DNG file but converted using DxO Filmpack7 profile to resemble Ilford HP-5 Plus black & white film.
Same DNG file but converted using DxO Filmpack7 to resemble Ilford FP-4 Plus black & white film.
Kodak Plus X black & white exposed at dusk using a Leica M2 with 50mm Sumicron on December 23, 1988 at Newark (N.J.) Penn Station. Although exposed decades earlier, the angle, subject and lighting conditions are similar which makes for a neat comparison.

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Ghost of the Erie Railroad

December 9, 1984: I photographed an eastward freight on Guilford’s Boston & Maine at Cheapside in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

It had been almost 25 years since the Erie Railroad merged with the Delaware, Lackwanna & Western, and more than nine years since Erie Lackawanna’s operations were melded into Conrail.

I was astonished to see this 50ft boxcar built in 1956 rolling along, complete with catwalks, still lettered for the old Erie! This antique seemed improbable even then, and I’m sure there a story behind this car.

These photos were exposed on Ilford FP4 black & white film and processed in Kodak D-76. I scanned the negatives last week.

For an aesthetic comparion, I’m also including a photo I made last month of a Conrail hopper rolling though Peachbottom, PA., more than 26 years after Conrail’s operations were divided between CSX and Norfolk Southern. I exposed this view digitally and converted the image to black & white using DxO FilmPack7 software which gives me an Ilford FP4 profile. The purpose of this is allow the modern digital image to resemble my efforts from the mid-1980s.

DxO has offered a discount to Tracking the Light readers. If you are interested in buying DxO Film Pack 7 or other DxO programs, the discount code “TRACKINGTHELIGHT” will work for 15% off for any new customer at shop.dxo.com. 

Digital NEF RAW image converted to black & white using DxO FilmPack7 software using an Ilford FP4 film profile to provide an authentic looking retro appearance.

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Eight Years Ago at New Place

I made this image of a tram approaching its stop on April 19, 2017, in the evening light at Place de Nueve, Geneva, Switzerland .

At the time I was working with a Fujifilm XT1 with an 18-135mm Fujinon ‘Kit lens’. This was a versatile arrangement that provided great color right out of the camera. However in some situations, I found that the lens wasn’t as sharp as I expected.

Last night, I reprocessed the RAF RAW file using DxO PureRaw which corrected several of the inherant problems with the 18-135mm lens. Then, I imported the resulting DNG file into Lightroom for final adjustment. Overall, I’m please with the improved results!

FujiFilm XT1 with 18-135mm Fujinon zoom lens set to 31mm, f5.6 at 1.500th of a sec.; ISO 640,

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8618 Before and After Processing

On our recent excursion to Paradise and back, I made a few photos of Strasburg Railroad’s SW8 8618 using my FujiFilm XT1 with 16-55mm Fujinon zoom lens.

Below are two versions of the same file. The top is a scaled but otherwise unaltered Fuji RAF RAW. The bottom is the image after transformation into a DNG file with lens defect correction using DxO PureRaw followed by selective cosmetic adjustments using Adobe Lightroom to maximize shadow and highlight detail, plus level, color and exposure corrections.

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