Tag Archives: #Europe

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Clear Morning at Semmering—24 January 2009.

Fifteen years ago, I was on a ten-day clockwise exploration of central Europe with photographers Denis McCabe and Tim Doherty.

Fresh snow and bright sun at Semmering, Austria made for ideal photographic conditions.

We arrived in Austria the previous evening and we poised for a day of photography on ÖBB’s famous Semmering Pass, which is one of the oldest mountain railways in the world.

This view looking down on Semmering station made it look like a model railway. Check out all the switches!

Working with my Canon EOS 3, I exposed these photos on Fujichrome. I scanned the original slides last night using a Nikon LS5000 slide scanner. I made minor adjustments in Lightroom to my TIF scans then scaled the files using Lightroom for presentation here.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Modern Italian Trains in Florence

Six years ago—5 April 2017—I spent about an hour photographing modern Italian passenger trains at Firenze Santa Maria Novella.

I captured the impressive parade of sleek looking passenger trains using my Lumix LX7 digital camera. This compact and lightweight camera offers versatility and the ability to produce a very high-quality image.

I like the camera because of its exceptionally sharp Leica Vario Summilux zoom lens, and because it simultaneously outputs in both JPG and RAW with a variety of built in color profiles.

While in some situations, I carry the Lumix as a supplemental digital camera. On my 2017 Italian adventure, it served as my primary digital camera. But I also was working with a Nikon F3 SLR to expose black & white negatives and color slides.

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SNCB Electrics at Brussels Nord

I traveled from Dublin to Brussels, Belgium on 30 March 2017. It was the first day of a grand railway adventure across central Europe during my research for my guide book on European rail travel. On the second to last day of the trip I twisted my ankle in Rome while making a photo a tram passing the Colosseum.

I began my rail journey with a trip on SNCB’s Zaventem Airport train into central Belgium and I made these photos on the platform of Brussels Nord using my first Lumix LX7.

These images are JPG’s created from Lumix RAW files that were adjusted using Lightroom.

SNCB 2700-series electric.
LX7 photo.
LX7 photo.

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photography

Kisvarda, May 2006

In May 2006, while traveling across Hungary by train, I leaned from the window during a station stop at Kisvarda and exposed this Fujichrome slide using my Contax G2 rangefinder.

In a moment, I captured a common scene, portraying a place I know almost nothing about, except that it is a small city served by an intercity railway service.

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Ten Years ago in Austria

On this day ten years ago (January 11, 2012), I spent an afternoon with my Irish friends Stephen Hirsch and Denis McCabe around Werfen, Austria, photographing the ÖBB in action .

I made this selection of photos with my Canon EOS-7D—a camera that I still own, and still occasionally use.

I love the Canon color palatte, and this really shows in these digital photos in the snowy landscape along the river Salzach.

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Red Electric

In October 2016, Denis McCabe and I visited the Czech Republic seeking rail freight on the move.

The weather wasn’t brilliant, but we sure saw a lot of trains and a great variety of rail-operators and different types of locomotives.

One morning at Grygov, near Olomouc, we set up on the busy east-west electrified Czech mainline, and caught a procession of trains, including this RM Line Class 121 electric leading an eastward grain train.

Although the day was dull, the bright paint on the locomotive helped make for an interesting and compelling photograph.

Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1.

photography

Five Years Ago-July 22.

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On this day in 2015, I was visiting my friend Markku Pulkkinen in Oulu, Finland.

Oulu is far north, and in July it never gets completely dark.

Working with my then new FujiFilm XT-1, I made these evening photos late in the day near the VR locomotive sheds at the north end of Oulu’s expansive yards.

Finland is one of my favorite places to photograph, and I hope to return someday when travel returns to normal.

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TRAXX at Lorch, Germany

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DB (German Railways) class 185 electrics are members of Bombradier’s TRAXX Family of locomotives.

These are a common type for freight service.

Last September, I made this view of a Class 185 leading a southward tank train rolling along the Rhein near Lorch at Im  Bachergrund using my FujiFilm XT1.

Autumn sun was softened by thin high clouds that made for almost ideal lighting.

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photography, Rail transit marathon

Zagreb August 2003.

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Yesterday, when I read about the Magnitude 5.4 earthquake that shook Croatia, I thought back to the pleasant few days I spent on my first trip to the Croatian capital Zagreb in August 2003.

During that trip, I exposed this Fujichrome slide of a tram in Whirlpool a advertising livery near the Zagreb main railway station.

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