Flirt at Kaub, Germany. Exposed with a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera from platform level using the positionable rear display.
Right Bank passenger services are largely provided by Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbahn. Trains are operated by VIAS Gmbh as Stadt-Expresses use Stadler Flirt electric multiple units and make local stops between the Koblenz Hbf (on the Left Bank) and the Frankfurt area.
Every hour all day long (with half hourly intervals at peak times) these modern Flirts glide along the supremely scenic Rhein Valley, working between the seemingly continuous parade of freights on the same line.
The cars stand out nicely against lush back drops and make for interesting photographic subjects. The tricky part is selecting the correct exposure to avoid over-exposing the lightly coloured trains.
A northward Flirt approaches Filsen. This early morning service catches the glint of the rising sun. Mist in the air makes for added atmosphere, but complicates the exposure. Here I’ve opted to set the exposure manually to retain highlight-detail on the side of the train. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.A grab shot of a Flirt exposed with my Lumix south of the famous Loreley Rocks.I was focused on the tug boat when this Flirt emerged from the tunnel at Oberwesel. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.Another angle from Oberwesel, this view from the top of an old stone tower that was part of the city walls. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.View from the Right Bank opposite Oberwesel. Lumix LX7 photo.Flirt near Bingen. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.Glinty Flirt reflects in the Rhein near Kaub. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.
On the evening of May 13, 2011, I was along the shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee)at Radolfzell, Germany, where I made this evocative photograph of a Stadler Flirt electric railcar catching the soft setting sunlight as it approached the station.
Did my title sound like something else? Somehow ‘Backlit Railcar’ just didn’t cut it.
Exposed digitally using a Canon EOS 7D fitted with a 200mm lens; ISO 200 f5.6 1/500th of a second.
