Tag Archives: #Full moon

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Waiting for a Train by the light of a Full Moon and Dancing Fireflies.

We call them ‘blinky bugs’.

Riverfront Park in Marietta is a peaceful place along the banks of the Susquehanna and nice spot to wait for a freight on Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Secondary.

On previous visits Kris and I could watch the fireflies, while listening to a distant train rolling down the river.

The other night featured the appearance of the brilliant full moon— a radiant golden orb that gradually rose in the eastern sky.

As we waited, I made photos of the moon and blinky bugs using my Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm lens.

Focusing was a problem, finding the ideal exposure was another.

This image required substantial contrast and exposure control in post-processing.

After an hour, no steel wheels had graced the former PRR lines crossing Vinegar Ferry Road that leads to the park. With no distant rumble and work the next morning, we departed for home. At Washington Boro, the signals indicated than an eastbound was in the picture, but we were out of time. Observing the nocturnal passage of freight would have to wait for another evening’s adventures.

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Full Moon and Cotton Candy Sky

When I find a winning combination of time and place there’s a certain satisfaction in repeating the exercise and watching my results improve with each new variation.

I’ve made dozens of trips to Columbia, Pa., which is an historically fascinating place with several railroad lines converging upon it.

In daylight, it is visually challenged, and from my experience too often devoid of railroad activity.

In the evening it comes alive.

Finally over the last few weeks, Kris and I have caught trains moving through the Columbia after dark.

A few days ago, I display some successful images of Norfolk Southern on the move.

On Sunday, a full moon made for opportunity. Kris had suggested that we take another turn at Columbia, and we arrived in time to catch H19 running light engine from Lancaster, followed by a 632 loaded coal train.

My view of H19 passing the station was from essentially the same place as where I’d caught the same train a few nights previously. However, I composed my photo to included not just the train and old PRR station, but mural on the wall to the left, plus our car with Kris making a nocturnal video. For me what really adds drama is the moon rising with a cotton candy sky.

Exposed using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.

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Lunar aspect-Full Moon 11 Years Ago

On July 13, 2014, I visited Palmer, Massachusetts to try to make photos with trains and the rising full moon.

At the time I was working with my Canon EOS7D and a 100-400mm Canon zoom lens.

With the camera firmly mounted on a tripod, I exposed this photograph near milepost 83. It was a relatively long exposure (2/5ths of a second) using ISO1000 and a 190mm focal length.

This image vexed me. It is nearly there, but the moon is overexposed and the headlight is too bright.

Last night, I imported the Canon CR-2 RAW file into PureRaw for correction and conversion into DNG format. Then I imported the DNG into Lightroom for adjustment.

The processed photo is better than the unconverted image, but it’s still lacking. I wonder if using my modern Nikon Z cameras and PureRaw processing if I could have overcome some of the flaws inherent with this photo?

Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the first round of image adjustement using Lightroom
Lightroom work window reflecting the first round of corrections and original metadata.
Canon CR-2 RAW file following correction and conversion and the second round of corrections.
Adobe Lightroom workwindow showing the changes to create the PureRaw converted image with second round of corrections

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Golden Moon Rising

I have a long history of making night photos of trains in Palmer, Massachusetts.

The names have changed since my first attempts at exposing Tri-X in the early 1980s, but Palmer remains an interesting place to practice night rail-photo techniques.

The other night a full moon was rising through an ash-tinted sky, (presumably as the result of Canadian wildfires). Kris said, ‘Never mind the train! Look at the moon!!” It was a grand golden globe.

New England Central’s 608 was switching the former Central Vermont yard. So, I made several images attempts to make compositions with the train and the moon. The steam locomotive on display is a stock-industrial 0-6-0 built by Porter in the early 20th century.

Making the most of the moon proved challenging and I’m not completely pleased with this selection.

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By the Light of the Moon—The St Lawrence & Atlantic Adventure—Part 2.

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The other day I wrote of our adventure following the former Grand Trunk Railway line north through New Hampshire and Vermont to the Canadian border but not finding anything on the move.

Friday, June 5, 2020, Kris Sabbatino and I made another go of finding the ‘SLR’ as Genesee & Wyoming’s St Lawrence & Atlantic is known.

(Just for point of reference in this instance ‘SLR’ represents the railroads official reporting marks. However, to avoid unnecessary confusion or gratuitous irony, I did not make these photos using a single lens reflex, but rather a mirror-less Lumix LX7 digital camera.)

Thanks to Andrew Dale—who supplied helpful schedule information and sighting details—we were able to intercept the SLR’s westward freight. Driving east from Gorham, Kris and I waited for the train at Locke’s Mills, Maine.

Finally we could hear its EMD-roar to the east.

We then followed the heavy freight on its westward prowl toward Canada. We were among several other photographers with similar approaches.

A full moon and solid tripod aided my photographic efforts.

Locke’s Mills, Maine.
Barker Road west of Bethel, Maine.
Full moon rising at Ferry Road.
Gilead, Maine.
Reflection Pond near Gorham, NH.
Gorham with full moon rising over the former Grand Trunk Railway station.

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