Tag Archives: #glint light

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Late July Sun at Jefferson Drive

In the 1990s, I’d mastered a technique for capturing trains in the ‘glint’ light usng Kodachrome slide film. Golden glint was my favorite. I was especially fond of glinting Southern Pacific freights in the western mountains and Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor.

These days, I apply a similar technique using my modern mirrorless digital cameras.

Low summer sun can offer great glint light opportunities. The mix of agricultural detritus, smog pollutants, and humidity in the atmosphere help to tint evening sunlight toward the red-end of spectrum.

Amtrak’s stainless steel trains make for excellent glint reflectors, and I have a few choice locations to catch the glint, including my often-photographed tangent on Amtrak’s former Pennsylvania Railroad electrified line to Harrisburg.

In late July, the setting sun is about 30 degrees off axis from the railroad where it runs along Jefferson Drive. And this is the perfect angle to catch a train reflecting the light.

Last week on successive days, I made these glint light views of Amtrak’s westward Keystone train 653 on its approach to the Lancaster, Pa., station.

Trailing view of Amtrak Keystone 653 at Greenfield in Lancaster, PA. July 25, 2024. Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm Z-series zoom.
Trailing view of Amtrak Keystone 653 at Greenfield in Lancaster, PA, July 26, 2024. Nikon Z7-II with 24-70 Z-series zoom.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Glint Light across the Soyfields

September Sunset at Esbenshade Road in Strasburg. Filtered late summer sun made for classic golden glint light.

Years ago, I made a project of captureing trains in the glint light on Kodachrome. This film had a wonderful ability to render glint that made for many stunning slides.

The other night I used my Nikon Z7-II to capture the fading summer sun.

To make the most of the scene, I set the camera to ‘M’ (manual) and dialed in my shutter speed and aperture by using the in-camera histogram to get the most effective pixel distribution from dark to-light . This resulted in about a stop darker than the in-camera meter was suggesting in ‘A’ mode (automatic).

After exposure, I balanced the image with post processing controls using Adobe Lightroom. In this way I was able to maintain detail in the sky and on the side of the train, while keeping the shadows from becoming opaque.

Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 52mm; ISO 100, f18 at 1/200th of second. File adjusted in Post Processing.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 70mm; ISO 100, f9 at 1/250th of second. Camera set manually. RAW File adjusted in Post Processing.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 70mm; ISO 100, f7.1 at 1/250th of second. Camera set manually. RAW File adjusted in Post Processing.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 24mm; ISO 100, 4.0 at 1/500th of second. Camera set manually. RAW File adjusted in Post Processing.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set to 70mm; ISO 100, f4.0 at 1/320th of second. Camera set manually. RAW File adjusted in Post Processing.

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