On the evening of 15 March 2013, I walked around Dublin making photos of civic structures that had been lit with green-tinted light to celebrate the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday.
To hold my cameras steady, I worked with a mini Gitzo tripod with adjustible ball head.
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Ten years ago, I made this view with my Lumix LX3 of a LUAS Green Line tram crossing over a boat in Dublin’s Grand Canal.
Last night I imported both the in-camera JPG and the camera RAW files into Adobe Lightroom.
I scaled the in-camera JPG, but made no changes to the appearance of the image.
However, I did implement a series of adjustments to the camera RAW file in order to improve the overall appearance of the photo.
Notice the difference in sky detail and the relative contrast of the canal with the surrounding scene, as well as improved color temperature and color saturation.
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On the summer of 1998, Irish Rail class 071 number 082 approaches a station stop at Rathdrum, County Wicklow with the down midday train to Rosslare Europort
I exposed this photograph on Ilford HP5 using a Nikon F2 fitted with an old school manual focus Nikkor f2.8 24mm wide angle lens.
I digitized the original negative using an Epson V600 scanner driven by Epson Scan2 software. Minor contrast adjustment was required for presentation here.
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This day ten years ago, photographer Denis McCabe and I traveled to Lanesborough, Co. Longford, Ireland to photograph the Bord na Mona (Irish Peat Board) three foot gauge industrial railway.
The system around Lanesborough was the most charming and photogenic of the larger Bord na Mona operations.
On March 2, 2013, the weather was suitably Irish; misty, cool and damp.
I made these images using a Lumix LX3 pocket digital camera. I exposed the original files as RAW and processed them using Adobe Lightroom to make scaled JPGs for internet presentation.
I wish I’d done more of this sort of thing.
This is a good exercise in seeing, and a great way to preserve the effects of change (or not, as the case may be).
Below are two views of Irish Rail’s tracks as seen from atop the Phoenix Park Tunnel off the Conyngham Road in Dublin. These images were exposed exactly one year apart.
In both situations, I was walking back to my old apartment at Islandbridge in Dublin and made a photo of the tracks with a Lumix.
The March 1st, 2014 view was made with an LX3 and exposed as a RAW File; the March 1st, 2015 photo was a JPG made with a Lumix LX7.
The vantage point was nearly identical, although the focal length and framing was slightly different.
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I hadn’t planned on visiting Dublin. I arrived on an ‘Arrow’ from Kildare.
When I disembarked at Heuston Station in February 1998, I found it was a construction site.
I had never seen it any other way.
I never intended to stay.
As it happened, I spent many moons around the place. But in August 1998, I aimed to recreate the same angle I’d exposed six months earlier.
Both photos were made on Fujichrome using a Nikon F3T.
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I made my first trip to Ireland in February 1998.
After landing at Farranfore, I spent a week in Tralee, then another driving around the West in a hired Citroen Saxo, before enbarking on a rail journey at Limerick for Dublin.
This was argueably the most significant train trip of my adult life. I never intended to visit Dublin. But upon arrival there, I realized that I’d found a special place.
All of Dublin lay in my future. For more than 20 years, I rented apartments in Dublin. And the city was my conceptual office and research library where I wrote many of my books and as used base to travel around Europe.
Between 1998 and 2019, I made tens of thousands of photographs documenting Irish railways.
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On the morning of 23 November 2004 a thin mist covered the ground near Ballycullane, County Wexford. A laden Irish Rail sugarbeet freight had just passed and I could still hear the drumming of the Class 071 diesel at it worked Taylorstown Bank.
I made this trailing view of Irish Rail’s per way gang using a Nikon F3 with Nikkor f2.8 180mm lens. The camera was loaded with Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO slide film). Note the lamps at the back of the freight.
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In mid-October, I traveled the length of the old Dublin and Kingstown route to meet with my friends in Dun Laoghaire.
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway was opened in 1834 between Westland Row (today Pearse Station) and the harbour in Kingstown (now called Dun Laoghaire).
It was the first railway in Ireland and often claimed as the world’s first suburban railway.
Today, this route is operated as a portion of Irish Rail’s Dublin Area Rapid Transit electric service and hosts InterCity services to/from Rosslare Europort.
I had excellent autumn sun for my spin to Dun Laoghaire and stopped off at a couple of stations to make photos using my Nikon Z6 digital camera.
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In mid-October, I was on my way over to Connolly Station, when I noticed the Ad-wrapped Sky LUAS tram gliding west on the Red Line near the Loop Line Bridge.
Working with my Lumix LX7, I made this view as the tram passed below the bridge.
The unusually decorated tram looked good in the rich morning sun.
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It was Irish Rail’s final sugarbeet season, although no one knew it at the time.
We set up at Charleville Junction on the Dublin-Cork line on the Cork-side of Limerick Junction to catch V250, a laden train led by locomotive 081.
I made this view on Fujichrome. It sat in a closet in Dublin for nearly 15 years and I only recently retrieved it from storage.
Last night I scanned the slide using a Nikon LS-5000 slide scanner and then adjusted the hi-res TIF file using Adobe Lightroom to correct color temperature and color balance while making minor contrast and exposure corrections.
Below is the file before adjustment and after. In both images presented here, I scaled the files as JPGs.
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During our October visit to Dublin, I made this trailing panned photo of LUAS Citadis tram 5040 crossing the famed O’Connell Bridge.
I was working with my Lumix LX7 set at ISO 80, shutter speed 1/100th of a second, and f6.3. The key was maintaining a steady pan motion as the tail-end of the tram passed me.
O’Connell bridge is noteworthy for being wider than it is long.
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It’s been more than 23 years since my first visit to Athenry, County Galway.
On that day, my objective was to see an Irish Rail cement train (traffic long gone), and visit the signal cabin (which was then an active block post and interlocking. I was there the day it closed in May 2003.)
Last month, on our way back from Maam Cross, Kris and I were delivered by road to Irish Rail’s Athenry station. It was wet and windy. We had a half hour to wait for the evening Galway-Dublin train to arrive.
During the interval, an Irish Rail 2800-series railcar on its way from Galway to Limerick arrived to make its station stop before changing directions to head down the Western Rail Corridor.
I made this selection of action photos using my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera set at high ISO (between 8000 and 12000).
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Kris and I agree that the highlight of our Irish visit was the adventure to Maam Cross.
This heritage railway in progress captures the spirit of rural Irish Railways.
What makes this railway special is its attention to detail, comradery of the participants, and its setting in remote windswept landscape that embodies the West of Ireland.
These are just a few photos from our wonderful visit two weeks ago.
See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2022/10/28/adventure-to-maam-cross/
https://www.connemararailway.ie https://www.facebook.com/connemararailwayman/
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Kris and I arrived at Irish Rail’s Ceannt Station in Galway shortly before the rain.
And boy did it rain!
After a walk around the town (taking time to purchase an umbrella) we returned to the station to shelter from sudden and rather violent shower.
I made these three photos with my Lumix LX7.
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Last week Kris and I visited Titanic Belfast. This museum tells the story of Belfast, its role in ship building, and the most famous ship built there—the ill-fated Titanic.
The musuem is housed in an unusual-shaped purpose-built building.
I made a variety of photos of the building and its stories.
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A week ago, Kris and I traveled from Belfast Great Victoria Street to the Titanic Quarter Station in order to visit the Belfast Titanic museum, located on the waterfront near the the famous Harland & Wolff cranes.
I made these digital photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. I also made a few Ektachrome colour slides with a Nikon F3.
During our month-long visit to Ireland, I’ve been exposing both digital and film photos as part of the record of our honeymoon, and as a continuation of the photography of Ireland and its railways that I began back in 1998.
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Last week Kris and I made three journeys on the joint Irish Rail-NIR Enterprise service that connects Dublin and Belfast.
The first was from Dublin Connolly to Drogheda. The second from Drogheda to Belfast Lanyon Place, and the third was our return from Belfast to Dublin.
These six photos were made during our northbound journeys.
This year the Enterprise marked its 75th year of service.
I made my first trip on the Enterprise back in February 1998.
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On my list for photographs for this trip to Ireland was the famous Boyne Viaduct at Drogheda.
Last Saturday evening, Kris and I walked to the river from the Scholars Townhouse Hotel, and were delighted when a set of Irish Rail class 29000 railcars rolled southward over the bridge.
It was in the ‘blue hour’ just after sunset. To stop the action, I set the ISO on my Nikon Z6 to 8,000. This allowed for a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second at f4.
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Last week, Kris and I traveled from Cork Kent Station on Irish Rail’s 2600-series railcars to Cobh—the town formerly called ‘Queenstown’—a place well-known for its role in Transatlantic transportation.
Among other things, Queenstown was the last port of call for the ill-fated Titanic, which sunk 110 years ago.
The old railway station building now houses the Cobh Heritage Centre.
I made my views with my Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera. Kris made the photo of me at Cobh station with her Fujifilm XT4.
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Kris and I stopped over at Glounthaune on the way from Kent Station, Cork to Cobh.
This is a familiar station to me, and over the years I’ve exposed many photos here.
I made this selection during our 15 minutes between trains using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens. The tide was out and we spotted a pelican among the other seabirds near the station platforms.
At Cobh, we found a photo on the wall that shows how Glounthaune looked in the 1960s when it was called Cobh Junction.
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The other evening, we paid a visit to the abandoned Chetwynd Viaduct that spans the Cork-Bandon road in County Cork, Ireland.
This was a spur of the moment visit. I was not carrying my tripod. However, through the magic of modern digital photography, I was able to make a few images of this unusal bridge.
These were made using my Nikon Z6 handheld with f4.0 24-70mm lens with ISO set to 51,200. The results are a bit grainy (pixelated), but amazing considering the scant amount of available light.
For another view of the Chetwynd Viaduct, see my post from 2015:
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2015/06/14/railroad-publishing-fiction-three-stories-from-the-trenches/
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Our visit to Cork, included a tour of Kent Station, conducted over the course of serveral days.
Over the years, I’ve often featured this Victorian-era gem on Tracking the Light. It is unusual for its sharply curved train shed.
I was impressed by the frequency of passenger trains serving the station. There is a steady procession of trains to and through the station with regular departures for Dublin, Cobh, Mallow, Middleton, and Tralee.
I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm lens.
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Kris and I took a spin out to Mallow, Co. Cork. Upon arrival we had a chat with some friends and I made a few photos in the twillight glow of evening.
Back in 2005, I spent several evenings at Mallow documenting Irish Rail’s movement of sugar beet.
For these photos, I worked with my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series zoom lens, white balance set to ‘auto’.
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On Monday, 3 October 2022, Kris and I traveled on Irish Rail’s 1200 Dublin Heuston to Cork (Kent) train.
It was a typically dull day with showers and occasional sun across the Midlands.
We had First Class tickets and traveled in Coach A of a five-piece ICR (InterCity Railcar).
At Cork we were given a warm and very special welcome by Irish Rail.
I made these photos of the trip using my Nikon Z6.
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Sunday evening Kris and I took a spin to Howth and back on Irish Rail’s DART from Connolly Station.
I made my first trip to Howth on the DART back in March 1998. On that visit I made photos with a Nikon F3T loaded with Fujichrome Velvia.
For Sunday’s visit, I worked with my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm zoom, while Kris made photos with her Fuji XT4.
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The other day while we were waiting for the DART to Howth Junction, I made this sequence of digital photos of Irish Rail’s DART electric trains passing Connolly Station.
All were exposed in RAW (NEF format) using my Nikon Z6 and adjusted using Adobe Lightroom.
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Yesterday, I made this photo of an Irish Rail ICR (InterCity railcar) paused at Platform 4 at Dublin Connolly Station.
It was a comparatively quiet Sunday afternoon and dull outside, but the soft lighting made for a perfect time to portray the modern diesel railcar in the Victorian-era railway station.
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Over my many visits to Dublin since the start of LUAS tram services in 2004, I’ve made many photos of the various specially decorated LUAS advertising trams that grace the system.
Over the last few days wandering the streets of Dublin, I’ve continued my LUAS photography and focused on a few of the Ad trams that add to the color of the City Centre.
I made these views of Sky television wrapped trams using my Lumix LX7.
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Yesterday (September 23, 2022) ,as Kris and I walked down Dawson Street in Dublin, I made photos of the passing LUAS trams.
I was aiming for some new perspectives on the LUAS.
At the St Stephens Green, we boarded a Big Red Bus that had an open top section at the back, and retraced our steps.
An open top bus in Dublin, Hmmmm . . . .
All photos exposed digitally with a Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series Zoom.
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Yesterday evening (September 22, 2022), I made a few photos of Dublin’s LUAS trams using my Nikon Z6.
It had been raining much of the day but about 6pm the sun came out, making for some interesting but high contrast scenes.
Back in the old days I’d have worked with black & white film to make the most of this type of lighting, and controlled the contrast chemically. Now, I’m applying contrast controls digitally to my Nikon’s NEF (RAW) files using Adobe Lightroom.
Do these photos work?
If they don’t, I’ll take more later.
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Ten years ago (August 28, 2012), I made this photo from my standard location overlooking Islandbridge Junction in Dublin of the morning’s down IWT Liner, led by Irish Rail Class 071 number 073.
Working with a zoom lens, I made vertical and horizontal images of the freight as it worked around the bend this was facilitated by my ability to change focal lengths quickly.
My question is: does the ability to change focal lengths rapidly allow for better photos or does it make the photographer lazy?
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Among the dozens of rolls of slides that I retrieved from storage at a friend’s house in Ireland was this one exposed of Irish Rail at Edgeworthstown, County Longford back on the 26th of March 2005.
On that day the down midday Connolly-Sligo passenger train terminated at Edgeworthstown and the passengers were transferred to a bus for the remainder of their journey west.
Locomotive 083 was hauling the train.
These were three of the photos I exposed on Fujichrome using a Contax G2 rangefinder.
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During my visit to Dublin last month, I stayed the Ashling Hotel across the Liffey from Irish Rail’s Heuston Station. This gave me ample opportunity to revisit this old haunt during my wanders around the city.
Working with my Lumix LX7, I made this selection of views around the station during my final 24-hours before flying to Boston.
I’d made my first photos at Heuston upon arriving by train from Galway in February 1998, more than 24 years ago!
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On May 11, 2012, I made this digital photo with my Lumix LX3 of a LUAS Tram (dressed in Emirates advertising) passing Arnotts department store on Abbey Street in Dublin.
Less than two weeks ago we visited Arnotts on a shopping trip.
Now back in New Hampshire Arnotts just seems like a dream.
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Toward the end of April, for the second morning in a row, I was in position at ‘the box’ on St Johns Road in Dublin to witness the passing of Irish Rail’s down IWT liner.
It was a cosmic alignment. The sun came out just as three trains converged upon Islandbridge Junction. The first was an ICR that emerged from the Phoenix Park Tunnel and stopped across from Platform 10. The second was an ICR heading toward the tunnel.
Then the down IWT liner emerged from the tunnel weaved around both ICRs on its way through the junction.
Sometimes, it helps to be in place at the best spot and just wait out the action.
Exposed in April 2022 using a Lumix LX7 digital camera.
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