Sometimes there’s great photos to be made in the rain.
Exposed hand-held with my Lumix LX7 at Heuston Station in Dublin.
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LUAS in the Rain at Heuston.
Tag Archives: Ireland
Irish Rail Quad Track at Lucan South‑Sun, Cloud and Trains!
Irish Rail makes good use of its quad track on the Cork Line in southwest suburban Dublin. Fast Intercity trains overtake slower moving all-stops passenger trains and the occasional freight.
The other day Colm O’Callaghan and I spent sometime documenting the action.
The sky was a tapestry of clouds with spells bright blue sky. In other words a typical Irish afternoon.
I made these views with my FujiFilm XT1 and 27mm pancake lens. Since top speed for passenger trains is 100 mph/160 kmph, I set the camera to 1/1000 second to freeze the action.
In addition to the digital photos I made a few select views on Fujichrome Provia with my old Nikon N90S and 135mm lens. Those remain in the camera.
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A Moment in Time: Suburban Train Crossing Amiens Street—February 2019.
Every so often everything really comes together.
As Jay Monaghan and I walked along Dublin’s Amiens Street in the fog, I heard an Irish Rail train blast its horn approaching the platforms at Connolly Station.
There wasn’t much time to react. I made fine adjustments to my Nikon F3 as I put the camera to my face and released the shutter.
This image was among photographs exposed on 27 February 2019 on Ilford HP5.
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Sunday Morning: LUAS Cross City near College Green.
A beautiful thing about Dublin on a Sunday morning is the relative lack of traffic.
Not so pretty is the rubbish, broken glass and other carnage that tends to litter the streets following a lively Saturday night.
To make the most of the scene on Westmoreland Street looking back toward at College Green, I used my FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm and made low angle view of a northward LUAS tram passing the 18thcentury façade of the Bank of Ireland (right).
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Bloody-Red Liffey Sunrise.
This morning (24 February 2019) saw a stunning bloody-red sunrise over Dublin.
I made a series of photos with my digital cameras.
It’s probably just as well I brought three cameras, since halfway through my photography with my Nikon F3 loaded with Kodak Tri-X, the button-battery in the camera ran out of juice.
And you say, ‘of course you brought a spare battery’.
No, no I didn’t.
And why was I photographing a blood red sunrise on black & white film anyway?
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Lanesborough in Colour—more Bord na Mona narrow gauge.
Last Friday’s (15 February 2019) adventure on Ireland’s Bord na Mona at Lanesborough Co., Longford proved well-timed and we caught many narrow gauge trains on the move.
Below are some more of the digitally exposed colour photos made with my FujiFilm and Lumix LX7 cameras.
Any favorites?
Also check out:
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Black & White on the Bog.
On Friday, 15 February 2019, during my visit with Stephen Hirsch and Denis McCabe to Bord na Mona’s operations at Lanesborough, I worked with three cameras to document operations.
My FujiFilm XT1 and Lumix LX7 were for exposing colour digital photos, while I employed a Nikon F3 to make classic 35mm black & white images.
I processed the film yesterday using custom tailored formulas.
The first roll was Ilford HP5 that I’d bought a couple of days earlier at John Gunn’s Camera on Wexford Street in Dublin. I processed this using a two stage development, starting with an extremely dilute solution of Kodak HC110 (roughly 1 part developer to 250 parts water) which used as presoak. The weak developer helps activate the chemical reaction and improves shadow detail without overdeveloping highlight areas.
The second stage of development involved Ilford Perceptol mixed 1-1 with water and heated to 71F. Based on past experience, I left the film in the developer for 12 minutes, then stop bath, 1stfixer, 2ndfixer, pre-wash, hypoclear, main wash (10 minutes) and final rinse in distilled water.
After drying, I scanned the negatives with an Epson V500 flatbed scanner and touched up the scans using Lightroom.
Stay tuned for more photos from the Bord na Mona!
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Two Trains on the Move at Islandbridge Junction!
Monday, 11 February 2019 was bright and sunny in Dublin.
Although I was only just back across the Atlantic, I made use of the morning when I’d heard that Irish Rail 073 in heritage orange paint was working the down IWT Liner (container train operated from Dublin’s North Wall to Ballina, Co. Mayo).
As this exited Dublin’s Phoenix Park Tunnel approaching Islandbridge Junction, an Irish Rail ICR working the Hazelhatch-Grand Canal Docks service came the other way.
I hadn’t anticipated a ‘rolling meet’, but as luck had it I got two trains for the price of one.
This sequence of photos was exposed using my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera with 27mm pancake lens.
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Steam and Strawberry Fair—County,Wexford, July 2001.
On July 7, 2001, I traveled with the late Norman McAdams to photograph an Railway Preservation Society of Ireland Strawberry Fairsteam special led by locomotive 171.
During the course of the day we caught this colourful excursion at a variety of locations on the Dublin & Southeastern route south of Dublin.
In the afternoon, typical Irish summer weather closed in on us, with heavy skies and haze.
I made this telephoto view of the northward trip at Killurin, County Wexford along the River Slaney. I opted to photograph the train at distance to show the full consist and the snaky track alignment.
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Sligo Timber Crosses the Liffey—14 May 2005.
I had Velvia in my Nikon F3 and I was focused on the boats in the River Liffey, when the Saturday laden timber from Sligo rolled out of Dublin’s Phoenix Park tunnel and crossed the bridge in front of me.
Lucky break! And in nice sun too.
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Dublin’s DART: Twenty Years Ago.
Here’s a late 1990s view on Amiens Street in Dublin in front of Connolly Station.
The 1980s-era DART electric suburban train isn’t remarkable; except for a nominal change of paint and end lights, these cars look much the same today.
However, so much else has changed, which makes the photo look dated, and fascinating now.
I exposed this Fujichrome colour slide using my Nikon F3 with 135mm lens, probably in the Spring of 1998, and no later than Spring 1999. At the time of exposure, the scene seemed so unremarkable, I didn’t bother to put a date on the slide mount.
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DART Impressions—1998.
In my first year photographing in Ireland, I made many photographs of Irish Rail’s electric suburban service that is branded as ‘DART’ for ‘Dublin Area Rapid Transit’.
This is a selection of four color slides exposed back in 1998.
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Irish Rail 233
My penultimate post for 2018 that features Ireland’s 201-class diesels focuses on locomotive number 233—second to last in the series (201-234).
In recent times this has worn the minimalist ‘raccoon’ livery, while for a number of years it wore the older Enterprise scheme.
I exposed these views of 233 in the Dublin area over the last three years.
I’ve been featuring the Irish Rail 201 diesels as part of my 20 years in Ireland photography retrospective. I started with the class leader number 201, and have progressed sequentially. Take a wild guess as to which locomotive I’ll conclude the series! (This is not a trick question. You don’t need to consult a crystal ball or take a class in advanced mathematics.).
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Irish Rail 232 in 2017; A 201-Class in Fresh Paint.
As 2018 draws to a close, I still have three more Irish Class 201 diesel-electrics to feature as part of my on-going 20 year Irish Railways Retrospective!
Next up in the queue is Irish Rail 232.
In Spring 2017, this was the latest locomotive running around in fresh paint, and I’d made a point of catching on the IWT Liner (Dublin to Ballina, Co. Mayo).
Here’s two views from March 2017.
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Thomastown Cabin at Dusk—On this Day 15 Years Ago.
It was on a damp evening 15 years ago (13 December 2003), that I exposed this 35mm Fujichrome Sensia II slide using my Contax G2 rangefinder with 45mm Zeiss lens at Irish Rail’s station in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.
At the time, Irish Rail was operating its sugarbeet trains via Thomastown and Cherryville Junction owing to bridge collapse at Cahir, County Tipperary.
I’ve always liked the rich atmosphere of this slide which conveys an era now gone. Irish Rail closed the cabin at Thomastown a few months later and removed the Thomastown loop when it commissioned the Waterford Mini CTC.
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Borris Viaduct in Silver.
Last month, Ken Fox, Donncha Cronin and I explored the old Great Southern & Western Railway viaduct at Borris, County Carlow, see: Magnificent Vestige at Borris, County Carlow. [https://wp.me/p2BVuC-5Qe].
In addition to digital photos, I made a select few film photographs.
For me there’s something fascinating and compelling about putting a relic of former times on film. It’s just more real.
Photos were exposed using a Canon EOS3 with 40mm pancake lens on Kodak Tri-X; and the film processed in Ilford ID11 stock developer mixed 1 to 1 with water for 7 minutes 30 seconds at 68F, then scanned with a V500 flatbed scanner and imported into Lightroom for final adjustment.
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Six Years Ago Today; Ireland’s Bord na Mona near Edenderry on 3 November 2012.
On this day six years ago, Denis McCabe and I were on an exploration of Ireland’s narrow gauge Bord na Mona (Peat Board) operations radiating from the Edenderry generating station located near the village of Clonbullogue, Co. Offaly, when we discovered this view from overhead bridge over the double track narrow gauge line.
I exposed my photo using a Canon EOS7D with 200mm prime lens. Nominal overexposure resulted in a slightly washed out image.
Six years after the fact, I worked with the RAW File in Lightroom, to bring back some of the sky detail not apparent in the camera-produced Jpg, while aiming to improve colour saturation and colour balance.
See: Gallery 8: Irish Bog Railways—Part 1
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Irish Rail at Portarlington, Then and Now Views: Deja Vu all over again.
I was trolling through the archives searching for views of Irish Rail’s Mark 2 airbrake carriages and came across this view of class 071 locomotive 088 at Portarlington in summer 1998.
It makes for a fascinating comparison with a similar photo I made of the same locomotive hauling the recent Railway Preservation Society of Ireland autumn tour arriving at the modern Portarlington station.
In retrospect, I wish I’d located the vintage photograph prior to the tour so I could more closely match the angle.
The 1998 view is made from the old footbridge which is now out of service. The October 2018 photo was exposed from the modern footbridge, which is situated further east and slightly higher.
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Glounthaune Sunrise—Cobh Junction Glint in 3 photos.
Last week on a visit to Cork, I made these views of Irish Rail’s 2600 railcars working Cork-Cobh and Cork-Midleton services from Glounthaune village looking across the water toward Glounthaune/Cobh Junction station.
I was working with my FujiFilm XT1 and Canon EOS-3 cameras. The Canon was loaded with Provia 100F, and we’ll have to wait for the slides to be processed.
Regular Tracking the Light readers know that I often favor low-light ‘glint’.
This is tricky light to expose satisfactorily. It is a matter of getting the balance between highlights and shadows right, which is a subjective decision on the part of the photographer.
Which is your favourite?
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Railway Preservation Society Ireland—Fall Tour: Ten Lumix Views.
I described the failure of my trusty Lumix LX7 in yesterday’s post:
Final Frame? Lumix LX7 Coils Up
https://wp.me/p2BVuC-5Rm
Despite its failure on the day of the tour, I’d made good use of the camera right up to the end. This versatile picture making device had been a staple of my camera bag for more than four years.
Below are a selection of photos from Saturday 13 October 2018 of RPSI’s The Southwestern rail tour that operated from Dublin Connolly to Cork, then via Limerick, Ennis and Athenry and back to Dublin.
On these rail tours I tend to focus on the people as much as the equipment.
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Faces, Places and Engines—RPSI’s The Southwestern Tour—10 Views.
Although it was dark, wet and cold, I made a lot of photos of yesterday’s Railway Preservation Society of Ireland ‘The Southwestern’ tour.
These views were exposed using my FujiFilm XT1.
For me these tours are as much about the people as where we go or the equipment we travel on.
More photos soon!
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Magnificent Vestige at Borris, County Carlow.
The Borris Viaduct is an impressive vestige of the closed Irish railway line from Bagenalstown to Palace East.
Ken Fox, Donncha Cronin and I explored this old bridge, which has been converted into a hiking trail with easy public access.
Photos exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 digital camera.
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Exploring Historic Railways in Carlow and Wexford—Ten Photos.
It’s not all about trains. It never was.
Over the weekend, Ken Fox, Donncha Cronin and I made an exploration of abandoned Irish railways in counties Carlow and Wexford.
We began at Bagenalstown and worked our toward Wexford.
I find long abandoned railways inherently compelling, but sometimes difficult to convey in pictures.
This is a selection of images from my FujiFilm XT1 on the Bagenalstown to Palace East route, a line shut to traffic in the 1960s. In some places structures, bridges and rights-of-way remain, in others the line has been reclaimed and there’s virtually nothing left to see.
These photos are to convey the aura of the closed line, I’ve made no effort to place them in geographical order.
In tomorrow’s post, I’ll cover the visual highlight of the line.
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Irish Rail 077 with Belmond; Three Days—Harsh Light, Soft Light and an ICR.
Over the last few days, I’ve intercepted Belmond’s Grand Hibernianin my neighborhood three times. All hauled by Irish Rail class 071 number 077.
In each instance the lighting was less than calendar perfect.
In each instance I made digital images to best suit the scene.
Hints of autumn foliage dot the Dublin landscape, and soon Belmond’s train will conclude its touring season.
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Enterprising Patterns at Connolly
Real black & white under a Victorian-era train shed.
Here’s some views I made of the Enterprise in August 2018 using my Canon EOS-3 with a 40mm lens with Fuji Acros 100 film.
I like the reflections in the windows.
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Irish Rail 224: 20 Years In Ireland: Irish Rail class 201 Retrospective
I’ve been exploring and photographing Irish railways since 1998. To mark my twenty years photography, I’ve been displaying images of each of Irish Rail’s 201-class General Motors diesels in numerical order.
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Mainline Steam: RPSI No.4 at Mosney—16 September 2018.
Gauzy autumn light is perfect for photographing black steam locomotives on the move.
Yesterday, Railway Preservation Society of Ireland operated steam excursions between Dublin, Drogheda and Dundalk. Plans to work with engine 85 were foiled by difficulties with the turntable at Connolly Station.
Instead RPSI engine No.4 did the work.
Paul Maguire and I drove to a remote overhead bridge near Mosney.
I exposed this view using my FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens. To make the most of the scene, I imported the RAW file into Lightroom and adjusted it for contrast and saturation, using a digitally applied graduated neutral density filter to bring in sky detail.
Learn more about the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland:
https://www.steamtrainsireland.com
As I was preparing this post, Dublin’s Radio NOVA was talking about the excursion on FM.
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Steam Portraits-Faces of the Footplate.
A locomotive is hardly an ideal portrait studio.
Or is it?
Shafts of filtered light and a dark background make for a fascinating setting, while the opportunity to make silhouettes against the daylight provide a contrast.
The men of the footplate proudly wear the coal dust, cinders and ash that identify them.
I made these portraits of the crew on board Great Northern Railway of Ireland 85 on its excursions last week.
Special thanks to everyone at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) and at Irish Rail for making my locomotive journeys possible.
For details about the RPSI and scheduled steam and diesel trips see:
https://www.steamtrainsireland.com
Check out: Room with a View: The Challenges on Photographing from/on a Steam Locomotive Footplate—12 Photos.
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Room with a View: The Challenges on Photographing from/on a Steam Locomotive Footplate—12 Photos.
Earlier this week it was organized for me to travel on the footplate of Great Northern Railway of Ireland 85.
The thrill of experiencing a steam locomotive cab on the main line is a rare privilege.
My job was to make photographs and stay out of the way.
Locomotive 85 is a three cylinder compound 4-4-0, a 1932 product of Beyer Peacock.
The compound arrangement is what intrigued me, but like the low droning throb sounding from the 20 cylinder diesel powering an EMD SD45, this element of the steam equipment is beyond my ability to picture.
Instead, I had to settle for making images of the crew at work and the locomotive in motion.
The footplate offers a rough ride, while swirling coal dust and locomotive exhaust complicate photography and the handling of sensitive equipment. The lighting is at best difficult. Staying out of the way often means that I wasn’t always able to get the angle I really wanted and needed to make due with where I was able to stand.
Special thanks to everyone at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) and at Irish Rail for making my locomotive journeys possible.
For details about the RPSI and scheduled steam and diesel trips see:
https://www.steamtrainsireland.com
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Belmond’s Grand Hibernian on the Middle Road.
On Sunday’s an Irish Rail class 071 works Belmond’s luxury cruise train, the 10-car Grand Hibernian, on its run from Dublin Connolly to Waterford.
Although slightly back lit, I found the famed ‘Gullet’ offers a good place to catch this train at work.
This cutting dates from the 1840s and features three tracks.
In this instance, Irish Rail 082 was accelerating down the middle road with the posh-looking train. (‘Down’ refers to traveling away from Dublin, and doesn’t reflect the gradient, which in this situation is actually rising).
Working with both my FujiFilm XT1 with 90mm telephoto and Lumix LX7, I made two sets of digital photos.
The locomotive sound was impressive as on this particular Sunday a couple weeks back the roads in the area were shut for a foot race and there was very little ambient noise compared with a typical day in Dublin. Perhaps, I should have made a recording!
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Lumix on the Enterprise—Extra Post
I’m on my way from Dublin toward Belfast on the cross-border Enterprise.
Working with my Lumix LX7, I made these photos and I’m posting them via the Enterprise Wi Fi using my Apple MacBook.
The light weight Lumix LX7 with its easy to use controls and flexible zoom lens makes it an ideal travelogue device. Yet, it’s more than just a snapshot camera.
It makes simultaneous RAW and Jpg files while allowing adjustment of exposure via shutter speed and aperture controls. Plus it has a variety of pre-sets and automatic modes.
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Irish Rail 222—The Bishop.
Many Irish Rail locomotives have nicknames. Engine 222 is ‘The Bishop’ or ‘Bishop Tutu’, which is an allusion to its number.
Over the last 20 years, I’ve caught this locomotive at many places across the Irish network.
See: DAILY POST: Timber and General Motors, June 10, 2006
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Irish Rail Workhorse Diesel; The Unremarked 221 in four photos.
Here’s four views of Irish Rail 221; two film, two digital; two orange, two green & silver; two with passenger, two with freight; one in snow, three without; but all showing this machine on the move.
This is part of my on-going series depicting Ireland’s class 201 diesel electrics to mark my 20 years photographing in Ireland. Photographic details in the captions.
Question: do head-on telephoto views portray the shape of the 201-class effectively?
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Irish Rail 220; Here and There, North and South, Freight and Passenger, Then and Now.
Five views of Irish Rail 220.
Of the Irish Rail class 201 diesels, number 220 is well represented in my collection! Let’s just say I had lots of photos to pick from, both on film and with digital.
Any favorites among these?
In each of the images, I’ve made nominal adjustment to exposure, contrast and colour balance.
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Irish Rail 217—Three Photos: Summer, Fall & Winter.
Next up in my 20 year retrospective featuring the Irish Rail 201 class is Irish Rail locomotive 217!
Is this anyone’s favorite engine?
I have many images of 217 over the years, and I’ve selected these three for presentation here.
Details in the photos below.
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Navy Blue—Irish Rail 216 for Belmond’s Grand Hibernian.
In my earlier 216 post I pictured Irish Rail 216 in its ordinary paint liveries, before it was specially adorned for service on the Belmond Grand Hibernian cruise train in 2016.
This post features 216 in fancy dress.
I wonder, with all the attention now paid to 216, has this become the most pictured of the 201 class diesels?
The Grand Hibernian is among the trains featured in my book: Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe, now available from the Kalmbach Hobby Store.
https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/book/01304