Shows Irish Rail
I exposed this view of Irish Rail 071 class diesel number 079 at Sligo using my Rolleiflex Model T loaded with Fuji Neopan 400.
I processed the film at the Gallery of Photography at Meetinghouse Square in Dublin using Agfa Rodinal Special concentrated liquid developer.
Final processing was accomplished digitally using Lightroom.
Click the link to Tracking the Light to see both photos.
I made these views featuring Irish Rail 076 in passenger service using Fujichrome slide film.
The top view was made on 28 April 2006 crossing the River Barrow at Monasterevin; the other was exposed on this year’s IRRS Two Day Tour at Kent Station Cork (9 April 2016).
Funny thing; I didn’t see lots of people at Monasterevin that day ten years ago!
I exposed this view at Dublin Connolly Station in April 1998 using a Nikon F2 fitted with a Nikkor f2.8 135mm lens and loaded with Ilford HP5 black & white negative film.
The day was a characteristically bright overcast, a typically Irish day with lighting well suited to Ilford black & white.
Cork’s railways were once vastly more complex than they are today.
Over a three-day span beginning 7 May 2016, I was given a thorough tour of Cork’s historic railways that included: a walking tour of the route of the old Cork City Railway; a cycle tour of the route of the Cork, Blackrock & Passage; and a detailed look at the numerous railway terminals that once served this southwestern Irish city.
I made numerous photographs composed to document railway settings as they are today. In many instances service was discontinued decades ago and the lines lifted and so the role of the railway is more conceptual than literal.
Thanks to Ken Fox, Donncha Cronin, Brian Sherman, Kevin Meany and Richard Lee for their expert guidance and historical knowledge.
To make the most of this scene I needed to make some global (overall) and localized contrast adjustments in Lightroom. This was necessary to compensate for the contrast characteristics inherent to the digital file produced by my FujiFilm X-T1.
I worked with the RAW file which has substantially more data than the in-camera JPG (which is compressed and thus offers very little information above what is immediately visible to the eye).
Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 at Kent Station, Cork.
Thursday, 7 April 2016, Irish Rail’s IWT Liner was blocked at Islandbridge Junction. This gave me the opportunity to work some less common angles in addition to my common viewing point (often featured on Tracking the Light).
By holding my FujiFilm X-T1 above my head at arm’s length and tilting the camera’s live-view panel screen downward, I was able to make this view looking over the wall at the St. John’s Road roundabout in Dublin.
Why not try this more often? Simply because I’m not tall enough to see over the wall, so to make this view I’m actually using the camera to view the scene. It’s tiring work to hold a camera above your head while waiting for trains to appear.
The other day I was at the St. John’s Road roundabout. A Mark4 set was blocked as an in-bound ICR (intercity railcar) bound for Dublin’s Heuston Station over took it on the middle road.
Using my Lumix LX-7, I made this photo by holding the camera over the wall and gauging composition from the live-view digital display at the back of the camera.
I lightened the shadows in post-processing to improve contrast.
For the next couple of weeks Tracking the Light will be on auto-pilot while Brian is on the road. Posts should appear daily having been pre-programmed into the holding queue.
Last weekends Irish Railway Record Society 071 trip offered countless opportunities to make detailed views of the trains, stations and other equipment.
When I wasn’t focusing on the people or on scenes with the special train, I looked for iconic images of Irish Rail closeup.
These were exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1.
I will be on the road beginning 14 April; Tracking the Light posts should continue to appear daily for the duration of this trip.
Below are a selection of views I made from last weekend’s Irish Railway Record Society 071 Anniversary tour.
In earlier posts, I’ve covered other elements of this excellent railway trip across Ireland on 9-10 April 2016.
All photos were exposed digitally from the train’s windows.
Enjoy!
Tracking the Light posts new photos daily.
The trains are the excuse to travel, but for me many of the most interesting photos are the portraits.
In the end, it’s the cast of characters that make the trip worthwhile.
Here are just a few from the dozens of images I exposed on Saturday and Sunday 9-10 April 2016.
All of the above were made with my Lumix LX7.
More photos to come soon.
Irish Railway Record Society’s ‘071 class two-day 40th anniversary railtour‘ covered a lot of ground in just two days.
The trip represented a mastery of coordination; special to thanks to everyone at Irish Railway Record Society, Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, and Irish Rail!
This a selection of 20 new images I made with my Lumix LX7. (I’m still down-loading the photos made with my FujiFilm X-T1).
We started and finished at Dublin’s Connolly Station, running to Ballybrophy (with train continuing ‘empty carriages’ to Lisduff sidings to change direction, then via the Nenagh Branch to Limerick.
Limerick to Cork, Cork back to Mallow, then to Killarney for an overnight stay. In the morning to Tralee (my visit there since I bought a digital camera!) then back to Kilarney.
Back via Mallow to Limerick Junction, then down my favorite line to Waterford via Carrick-on-Suir. From Waterford to Killkenny and via Cherryville Junction back up to Dublin.
There were lots of intermediate photographic stops along the way.
I’ll be posting more photos from the popular trip soon!
Tracking the Light is a Daily Photographic Blog.
Yesterday morning, Saturday 9 April 2016, I made this panoramic composite image at Connolly Station featuring the Irish Railway Record Society ‘071 class two-day 40th anniversary railtour.‘
(If you are not viewing Tracking the Light directly, you may need to click the link to the site to get the full effect of the panorama.)
I traveled on this epic and ambitious diesel-hauled special and I’m presently downloading the hundreds of digital photos I exposed of the trains and the people involved with it.
More soon!
I like to have at least two cameras handy. This especially true when I’m in a situation where photographic opportunities are rapidly unfolding.
These days I usually have both my FujiFilm X-T1 and Lumix LX7 at the ready.
Both are very good image-making machines, yet each has its strengths.
My Lumix is great for candid views and situations where it isn’t necessary or practical to have the camera at eye level. Often I use strictly with the live-view rear screen.
This is a selection of photographs of last Sunday’s (3 April 2016) Dublin Rivera steam excursions operated by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
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Yesterday, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) operated a pair of excursions from Dublin’s Connolly Station to Greystones, County Wicklow and return using former Dublin & South Eastern 2-6-0 461.
The trains were well patronized, which demonstrates a continued interest in Irish steam trains.
Dull weather prevailed, while cool temperatures made lots of steam condensation.
Sometimes I find that dull days makes for better steam photos.
Here’s a sample of digital images I made with my FujiFilm X-T1.
Most required contrast and saturation adjustment in post-processing.
Any favorites?
The other evening some friends and I traveled from the Dublin city centre to Blackrock on the DART-Dublin’s electrified suburban rail-transit service.
The DART branding mimic’s the Bay Area’s third-rail rapid transit brand ‘BART’ (Bay Area Rapid Transit).
While sometimes my rail travel is focused on the making of photos, this trip had another primary purpose; yet with my Lumix LX7 at the ready, I used every opportunity to make photos.
Significantly, Dublin’s Pearse Station, formerly-known as Westland Row, is credited as the world’s oldest city terminus in continuous use. It was opened in 1834 with the Dublin & Kingstown Railway. Of course, the D&K has the distinction as the world’s earliest operating suburban railway.
Lately the sun has been an elusive orb in Irish skies. Too often, I awake to find a slate gray dome above me.
Good Friday (25 March 2016) was different. It was bright sunny morning.
Having the sun and making use of it are two different things.
In the early afternoon, Colm O’Callaghan, Ciarán Cooney and I waited at Lucan South, just east of the Adamstown Station on the quad-track in suburban Dublin.
Our quarry was the up-IWT Liner from Ballina, which was operating with Irish Rail 233, the last 201 class diesel in the old Enterprise-livery. We caught this engine before, but it’s unlikely to survive for long in this old paint.
While the day remained bright, puffy clouds were rapidly blowing across the sky, changing and dampening the light when they blocked the sun
Anxiously, we watched the signals, and the passing InterCity Railcars. The tapestry above was becoming a maddening mixture of fluff and blue.
Would we get the liner in full sun? After all, that’s what we were out for.
With two cameras around my neck, I was prepared for either eventuality; if it was cloudy, I work with the digital camera; but if the sun came out bright, I’d make a slide. To this aim, I’d set my Canon EOS-3 at f4.5 1/1000th of a second—my full-sun setting for Provia 100F.
It was a photo finish. As the liner approached the light changed from dark to light.
I made some telephoto views with the FujiFilm X-T1; but as the IWT liner reached us the clouds began to part and I exposed a single frame of Fujichrome with my Canon. That photo remains latent in the camera. Did I get it right? It will be some weeks before I know the answer; I wont have the film processed until May.
The deep cutting on the north-side of Dublin’s Phoenix Park Tunnel used to be a difficult place to get a good angle on a train. Previously I’d worked it, but it wasn’t easy. There was only a narrow view and the light was almost always problematic.
Some weeks back, Irish Rail cleared brush and trees from the cutting opening up the view as it hasn’t been for in decades.
Saturday, 19 March 2016, Colm O’Callaghan collected me and we met some friends at a high over bridge to make the most of this new opportunity.
Two trains were expected after Irish Rail lifted a permanent way possession (in North America this would be called ‘maintenance window’, which basically means the line was closed for work).
Take away the trees! Hurrah!
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This quiet overhead crossing of the quad-track is just past the 8 ¾ milepost from Dublin’s Heuston Station.
It offers an open view of the line with a favorable angle for down (traveling away from Dublin) trains mid-morning.
It takes a tuned interest in Irish Rail’s operations and a bit of luck. to time a visit to coincide with passage of the weekday IWT Liner (International Warehousing & Transport container train between Dublin and Ballina) and the more elusive HOBS (high output ballast system).
Getting the clouds to cooperate is trickier yet again.
A couple of weeks ago Colm O’Callaghan and I spent a strategic 45 minutes at Stucumny Bridge.
Even if you fail at catching the freight on the move, there’s always a steady parade of passenger trains.
Last Friday, 11 March 2016, I went up to my favored Irish local location; Islandbridge Junction. This is a handy place for me.
This is great place to catch a freight train exiting Dublin’s Phoenix Park Tunnel on a bright clear day, yet can be visually problematic on a dull day.
On this day, I thought it would be a good place to experiment with a Lee graduated neutral density filter as a means of controlling contrast and allowing for a more effective overall exposure.
The filter I use offers subtle 2/3s of a stop gradation. This is adjustable both up/down and rotationally left/right.
I made a few test photos with and without the filter to gauge my exposure before the IWT arrived with Irish Rail 088 in the lead.
A similar effect can be accomplished digitally, yet the digital effect doesn’t add information to the RAW file, but only makes a visual adjustment in the final image.
In other words to apply the filter digital may be viewed as a ‘correction’ rather than an in-camera technique. Yet, it is often easier to apply a filter in post-processing than in the field.
I’ve used both methods depending on the circumstance.
Below are some results.
This gives a nice overall of my experiment, but in the middle of all this I got a little greedy. Using my zoom lens on the FujiFilm X-T1, I made a tight view of the IWT (with the filter).
As is often the case with last second changes, I didn’t get my exposure quite right. My feeling was that the RAW file was about 1/3 of a stop too dark.
As with most of my photography, I consider this a work in progress. In all likelihood, before long I’ll be back at Islandbridge Junction to further refine my experiment.
It’s become an annual tradition to illuminate notable buildings around Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
I made this image of Heuston Station using my Lumix LX7 mounted on a mini Gitzo tripod.
Heuston is among the stations featured in my book Railway Depots, Stations & Terminals published by Voyageur Press in 2015.
Last night, as advertised, I presented my program to the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin.
I had a large and receptive audience. There were more bodies than seats.
The program was in two parts, divided by a tea break (as per tradition). After a few slides from America, I focused on the main event: Ireland as I saw it 10 years ago.
I apologize: there were no photos of the DART or 29000-series CAF-built railcars, and I probably offered a disproportionate number of views of the last two operational class 121 diesels.
For those curious about my camera equipment: at the time I was in a transition between Nikon and Canon systems, while I was also making good use of a Contax G2 rangefinder. Color slides were exposed with lens ranging from a 16mm Zeiss Hologon to a 400mm Tokina telephoto.
In 2006, I was more than 2 years away from exposing my first digital photo. I was like the Norfolk & Western in 1953, and still firmly committed to the old technology. Most of the slides were exposed using Fujichrome Sensia2 (ISO 100), although I also used some Fujichrome Velvia 100, Provia 100F, and Provia 400F, as well as the occasional roll of Ektachrome.
Thanks to everyone who attended!
Tonight, 10 March 2016, I will present an illustrated program “One Year on Irish Railways; Looking back Ten Years” to the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin.
What will I show?
I sifted through thousands of my Irish Rail slides looking for images that fit my arbitrary qualification; exposed in Ireland during 2006.
After locating more than 500 slides that fit the bill, I then honed the selection to something manageable.
Ultimately, this meant I needed to reject more photos than I included.
Here are five views that I exposed in 2006, that will not be appearing tonight.
I hope no one will be disappointed.
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Irish Rail’s 071 class diesels are 40-year old work-horse locomotives that are now largely assigned to permanent way and freight trains.
Ten years ago, Irish Rail’s 071s still regular worked passenger services in addition to their other duties. I made a point of photographing the 071s on both main line and branch passenger trains.
Among the features of my presentation to the Irish Railway Record Society this coming Thursday (10 March 2016) will be my vintage images of the 071 at work.
The talk will begin at 7:30 pm at the IRRS Dublin premises near Heuston Station.
On 10 March 2016, I will present a feature length illustrated talk to the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin; my topic, Irish Railways in 2006.
This will begin at 7:30 pm at the IRRS Dublin premises near Heuston Station, Dublin.
In keeping with this theme, today’s Tracking the Light looks back at 2006: A year that saw many changes on Irish Rail. Among these was the introduction of the Mark4 push pull sets on the Dublin-Cork run.
I made this view from the canal bridge over the River Barrow of Irish Rail’s viaduct over the same river.
Here a 201-class diesel in the recently introduced green and silver livery (designed to match the new Mark4 sets) leads a train of Mark 2 carriages.
Green 201s and Mark IIs only co-existed for a short time and I was please to make this striking image of this comparatively unusual combination.
Key to my composition is the billowing clouds to the north of the line.
Today, we’d be happy to see a railcar cross Irish Rail’s dormant South Wexford Line.
Back in April 2006, I made this photograph of a mixed pair (class 121/141) with a ballast train at Campile.
Not hard to take in retrospect!
On 10 March 2016 at 7:30 pm, I Will Present to the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin a feature length illustrated talk on Irish railways as they were ten years ago; the year 2006.
My talk will be at the IRRS Dublin premises near Heuston Station.
See: http://www.irrs.ie
In just two weeks time; on 10 March 2016, I Will Present to the Dublin branch of the Irish Railway Record Society a feature length illustrated talk on Irish railways as they were ten years ago; the year 2006.
This will feature some of my best photography from 2006 and will include a variety of images from around Ireland
My talk will begin at 7:30 pm at the IRRS Dublin premises near Heuston Station.
Tracking the Light posts every day!On 10 March 2016, I will present an illustrated talk on Irish railways as they were ten years ago—the year 2006—to the Irish Railway Record Society in Dublin.
This will feature some of my best photography from 2006 and include images on the Waterford-Limerick line, Galway Line and Mayo routes, plus Railway Preservation Society Ireland steam trips and many other subjects.
There’ll be plenty of photos of General Motors diesels at work hauling freight and passenger trains.
Th talk will begin at 7:30 pm at the IRRS Dublin premises near Heuston Station.
Sometimes I try to play by the rules.
It was rare glorious sunny day back in September 2015. Irish Rail had a full complement of trains on the move. Catching clean 071 class diesel 077 with the second IWT Liner was a bonus.
I exposed these photos along the Dublin-Cork line at Hazelhatch (about ten miles southwest of Dublin). Special thanks to John Cleary, who advised me on the day’s program, provided road-based transport and suggested some angles.
Photos by the rules:
Bonus qualifications: nominal elevation, clearly identifiable location and clean equipment.
Points subtracted: zoom lens used instead a prime ‘standard lens’. Digital used instead of film. Colour used instead of black & white. Evidence of people in some of the photos (minus two points, Tsk!)
The millennium was coming to a close. I was just back in Ireland after a few months wandering. I arrived by ferry from Holyhead the night before.
The short days of winter offer moments of stunning low sun against what can often be a stark Irish environment.
It was the height of Irish Rail’s annual sugar beet campaign, so Denis McCabe and I headed first for Wexford (Wellingtonbridge to be specific) then worked our way west, finishing the day at Clonmel, County Tipperary.
Although, we come for the sugar beet, a side attraction were a pair of timber trains that were unloading there.
I was working with three cameras. One was a Nikon loaded with Ilford HP5. Ironically, most of those black & white photos have been squirreled away in my files for the last 16 years.
Here’s a sample of what I did that afternoon at Clonmel. Pretty neat in retrospect, however, what was more significant for me photographically was that this trip inspired a half-decade of intensive photographic adventures to document the sugar beet campaign.
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On the day, steam locomotive 461 had done the honors for the paying passengers.
After the train arrived back at Connolly, freshly painted Irish Rail 071 (class leader) tied onto the empty carriages to bring them across to Inchicore.
I exposed this view at the end of the day using my Nikon F3 with 24mm lens. Using my perfected chemical recipe, I processed the Fuji Acros 100 film in Kodak HC110 then toned the negatives with selenium solution. Finally, I scanned them and made minor adjustments in Lightroom (mostly to remove dust spots).
Why black & white? Why film?
Why not?
I’ve always exposed film, and while digital photography tends to dominate my image making, I still expose the occasional roll of B&W or color slide film.
Posted live from Dublin Bus. I’m on the 747 bus on the way to the airport. The Wednesday-only second IWT liner (Ballina to Dublin Port) just crossed the road. I had a perfect vantage point from my seat on the top deck.
I using my Lumix LX7, I exposed these views.
What fantastic luck!
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Empty carriages cross a dormant railway.
A decade ago, David Hegarty and I made a project of photographing Irish Rail’s South Wexford line between Rosslare Strand and Waterford.
Sugar Beet traffic ended in January 2006, and regular passenger services were withdrawn five years ago in September 2010.
Yesterday, RailTours Ireland’s Emerald Isle Express (operated in cooperation with the Railway Preservation Society Ireland and Irish Rail) ran as a train of empty carriages across the line. This was probably the first train in months to use the scenic route.
Maximum speed was 15 mph.
Mark Healy and I were among the photographers on site to witness this very unusual move.
In addition to these digital photos, I exposed a handful of colour slides, you know, for posterity.
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Today, the Emerald Isle Express began its second annual run working from Dublin Connolly Station to Rosslare Strand, and then empty carriages across the rarely used South Wexford line via Wellingtonbridge to Waterford.
The train was sponsored by Rail Tours Ireland in cooperation with the Railway Preservation Society Ireland and Irish Rail.
It was a beautiful day, and I made dozens of fine photographs. I’ll post more tomorrow! Stay tuned.
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Most days Irish Rail’s Dublin-Ballina IWT Liner (International Warehousing and Transport; see: http://iwt-irl.com) departs the North Wall in the morning, typically between 9:20 and 11 am.
Today, it was set back to an evening path, much like the traditional liners that ran nightly up until mid-2005.
An added bonus was Enterprise painted Irish Rail 201 number 233.
This was like turning the clock back ten years or more.
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At 10:54 am this morning (Sunday August 23, 2015) Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s Marble City (Dublin Connolly to Kilkenny) led by engine number 4 made an impressive display working up the Gullet from Islandbridge Junction in Dublin.
Shortly before the arrival of the special, an Irish Rail ICR eased up to the bridge of signals. While this wasn’t what I anticipated, it makes for an interesting contrast in equipment.
Déjà vu? I think so.
Kudo’s to the RPSI and Irish Rail for running the train. I hope everyone on board has an enjoyable trip!
See: http://steamtrainsireland.com for details on up coming steam trips.
With a few of the distant exposures, I found the camera struggled to pick an accurate focus point. However, by using the ‘continuous high’ setting I was able to make up for the problem by making a lot of photos in short bursts as the camera focused in-and-out. Steam can often fool autofocus (especially on dull days) and its important to be ready this degree of uncertainty when making photographs.
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