May 31st, 2014, I stood in the grass south of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina to photograph a German-dessigned Siemens Mobility-built model S70 tram working as the Lynx.
I like photographing modern lightrail systems in urban environments.
The sun was softened by a cloud moments before exposure. I rescued the image in post processing with some shadow-lightening and contrast adjustment, and by warming the color temperature.
Since my 2014 visit to Charlotte with photographer Pat Yough, the city has expanded its light rail system and purchased many more Siemens trams.
Lumix LX7 photo, exposed in RAW and adjusted with Adobe Lightroom to create an internet-sized JPG file.
On the evening of August 12, 2015, I made this pair of images of Dublin’s LUAS light rail at the Museum stop on Benburb Street.
I was playing with very close focus for effect. By manually setting the focus in the second image, I selected a focus point on the stone wall, while allowing the tram to dissolve in a sea of blur.
In post processing I corrected the color balance to compensate for the intense yellow-orange tint of the street lights.
I experimented with compact mirrorless cameras on May 31, 2014, during a visit to Charlotte, North Carolina,
My trusty Lumix LX3 had failed a few weeks earlier, and I was seeking a suitable replacement.
On this trip photographer Pat Yough let me try out his FujiFilm XE-2. While my father had lent me his Lumix LX7, (a model that was an upgraded variation on the older LX3)
I made these images using the Lumix LX7 which photographing the Lynx light rail system south of downtown Charlotte.
Ultimately,not onlydid I buy a Lumix LX7, but after continued experimentation with the Fuji system, I also bought a Fuji XT1, which served me well for a number of years.
I’ve found that it really helps to experiement with different camera systems to put them through their paces BEFORE drawing firm conclusions or making a purchase.
Below are three variations of the same image. The first is a scaled version of the in-camera JPG (scaled for internet presention, not cropped); the other two are interpretations from the camera RAW using Adobe Lightroom.
Lumix LX7 in-camerea JPG scaled for internet.JPG adapted from Camera RAW.Alternative interpretation of the same Camera RAW file.
Tracking the Light aims to post new material every day!
In June 2008, I traveled from Los Angeles to San Diego to research and photograph my book titled Railroads of California (Published by MBI-Voyageur Press in 2009).
I traveled over most of the San Diego Trolley system, during which time I made several dozen photos of the cars including this one near downtown San Diego.
I was working with a pair of Canon EOS 3s. This was was loaded with Fujichrome and fitted with a 200mm Canon lens.
Today, looking back on San Diego from frozen New Hampshire, it seems like a long way away and a long time ago.
Using my FujiFilm XT1, I made this photo on First Street when visiting Los Angeles in August 2016.
I was pleased to catch then-new cars working the Metro Rail Gold Line light rail line.
Below are two variations. The top is the in-camera JPG, using the ‘Velvia’ color profile. The second view I converted from Fuji RAW to DNG format with Iridient X-Transformer (a specialized 3rd party software aimed at producing superior results with Fuji RAW files) before importing into Lightroom for final adjustment.
In-camera JPG using ‘Veliva’ color profile.DNG file converted from Fuji RAW using Iridient X-Transformer.Notice the superior shadow detail.
I made this view of the San Jose Light Rail and Cal-Train at Mountain View, California on a warm evening in 2009 using a Canon EOS 3 loaded with Fujichrome.
