Tag Archives: #NI Railways

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Black & White Composition-color save.

We had just a few minutes to wait for a Belfast-bound NI Railways train on the Bangor Line at Cultra.

I set my Z7-II to the ‘Carbon’ profile, which allows me to compose the photos in a high-constant, broad-tonality monochrome mode. This records the monochrome settings as a Jpeg, while saving the full color photo as an NEF RAW file.

I learned photography exposing black & white images, so it seems natural to look at black & white interpretations of color scenes. However, in this situation, I’m actually composing photos as black & white images.

For point of comparison, I’ve included both the in-camera JPG (scaled for internet presentation) and a scaled version of the NEF file (scaled as a Jpeg) but without adjustment to alter appearance though changes to exposure, color balance, saturation, contrast, sharpness etc.

Approaching view-monochrome (as composed).
Approaching view-monochrome (as composed).
Approaching view-monochrome (as composed).
Color version of the above image.
Color version of the above image.
Color version of the above image.
Trailing photo of the same train.
Trailing photo of the same train.
Trailing photo of the same train.
Color version of the trailing photo

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Riding the Bangor Line on Cloudy Day

We thought about traveling to Derry, but it was a dreary day and we had evening plans, so instead I suggested we take the train toward Bangor.

And, no, we were not in Maine!

So, Kris and I traveled from Belfast Great Victoria Street Station aboard an NI Railways train, and got off the train at Cultra to visit the Ulster Transportation Museum.

The museum has some of the finest preserved railway exhibits in Ireland, (and these will be the subjects of a future post.)

Overcast lighting makes atmospheric images at Cultra easier than on a bright sunny day. Oh, wait, have I ever visited Cultra on a bright sunny day??!

I made these images near the NI Railways station at Cultra using my Lumix LX7 and Nikon Z7-II digital cameras.

Lumix LX-7.
The old railway station building at Cultra makes for a nice prop, but the building is no longer serves the railway and has no modern affiliation with NI Railways nor any connection to the trains that stop here.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.
Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

NI Railways—Vistas from Downhill Demesne.

The weather was rapidly changing when we walked across the grassy plateau of the Downhill Demesne located west of Castlerock, Northern Ireland.

Although it was bright and sunny, we could see dark clouds over the Foyle estuary to the west.

NI Railways operates an hourly service between Belfast and Derry, and one of our objectives was to capture views of these trains running along the coast. For my money, some of the finest views of trains in Ireland can be made from this plateau. The fee is putting up with the weather.

We timed our arrival well. A Derry bound train passed just a few minutes after we found a suitable overlook. Minutes later dark clouds obscured the sun, the wind kicked up and soon we were pelted with hail and soaked with icy rain. Before the eastward train to Belfast came into view the sky started to clear.

This pattern repeated itself about an hour later. Such is the price of getting great scenic photos of NI Railways!

Nikon Z7-II photo from the Downhill Demesne.
Trailing view: Lumix LX7 photo of a Derry bound NI Railways train from the Downhill Demesne. You can see the rain coming!

Tuesday evening (April 9, 2024), I am presenting a program on our recent travels in Ireland and the UK to the Harrisburg Chapter NRHS. My program is scheduled to begin about 6:30pm at: Hoss’s Steak and Sea House, 61 Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.

https://www.harrisburgnrhs.org/meetings

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Great Victoria Street Station

Kris and I walked around the corner from the Europa Hotel in Belfast to make these views looking down from Durham Street on to the NI Railways platforms at Great Victoria Street Station.

This shows the station in transition. The new Belfast Transportation Hub is under construction in the background. See:

https://www.translink.co.uk/Better%20Connected/Belfast%20Transport%20Hub

Exposed with a 24-70mm Nikkor zoom lens set at 70mm.
Exposed with a 24-70mm Nikkor zoom lens.
For this photo I used an adpater to attach my vintage manual focus, Nikkor f2.5 105mm prime lens to my Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera. This classic lens offers a lightweight telephoot travel option. It can be used on both my film and digital Nikons.
Although focusing manually takes practice, the lens is extremely sharp and works well on the Z6 body.

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Tips and Technique

Great Northern Railway Station—Lisburn, Spring 2001

NI Railways’ former Great Northern Railway (of Ireland) station at Lisburn is a classic that retains its traditional appearance including platform canopies and footbridge.

I made this view on a visit in Spring 2001. Working with my Rollei Model T, I exposed a geometerically balanced composition, where I’ve used the canopy supports as a visual partition that divides the photo evenly at the center.

Perfectly centered compositions are frowned upon in some circles, but I’ve occasionally executed successful and visually dynamic photos using this technique. In this instance I don’t think my photo could have been improved by off-center placement of the column.

Kodak 120 Tri-X procecessed in Ilfotec HC.

Since background elements vary considerably on the right and left sides, the centered composition helps weigh the intrigue of one side versus the other.

Do you think this image would be improved if I had included a train?

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photography, Tips and Technique

NIR-Derry 5 April 2002

NI Railways had a minimalist presence in Derry, Northern Ireland when I visited there on 5 April 2002.

The railway station consisted of a 1960s-era bus shelter style building and a single platform serving two tracks, situated flush with the River Foyle.

I made these photos while boarding an NIR 80-class railcar bound for Belfast.

My camera was a rugged Contax G2 Rangefinder fitted with 45mm Zeiss Planar lens and loaded with Kodak Tri-X black & white film. I used a red filter to alter the black & white tonality and boost contrast.

For me the film’s contrast and stark spring lighting was well-suited to the minimalist railway infrastructure.

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