Tag Archives: #night photography

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Nocturnal Musings and Bridge Shadows

I didn’t think we could do it, but we did!

In recent months, we often rolled by nocturnal freights at Columbia or Washington Boro, Pa. Likewise, I’ve made numerous trips to the bridges at Safe Harbor, but rarely caught a train on the move.

If only we could just chase a train and beat it to the bridges.

After I made my exposures of Norfolk Southern unit coal train 632, we decided to follow it. It had a good roll-on and was making a steady 30 mph. By the park in Washington Boro, we were even with the locomotives, and with a clear road ahead of us, I zipped southward to Safe Harbor.

We arrived in time for me to set up my tripod, expose a few test photos and set my camera to catch NS 632 framed up beneath the enormous trestle that once carried Pennsylvania Railroad’s Atgen & Susquehanna Branch—a busy double track freight route in its heyday.

To stop the train, I set my Z6-III to ISO 64000, and adjusted my ‘Fast Fifty’ to its widest aperature (f1.4).

Afterwards, I processed the NEF Raw using PureRaw to minimize image noise. For point of comparison, I’ve displayed both the unprocessed NEF RAW file (with detail enlargement) and the post processed image (with enlargement).

I’m 89 percent satisfied with my results, but will need to try this again!

My next class at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania covers night photography techniques. This will be held at the museum in Strasburg, Pa., on Wednesday, Feb 4 from 5 pm to 7 pm EST. See: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/night-photography-at-the-museum-with-brian-solomon-tickets-1980583252825?aff=erelexpmlt

NEF RAW file before processing, displaying the effects of high-noise which is a function of using high-iso settings. (ISO 64000, f1.4 and 1/100 second shutter speed)
Greatly enlarged portion of the unmodified NEF RAW image.
NEF RAW file following processing with PureRaw to minimize noise and with Lightroom to adjust contrast, exposure and color.
Enlarged version of the image following post-processing

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Coal Train on the Move: A Process Comparison

At Washington Boro, the signals were lined up for an eastward train, so we drove west to intercept it.

At Cola interlocking in Columbia, Pa., we waited. As the tell-tale distant roar of a heavy freight warned me of its pending approach, I made adjustments to my Z6-III fitted with 50mm f1.4 lens.

Soon, I heard symbol freight 632 call a clear signal over the railroad radio. This was an unit coal train originating in central Pennsylvania destined for Baltimore.

My exposure was set at 1/200th of second with 64,000 ISO. As the headlights came into view, I adjusted the aperture to f1.6 (from f1.4) to better capture the the detail of the lights.

As an experiment, in post post processing, I used two different systems to produce a comparison of noise suppression systems.

Below are three variations of the same NEF RAW file (all scaled for internet). The top is the un-processed RAW file that shows the high degree of noise of the photo right out of the camera. The second was processed with Lightroom’s ‘Raw Details’ and ‘Denoise’ options checked to reduce the effects noise. The third view was processed using DxO PureRaw4.

In this selection, I refrained from making cosmetic adjustments to the files.

NEF RAW file without noise suppression.
NEF RAW File following processing with Lightroom’s ‘Raw Details’ and ‘Denoise’ options.
NEF file processed using PureRaw4 to minimize noise and correct for lens defects.

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Peach Bottom by the Light of the Moon

Kris suggested we take an evening drive to see if we could find a freight on the move.

In recent months, we’ve explored Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch, and based on the times we’ve caught eastward trains on the move, I thought Peach Bottom, Pa., might offer a good place to roll a train by.

The moon was nearly full and relatively high in the sky when we arrived. I parked near the public boat launch near the Susquehanna River, shut the car off, and listened . . .

“Do you hear that? We have a freight coming!”

What luck!

I set up my 3Pod tripod and attached my Nikon Z6-III with 1.4 50mm and made a few test photos as the distant roar became louder and more pronounced.

Test photo: Norfolk Southern’s Port Road Branch as seen by moonlight along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River at Peachbottom. Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, ISO 100.

After a few minutes, we saw the headlight of the approaching train.

My camera was set at f1.4, at 1/60th of second with ISO64000, and I made some trailing views. This appeared to be one of the Consol Energy unit coal trains and featured a mid-train DPU.

I focused on the grade crossing to make a photo of a former Conrail coal hopper. I think that it’s pretty neat that after all these years, Conrail-painted hoppers survive in service.

When I got home, I processed the NEF RAW files with DxO PureRaw to remove noise and correct lens defects.

Norfolk Southern unit coal train on Port Road Branch by the light of the moon; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/60th of a second, ISO 64,000, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.
Norfolk Southern unit coal train on Port Road Branch by the light of the moon; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 4 seconds, ISO 400, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.
Norfolk Southern unit coal train passing Peachbottom on the Port Road Branch; Nikon Z6-III with 50mm f1.4 lens, 1/80th of a second, ISO 64,000, NEF Raw file processed using PureRaw.

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Nocturnal Passage; Amtrak Keystone 645

In the dark of a winter’s evening, I worked with my Nikon Z6-III fitted to a 3pod tripod to compose a scene near Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line—the former PRR electrified route connecting Philadelphia with the state capital.

Amtrak Keystone 645 had departed Parkesburg, Pa., and was only minutes away.

My challenge was trying to focus the camera in the inky blackness. I don’t trust the camera’s autofocus system in extremely low light, because I’ve found it has a tendency to ‘hunt’ if the the light changes suddenly, which can result in a photo that is completely out of focus.

Luckily, one of the features of the Nikon Z cameras is the ability to enlarge the scene in the view finder which makes it easier to focus manually.

By the time the headlights of the westward train began to illuminate the scene I was all set. As the train approach and passed me, I made this sequence of trailing images (the train was moving away from me) with the camera set to ISO 64000. I processed the NEF RAW files with DxO PureRaw to eliminate noise and correct for lens imperfections.

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Quiet Night at Port Clinton

I made these night photos in the gloom of an autumn evening at Reading & Northern’s Port Clinton, Pa. yard.

The railroad’s fleet of vintage EMD diesels always make appealing subjects for me.

I’ve been mastering the art of existing light railroad night shots since the early 1980s. My early night photos were largely exposed with a Leica III loaded with Kodak Tri-X and mounted on my dad’s lightweight Linhof tripod. These days, I prefer my Nikon Zs, often mounted on a 3Pod tripod. In both instances, the tripod has been equipped with a ball head.

The digital Nikon’s allow for much greater shadow detail than I could have ever expected with Tri-X. Yet, in both instances the images require a degree of processing to obtain a satisfactory result.

Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom set to 70mm; f4.5, 3 seconds, ISO 100. NEF RAW file Processed using Adobe Lightroom.
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor zoom set to 70mm; f6.3, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100. NEF RAW file Processed using Adobe Lightroom.
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor zoom set to 24mm; f6.3, 15 seconds, ISO 100. NEF RAW file Processed using Adobe Lightroom.
Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor zoom set to 34mm; f6.3, 8 seconds, ISO 100. NEF RAW file Processed using Adobe Lightroom.

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Slow Clear COLA

More than 30 years ago, I photographed a trolley bus in San Francisco completely wrapped with advertising for ‘Crystal Pepsi,’ a then-new dye free soda.

It was the first time I recall seeing a wrapped transit vehicle, and thus the novelty of capturing it on film.

Other than a vague allusion to the title, my above story has almost nothing to do with the photos in this post.

As a follow up from Sunday’s TTL: The second train Kris and I saw at Columbia, Pa., on Friday evening was Norfolk Southern’s H19 turn heading west off the branch from Lancaster. Kris recommened the parking lot by the old Pennsylvania Railroad station on Front Street. The station is now an ice cream stand.

At the COLA interlocking, NS H19 had a red-over-red-over-green aspect, ‘Slow Clear’ to pass through the interlocking and enter the Port Road Branch.

In the lead was NS SD40E 6322.

Unlike the Kodachrome slides of the Muni bus, I made these photos digitally at ISO 25,600 which allowed me a 1/60 of second shutter speed. I processed the NEF RAW files using PureRaw to eliminate the granular effects of pixelization and correct for lens defects.

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ISO 16000

With fading dusk in the western sky and light levels falling fast, I bumped the sensativity of my N7-II to ISO 16000.

Amtrak Keystone 653 was due and the curves at Gap, Pa., gave me both a light and speed advantage. The glimmer of color in the sky provided enough of a glow to quelle the inky blackness of night while adding just a little contrast and texture to the shadows, and a nearby street lamp threw a little light on the foreground. The curve itself has a slow order that results in Amtrak trains slowing to a more manageable speed.

As 653 came into view, I made a series of pan photos. I’ve presented the best two here. These required conversion to DNG format using PureRaw, followed by adjustments to shadows and highlights in Lightroom.

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Sunset on the Pennsylvania Railroad and No P5s for Me.

During our forays along the old Pennsylvania Railroad, I sometimes like to imagine what it would have been like to witness the passing of the railroad’s great electrics.

Although I never saw them pass Gap, I remember seeing the GG1s, and to a limited extent, PRR’s E44s on other portions of the electrified system.

My father made photos of PRR’s P5 boxcabs, streamlined ‘P5A modified’ electrics, among the more obscure types that worked under wire more than a half century ago.

Last week as the late winter glow colored the evening sky in Christiana, Pa., I looked to the west as headlights illuminate the rails. As the train approached, I was expecting one of Amtrak’s ACS-64 electrics to pass me in a flash, but wondered what it would have been like to see a pair of the P5/P5A electrics pass with a freight. That really would have been cool.

Photos exposed using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series zoom. Files exposed in NEF RAW format, converted to PNG format using DxO PureRaw, and adjusted for final presentation with Adobe Lightroom.

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CT Rail at 12,800-ISO (working with image processing)

Action photos at night are among my most challenging photographic endeavors.

The ability to increase the camera’s ISO to extremes makes capturing moving trains in the inky gloom easier than in my film days. Further aiding these efforts is AI technology used to minimize noise and other camera induced visual defects.

Previously on Tracking the Light, I’ve explored night photos enhanced using DxO Pure Raw software, which I’ve found remarkable.

For this image exposed at Windsor Locks, Connecticut of a southward CT Rail Hartford Line commuter train, I used Lightroom’s ‘denoise’ feature instead of DxO’s Pure Raw.

At some point, I made preform a more detail comparison.

I found that the ‘denoised’ image was in many ways superior to the straight RAW image.

You should see three images below. In addition to a scaled version of the full-frame RAW image, I’ve included two enlargements, one before and one after applying Lightroom’s ‘denoise’ feature.

Full frame RAW file following Adobe Lightroom’s ‘denoising’. This uses an AI interpretation to minimize the high noise in the original file as a result of working with 12,800 ISO. Original image exposed using a Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at 24mm, 1/80th of second at f4.0.
Enlarged portion of the RAW file prior to ‘denoising’.
Enlarged portion of the RAW file following AI ‘denoising’ using Lightroom. Notice the lack of ‘pixelization’ (or granularity).

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Evening Attraction.

I think that’s a better title than, “What?!! Not another photo of a Metroliner Cabcar!”

During the shorter days, I make greater use of evening. The paucity of daylight, and demands of daytime obligations leave comparatively few sunlit hours to make photographs during the winter months.

After Christmas, I made this view of Amtrak 494, the Valley Flyer, during its brief station stop at Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

My Nikon Z7-II was mounted upon a 3pod Everest tripod. The ball head and quick-release clip make this trip quick and easy to set up.

I exposed this photo at ISO 1000, at f4.0 with a 3 second shutter speed.

I exposed this photo at ISO 1000, at f4.0 with a 3 second shutter speed.

Why not use a slower ISO and a longer shutter speed to produce an image with less noise, better color and greater dynamic range? Train 494 often stops for just a few moments, and I didn’t want to risk train movement, by extending the shutter speed to 15 seconds or more.

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J Tower under a Starry Sky

On the evening of October 28, 2024, I paused in the car park at the Strasburg Rail Road to make a few test photos with my Nikon.

J-Tower was lit for Halloween.

Earlier in the evening while attempting some long time exposures, I’d accidentally set my Nikon Z7-II in a ‘mode’ and my results were something other than what I’d expected.

A bit of systematic fiddling with the camera restored the settings to where I’d needed them to be for a nocturnal time exposure on a tripod.

This image was exposed at f4.0 for 30 seconds (at ISO 100), the lens focal length was set to 52mm. I adjusted the NEF RAW file in post processing to make the most of the sky and tower.

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Fish & Chips and Serendipity.

In the evening, as we were leaving Seafood Sam’s in Sandwich, Massachusetts, a horn blast announced the passage of Mass Coastal’s ‘Energy Train’.

This short freight carries garbage from a loading point near Yarmouth Port to an off-Cape incinerator near Rochester.

We jumped in the car and Kris navigated our way to the old New Haven station in Buzzards Bay near the west end of the massive Cape Cod Canal lift bridge. The ghostly presence of the mighty span loomed beyond in the gloom.

I set up my Z7-II on my mini Gitzo tripod as the headlights of the freight illuminated the girders of the lift span. With my camera set to ISO 6400 and 12,800 for better low-light capture, I made this series of the train passing.

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Night Photography at Trafalgar Square

We traveled on the Bakerloo Line from Paddington to Charing Cross. Upon arrival we exited the Underground via the Subway (foot passage) to Trafalgar Square, which is among London’s iconic public spaces.

I made these views of the famous square using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Z-series zoom. I set the ISO to 5000, the aperture to f4.0, and allowed the camera to select the shutter speed. I adjusted the highlights and shadows in post processing to improve detail and reduce contrast.

Although the shutter speed was about 1/13th of a second, all the photos in this sequence were made hand-held with the aid of in-camera image stabilization.

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Snow and Moonlight at Leaman Place.

The combination of a low ceiling, a bright moon and the blanket of snow covering the ground made for interesting evening light.

While there really wasn’t enough light to stop a fast moving Amtrak Keystone, I felt the ambient lighting conditions were still conducive to photography.

I set up my Bogen tripod in the snow and attached to it my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm Nikkor Z-series lens.

After a few test photos at ISO 200 to check my angle and lighting, I set the ISO to 2000 and waited fo the Keystone to zip by at speed.

The final pair of photos were exposed a f4, for 1.6 seconds with the lens set to 24mm.

Test photo, ISO 200, f4.0 15 seconds..
ISO 2000, f4, for 1.6 seconds
ISO 2000, f4, for 1.6 seconds

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Out of the Mist at Windsor Locks.

Amtrak 494 was running a bit behind the advertised when we arrived the ‘station’ in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

I had time to set up my tripod, make an assessment of the lighting conditions, and frame up my photo before the train came into view.

The two car shuttle from New Haven made a very brief stop. I exposed this sequence using my Nikon Z7-II with 24-70mm lens set at ISO 8000.

After just a moment the train was on its way toward Springfield, Massachusetts.

ISO8000, f4 1/125 second.
ISO8000, f4 1/200th second.

More than 38 years ago, I made a black & white photo of an Amtrak painted Budd-SPV2000 stopping here. See: http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/spv2000-at-windsor-locks-may-1985/

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NS Local and a Crescent Moon

Toward the end of dusk, Kris and I, went out to watch the Norfolk Southern local freight that serves the inustrial shippers near our new home.

As the local was getting ready to make a drop, I made this pair of photos of the train underwire on Amtrak’s Harrisburg Line near Greenfield, in Lancaster, PA. A crescent moon graced the western sky.

I was working with my Nikon Z6 with 70-200mm lens, hand-held with the ISO set at 20000.

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Starlight at Tarratine!

On our last evening at Moosehead Lake, Kris and I made a strategic drive to Tarratine, Maine hoping to intercept Canadian Pacific’s westbound freight, #223, at the grade crossing with Route 6.

Within five minutes of our arrival, we could hear a whistle far to the east. Gradually the chug of General Electric diesels grew louder and more pronounced.

Kris set up her FujiFilm XT4, while I positioned my Nikon Z6 on my ancient Bogen tripod.

The moon was rising and the stars were glistening above. The time was approaching 11pm.

I made this sequence with the Z6 fitted with my 24-70mm zoom. The camera was set to ISO 400 and my exposures varied from 2.5 seconds to 30 seconds at f4.

After exposure, I made nominal adjustments to color and exposure in Adobe Lightroom.

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The End for an Old GP?

Yesterday I learned through social media that New England Central 3850 suffered a main generator fire while climbing State Line Hill (located in my hometown of Monson, Massachusetts.)

Over the last 26 years, I’ve made countless photos of this antique EMD diesel-electric at work and at rest.

While I cannot predict the future, I know that often with older diesels, a main generator failure may represent the kiss of the scrapper.

When it came to New England Central in 1995, 3850 carried the number 9531, which is how I picture it in the December 1996 view below.

I made this photo at Palmer, Massachusetts using a mix of artificial lighting, including electronic strobe for fill flash, and my original Fujichrome slide is strongly tinted.

I scanned this slide using an Epson V600 flatbed scanner driven by Epson Scan 2 software. Working from a high-resolution TIF file, I initially scaled the photo without corrections.

Then, working with slider controls in Adobe Lightroom, I implemented a variety of color corrections, plus contrast and exposure adjustements to overcome flaws with color balance and exposure. Below are both results for point of comparison.

This is a scaled JPG of the uncorrected scan which reflects how the original slide appears to the eye. Compare this with a partially color corrected version below.
Above is my first color-corrected scan aimed at better representing the colors of the locomotive as they would have appeared to my eye at night. Although imperfect, it is an improvement over the original slide.
Here’s an alternative version aimed at further reducing the green tint from the mercury vapor light and reducing overall contrast. This is closer to the way the scene would have looked.

Tracking the Light is a Daily Photoblog focused on railroads.