NP 328 | Tracking the Light

It’s hard to beat steam in the glint light! Dick Gruber and I spent the weekend of August 17, 1996, photographing Northern Pacific 4-6-0 328 working Wisconsin Central trackage in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota.

While we made many fine images on that trip, for me the money-shot was this one I exposed of the locomotive steaming up at Dresser, Wisconsin as the sun rose.

Exposed on Fuji Provia 100F with a Nikon F3T.

There’s an old adage among photographers: ‘f5.6 and be there!’

I’ve said before, and it’s true. The best way to get great photos is to be there when it happens. And that’s the real secret.

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Osceola, Wisconsin, August 1996.

The advantages of being up early include being treated to cosmic light. On this August 1996 morning, I was photographing Northern Pacific 4-6-0 number 328 as it was being prepared for a day’s excursions with the Minnesota Transportation Museum.

Exposed on Fujichrome Provia 100 using a Nikon F3T with an f1.8 105mm lens. Exposure calculated manually.

The engine’s rods, bathed in boiler steam reflected the muted glow of the rising sun. A magenta hue had graced the Wisconsin sky. The effect lasted only a few minutes, and before long the sun was shinning brightly.

I worked quickly, making many detailed views of the locomotive equipment and its crew. At the time I was researching for my book The American Steam Locomotive (published by MBI), while working as editor for Pacific RailNews

Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.

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Tomorrow: Railcar Sunset!

Tracking the Light

Tag Archives: NP 328

Northern Pacific 328 at Dawn.

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