Tag Archives: #OBB

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Another Nocturnal View at Rattenberg

My post ‘I’m Uncertain about this One . . .‘ (from Sunday, February 1), resulted in considerable feedback! Several readers wrote to me with cropping suggestions that improved the overall appearance of the image. (Thank you!).

Below is another view from Rattenburg, exposed a few minutes earlier on the same evening (12 January 2007). This is a long time exposure looking back toward my vantage point (by the lamp to the left of the tracks) from Sunday’s post. In this photo, I like the effect of the train streaking into the tunnel at Rattenberg, Austria.

My shutter was opened for about 30 seconds to allow the train lights to streak. The headlight streak was the result of a locomotive at the rear of the train. The unusually long exposure allow the sky to fill in a bit, despite the winter darkness.

Fujichrome slide exposed for about 30 seconds at Rattenberg, Austria, 12 January 2007.

Just a reminder:

This evening (Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026) is my next class at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and details night photography techniques. This will be held at the museum in Strasburg, Pa., 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

Tracking the Light Examines Night Photography!

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Austrian Electric Silhouette

I made this broadside silhouette of German and Austrian electrics rolling east under wire while standing in a field on a frosty evening on the opposite side of the River Inn from Brixlegg, Austria.

It was January 13, 2006, and I was working with Fujichrome film. The sun was sinking in the west.

My goal was to place the locomotives against the textured Alpine backdrop for dramatic effect.

While counter-intuitive to conventional railroad photographic practice, placing the main subject in the shadow can be a useful tool. In this image the dappled shadows draw the eye to the lead locomotive making its standout more than if had been in bright sun.

Tracking the Light works in the Shadows!

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Glint Talent

In mid January 2007, I was visiting Austria with photographer Denis McCabe.

On one cool sunny evening, we had set up at Brixlegg, where ÖBB crosses the River Inn. The view west presented the shadowy wall of an Alpine ridge, accentuated by patches of snow.

As the final golden solar rays of this January day graced the rails, I made a series of Fujichrome slides of an ÖBB Bombardier-built Talent railcar on its eastward journey across the Inn.

I’d borrowed a Canon EF75-300mm lens from Denis, and used this with my Canon EOS-3 camera.

The other night, I scanned some of these slides using a Nikon LS-5000 scanner.

Canon EOS-3 loaded with Fujichrome Velvia100, fitted with EF75-300mm zoom.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Taurus and a Puzzle-switch

Among my slides from 8 September 2008, was this image of freights at Wien Huttelsdorf, Austria.

In the afternoon, I aimed my Canon EOS3 loaded with Fujichrome Provia 100F toward an ÖBB Siemens-built Taurus electric as it hummed its acceleration song while leading a freight out of a siding and out on to the main.

In the foreground is a ‘slip-switch’ or ‘puzzle-switch’, an arrangement of rails that allows maximum route flexibility between converging routes.

For 15 years this slide sat unlabled in the dark. Working from my notes taken during my September 2008 trip, I was able to accurately label these photographs.

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Ten Years ago in Austria

On this day ten years ago (January 11, 2012), I spent an afternoon with my Irish friends Stephen Hirsch and Denis McCabe around Werfen, Austria, photographing the ÖBB in action .

I made this selection of photos with my Canon EOS-7D—a camera that I still own, and still occasionally use.

I love the Canon color palatte, and this really shows in these digital photos in the snowy landscape along the river Salzach.

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Semmering Monochromes

This represents another experimental series of scans with my V600 and recently downloaded Epson Scan 2 (6.4.99.0) software.

I’d purchased my Epsom V600 about 2011 to replace an earlier Epson V500 scanner that had suffered a failure. Until recently I was using the original Epson software to drive the V600. The other night I decided to upgrade the software and install it on a more modern & much faster Apple MacBook Pro.

Although Epson’s Scan 2 software appears to have been on the market for a while, I’d just discovered it the other day. More to the point, I’ve found that it vastly improved my scans. This scanner-driver software combination offers greater clarity, exceptional sharpness, and runs faster and more consistently which allows the same scanner to perform noticeably better than with the earlier Epson driver.

I’d exposed this medium-formet Kodak Tri-X 400 ISO black & white film using my Rollei Model T, while exploring Austria’s Semmering Pass with photographer Denis McCabe in August 2003. On a warm afternoon we waited out a thundershower at the station shelter in Breitenstein.

 I’d processed the film after my return to Dublin using Ilfotec HC liquid developer which offered broad tonal range and very fine grain.

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