Tag Archives: photographic technique

photography, Tips and Technique

MBTA Gritty in Ayer.

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One of MBTA’s HSP-46 diesels leads a mid-morning westward commuter train approaching its station stop in Ayer.

Making effective Midday backlit shots requires challenging photographic techniques.

In this instance, I took an elevated view, slightly over exposed Kodak Tri-X to allow for greater shadow detail while completely cropping the sky to avoid the visual distraction from excessive highlight brightness.

Image exposed on Kodak Tri-X black & white film using a Nikon F3 with f1.4 50mm lens and custom processed to allow for maximum tonality.

Processing the film was my key for achieving better balance and rich tonality.

Working with Ilford ID-11, I used a  1 to 1 mix with water and lowered the recommended process time for Tri-X  from 11 minutes to 7 minutes 45 seconds (at 68.5 degrees F). This lowered the contrast and prevented excessive processing in the highlight areas.

After processing, I toned the negatives with a selenium solution, which give the highlights a slight silvery snap, just enough to make for richer tonality without blowing out all the detail.

My goal was to make the most of the reflections off the rails and the top of the train.

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photography, Tips and Technique

NI Railways—Lisburn Sunset: Variations on a theme.

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Here are colour and black & white views at NI Railway’s Lisburn station exposed at sunset in late January 2018. Both original images were exposed within a few moments of each other.

The colour photo was exposed in RAW format using my Lumix LX7 digital camera, while the black & white image was made on Kodak Tri-X exposed using a Nikon F3 with 24mm Nikkor lens. (Film processed in ID11 1-1 for 8 minutes at 20C (68 F).

I imported the files into Lightroom and made a series of contrast adjustments to better balance the sky with the train, station and platforms.

I made my changes to compensate for limitations of the recording media while aiming for greater dynamic presentation.

Below are both the unaltered files, Lightroom work windows, and my penultimate variations, which are aimed to demonstrate the changes, the means of alteration, and my results.

Unaltered RAW file (except for scaling necessary for internet presentation). Exposed with a Lumix LX7. I have not yet interpreted the data captured by the camera.
Lightroom work window showing some of the corrections and adjustments that I’ve made to the camera RAW file. I’ve also manually leveled my image.
My final output from the altered RAW file. This shows my adjustments to contrast and exposure.
Unmodified scan of my original black & white negative (reversed to make a positive image). I have not yet made corrections to the file. Note the muddy shadows and overall flat contrast.
Lightroom work window showing level correction.
Lightroom work window showing various global contrast controls and changes. I’ve also made localized changes to the sky using a digitally applied graduated filter (shown with lateral lines across the sky) and a radial filter (not shown)  to the front of the train. Notice the relative position of central sliders at right.
Final black & white output—original image exposed on Kodak Tri-X. Notice how the film image does a better job of rendering detail in the sky.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Cross Lighting at State Line

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Too often railway photographers seek ‘calendar lighting’, (over the shoulder three-quarter (morning or afternoon) sun, with a minimum of shadows, diffusion, or other natural lighting effects).

There’s nothing wrong with these classic conditions, but when applied repetitively in exclusion to other types of lighting it can result in a predictable body of work. Formulaic is a term that comes to mind.

Consider cross lighting; when the sun illuminates from an angle opposite the subject, yet not in the photo. This offers bright light on the front of the subject, but shadows on the side creating a more dramatic angle.

This effect can be tempered when the lighting is low, diffused (by clouds, mist or pollution) and/or when bright foreground (such as snow) reflects light into shadow areas.

Exposed digitally with a FujiFilm X-T1 with 12mm Zeiss Touit.

I made this cross-lit view on the New England Central at Stateline Summit in late afternoon. Notice my use of foreground.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Long View: Tara Mines Zinc Ore Train at Malahide.

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On the morning of 25 August 2017, David Hegarty and I were in position at Malahide looking toward the old Great Northern Railway causeway to photograph a laden Tara Mines Zinc Ore Train led by Irish Rail class 071 locomotive number 077.

I liked this location because it allowed me to picture the whole train in a scenic setting. As you can see the Tara Mines train is very short as demonstrated in this  broad-side view (if you are viewing on FB you may need to click on Tracking the Light for the full photo).

Exposed digitally using a FujiFilm XT1 fitted with an f2.0 90mm fixed telephoto.

To make this work I used a medium telephoto and then in post processing cropped the extraneous portions of the sky and water at top and bottom of the image.

I also altered contrast, colour balance and colour saturation.

I’m not fully satisfied though, because the dark locomotive and dull wagons with relatively flat lighting tend to get lost in the overall scene.

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Tips and Technique

RDC’s at Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania—lessons in high light.

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Shiny stainless steel trains in high summer light. Another photography challenge.

Earlier this month during my explorations of eastern Pennsylvania with Pat Yough, we traveled on the Reading & Northern from Reading Outer Station to Jim Thorpe, aboard a restored pair of RDCs.

The train arrived at Jim Thorpe in the highlight, in other words when the sun is nearly overhead.

Working with my FujiFilm X-T1, I made a variety of images, then imported the RAW files into Lightroom for post processing.

As previously described in Tracking the Light, among the tools available with post processing software are various exposure and contrast controls that make it possible to adjust the RAW file to produce a more pleasing final image.

By lowering highlights, and raising the shadows, while adjusting color temperature, I can maximize the information captured by the camera sensor to produce a more pleasing image that more closely resembles what I saw at the time of exposure.

Below are a few of my processed images.

Shortly after arrival from Reading, Reading & Northern’s RDCs have paused in front of the historic former Central Railroad of New Jersey station at Jim Thorpe. I’ve attempted to make a more pleasing image by lightening shadows and controlling highlights while slightly warming the color temperature to compensate for the proliferation of blue light.
This is a similar image but taken from an in-camera Jpg with pre-selected Fuji Velvia digital color profile.
Back lit in the gorge near Jim Thorpe. Here a silver train has a contrast advantage over a darkly painted engine.
Later in the afternoon the lighting wasn’t as harsh, yet this image still required improvements in post processing to compensate for excessive contrast.

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Tips and Technique

East Deerfield Sunset‑Variations on a Scene.

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Groundhog Day 2017.

Mike Gardner and I were in place at East Deerfield Yard (near Greenfield, Massachusetts) to document the arrival of Pan Am symbol freight POED (from Portland, Maine).

As the freight pulled beneath the bridge at the west-end of the yard, I made a series of photographs with different cameras.

I often work with two or more cameras at the same time: digital, black & white film, color slide film (results pending), more digital. That’s my style of making images. I sort out the results later.

Any favorites?

Lumix LX7 photo.
Lumix LX7 photo.
Exposed on Ilford HP5 with a Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor wide angle lens.
FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with 18-135mm lens.
FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with 18-135mm lens plus Lee 0.9 graduated neutral density filter.
FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera with 18-135mm lens plus Lee 0.9 graduated neutral density filter.
photography, Tips and Technique

Art of the Short Pan—Working at Dusk.

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As the light fades, conventional daylight photographic techniques  begin to fail to yield  satisfactory results.

In other words, you’ll end up with dark and/or blurry photos using standard settings.

One solution is the pan photo. I’ve described this previously, but I’ll reiterate because I’m often asked how this is accomplished.

Manually select a comparatively slow shutter speed. For novice pan photographers, I’d suggest working at between 1/30th and 1/60th of a second. This is what I’ll call a ‘short pan’. A long pan is more difficult to execute and can be accomplished with speeds up to about 1 second.

One of the most effective types of pan is where the front of the subject is sharp, but the rest of the scene is offset by a sea of blur.

Pick a point in your frame where you’ll place the front of the subject and as the subject passes keep it at that point, all the while moving your camera with the subject. Release the shutter while the camera is moving.

A Ceske Drahy (Czech Railways) electric passes Lysa nad Labem at dusk. This is a trailing view of a locomotive at the back of a train. For this image I used my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera fitted with a 27mm pancake lens. This is approximately equivalent to a 40mm lens in old 35mm camera terms. My ISO was set to 800, shutter speed was 1/60th of second. Note the position of the front of the locomotive within the frame. This is a key to the success of the panned image.
A Ceske Drahy (Czech Railways) electric passes Lysa nad Labem at dusk. This is a trailing view of a locomotive at the back of a train. For this image I used my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera fitted with a 27mm pancake lens. This is approximately equivalent to a 40mm lens in old 35mm camera terms. My ISO was set to 800, shutter speed was 1/60th of second. Note the position of the front of the locomotive within the frame. This is a key to the success of the panned image.

A common problem occurs when the photographer stops moving as the shutter is released, which tends to result in a messy unsophisticated blur. Keep panning even after you release the shutter.

Remember to pan with your whole body in a uniform smooth motion.

Don’t hit the shutter button aggressively as that will result in an up-down blur that diminishes the overall effect.

It helps to practice panning.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Brian’s Tip of the Day for Better Photographs.

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Many photographers typically expose from a standing position, and in many instances this provides a suitable vantage point.

Yet, in some circumstances your natural standing height may not give you the optimal viewpoint.

I’m not talking about gaining elevation; that’s a topic for another day.

Sometimes making a small adjustment, by lowering the height of your camera can make for a noticeably different photograph.

Both images below were exposed the other day from the Shore Line East high-level platform at Westbrook, Connecticut. I was using my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera fitted with a 27mm pancake lens. This is a fixed focal length lens, rather than a zoom. My exposure and nominal post-processing adjustment were the same in both images.

The first was made from my normal standing position.

The second was made from the same basic angle to the train, but from about a foot lower down.

I was able to improve on this image by lowering the position of my camera by about a foot (see below).
I was able to improve on this image by lowering the position of my camera by about a foot (see below).

I was especially troubled by the hooks of the platform lamps on the far side of the cars that makes for an incongruous shapes. These add nothing of value to the image, and could easily be mistaken for some appendage atop the cars.

Although very similar; this photo offers a cleaner perspective that is free from some of the distracting elements that detract from the photo above.
Although very similar; this photo offers a cleaner perspective that is free from some of the distracting elements that detract from the photo above.

Notice the relationship of the NH herald, and more importantly the change to the distracting elements above and beyond the passenger cars.

Try this technique for yourself.

Use the opportunity offered by a paused train to expose several images from slightly different angles by making small changes in elevation. Pay careful attention to foreground and background elements as well as window reflections.

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photography

DAILY POST: Quaboag River Sunset, June 1986

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Conrail’s GE C30-7As catch the Glint.

Conrail at Palmer.
At 7:00 pm on June 17, 1986, I used my dad’s Rollei T to capture this image of Conrail eastward freight SEBO-B crossing the Quaboag River bridge west of Palmer, Massachusetts.

In early summer 1986, Conrail was weeks away from converting the Boston & Albany route from a traditional directional double track mainline to a single-track line under the control of CTC-style signals with cab-signal. The first section to be cut-over to the new control system was between Palmer to Springfield, Massachusetts.

Among the results of this change was the abandonment and eventual lifting of the old westward main train west of Palmer.

I was well aware of this pending change and had been documenting Conrail’s work in the area over the preceding months.

On the evening of June 17, 1986, I focused on the westward main track at the Quaboag River bridge just west of the Palmer diamond as Conrail’s eastward SEBO-B dropped down the short grade toward the Palmer yard.

While the train adds interest to the scene; my main focus was the track in the foreground that would soon be gone. I made a variety of images in this area on the weeks up to Conrail’s cut-over day.

Photographing directly into the clear summer sun produced a painterly abstraction. I’ve allowed some flare to hit the camera’s lens which obscures shadow detail and makes for a dream-like quality.

Years after I exposed this frame, I moved to California where I met photographers that had perfected this photographic technique. Interestingly, railroad photographers had been using backlighting to good advantage for a long time. In  searching through archives I’ve come across fine examples of Fred Jukes’ and Otto Perry’s works with similar backlighting effects.

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