Tag Archives: #Storm light

Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Electrical Storm

Tuesday night a line of intense electrical storms passed to the south of us.

Kris and I drove over to Strasburg as lightning flashed across the sky. It was 15 to 20 miles to the south, and far enough away that we couldn’t hear the thunder. To the north the sky had cleared and in the west was a colorful sunset.

We parked at Blackhorse Road by the Strasburg Rail Road to watch the light show.

Working with my Nikon Z7-II set at 4000 ISO, I made this sequence of photos hand held.

When I very young, I learned to photograph lightning working with my dad’s 120-size roll film Rollei Model T. My choice of equipment has changed, but the basic technique is still very effective.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Thunderstorm at Blackhorse Road

Friday evening we went out ahead of an approaching thunderstorm to watch Strasburg Rail Road’s 7pm train on its outward run to Leaman Place.

As we waited the sky grew dark and flashes of lightning lit the horizon.

The dark clouds caught up with us just as the train approached, which made for some bizarre lighting conditions.

I made these photos using my Lumix LX7 and Nikon Z7-II. The exposures were tricky because of the dark sky, low light and rain.

In this telephoto view looking west, you can whisps of smoke from Strasburg No. 89 as it approaches Esbenshade road in the distance. Soon that dark cloud was over us, making for eerie lighting conditions. The specks in the sky are birds flying for cover.
An elderly Amish couple were out for an evening stroll ahead of the thunderstorm. Nikon Z7-II with 70-200mm lens.
It was just starting to rain as No. 89 approached. We could hear thunder in the distance. Nikon Z7-11 with 70-200mm lens.
Lumix LX7 photo. Thunderclouds loomed omenously over the fields at Blackhorse Road.
The chocolate sky had reached us making for some pretty dim lighting conditions. Nikon Z7-11 with 70-200mm lens.
Lumix LX7 photo.
Lumix LX7 photo. And yes, I was getting rained upon for this photo. To get an idea how dark it was, look at the glowing firebox.

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Announcements, photography, Rail transit marathon, Tips and Technique

Strasburg Storm Light and a Rainbow!

Monday evening, July 3, 2023, I’d just collected my new glasses. We were driving east on highway 741 as a brilliant rainbow graced the eastern sky. We arrived at the Strasburg Rail Road just as the colors started to fade. All around us were dramatic clouds in a stormy sky. The contrast was fierce.

I made these photos using my Lumix LX7, exposing in RW2 (RAW). I made minor adjustments in Lightroom to better balance the ground and sky.

This is an enlarged crop of the above image.

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Storm LIght

Last week I found the most dramatic light of the day on return to North Conway from Crawford.

I made this view at the Golf Course crossings timetable east of the Conway Scenic Station.

This is the unadjusted camera produced JPG, scaled for internet.

Rich low sun with dramatic clouds make for a stunning view of Conway Scenic’s Mountaineer.

Exposed using my Nikon Z6 digital camera.

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E100-Final Frame of a Stormy Sunset

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I’ve been experimenting with Kodak Ektachrome E100 slide film.

Kodak reintroduced Ektachrome in 2018/2019, several years after production this once popular film had been suspended.

I exposed one roll in Portugal in March 2019 and I was pleased with my results.

In the last couple of months, I bought more of this film and loaded it into my Canon EOS-3.

This photograph was exposed in July 2020 as a storm cleared over the North Conway station at sunset. It was my last frame in the camera, so there was no opportunity for bracketing.

Richard’s Lab in California processed the film, and a few minutes ago I scanned the slide using a Nikon Super Coolscan5000 digital scanner powered by VueScan software. Since the slide is relatively dark, I opted for a multipass scan to extract the maximum data possible.

I processed the scan in Lightroom and lightened one version while softening the contrast.

Below are my results.

Unadjusted multipass scan of original E100 color slide exposed in July 2020.
Scan adjusted using Lightroom to brighten overall exposure while controlling highlight and shadow areas.

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Storm Light at North Conway

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Yesterday evening a series of thunderstorms swept over the White Mountains making for a show of lightening and dramatic clouds.

Near the end of daylight, I made this photograph of the North Conway, New Hampshire yard. I was with Kris Sabbatino on the way to collect my car.

I was working with my Lumix LX7. This is a JPG file scaled without manipulation from the in-camera jpg. In other words I made no changes to exposure, contrast, color balance, focus or sharpness.

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