On this day in 2015, I’d just arrived in Helsinki, Finland. I’d flown SAS from Dublin via Copenhagen. It was raining lightly as I walked around in the blue glow of dusk.
I made this photo on a brightly lit street in the central part of the city, not far from the famous Helsinki Central Station.
The next morning, I traveled on VR Group Pendolino tilting train to Oulu to meet my friend Markku for a week of rail-photography.
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On 27 January 2009, I visited the industrial city of Most, Czech Republic with photographers Tim Doherty and Denis McCabe.
We briefly photographed the city’s trams where I made these images on Fujichrome using my Canon EOS-3.
Most was a stark contrast from Prague. Where the Bohemian capital is famous for its beautiful and intricate classic architecture, cobble-stone streets and culture, Most was mostly concrete and heavy industry.
Both places making for interesting settings to photograph railway vehicles!
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It was on this day eight years ago—September 8, 2015—that my Irish friends and I traveled up the Rhein by train to Mainz, Germany.
In the evening light, I made a few views of the slim-gauge trams navigating narrow streets in the historic city center. And believe me, there was time for a bier in there too.
Here’s a useful photo tip; to allow the LED signs to appear clearly in photos, set the shutter speed to 1/60th or less, and time your shutter release so that the sign is showing just one sequence at time (in a situation where the sign may be scrolling). Note that in the above photo that the sign is mid-scroll, but on the top photos the sign is easy to read.
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I made the most of my brief visit to Milan six years ago.
In this Lumix LX7 view, I pictured one of the city’s famous Peter Witt trams with the rising sun.
I spent several hours exploring Milan by streetcar before taking the train to Genoa.
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During our October visit to Dublin, I made this trailing panned photo of LUAS Citadis tram 5040 crossing the famed O’Connell Bridge.
I was working with my Lumix LX7 set at ISO 80, shutter speed 1/100th of a second, and f6.3. The key was maintaining a steady pan motion as the tail-end of the tram passed me.
O’Connell bridge is noteworthy for being wider than it is long.
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In the autumn of 2016 I made this nocturnal view on Fuji Neopan400 of a passing tram at Olomouc, Czech Republic.
I processed this in a mix of Kodak HC110 developer mixed 1-64 with a long presoak.
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On April 27, 2016, I was visiting Bordeaux, France with my father Richard Jay Solomon. I made this view using my Lumix LX7 of a Bordeaux Tram crossing the river Garonne.
The Bordeaux tram system makes extensive use of a ground based electrical power distribution system to avoid the necessity for overhead wires. To minimize the danger of electrocution this system is designed so the positive feed is only activated when the tram is over the individual hot feeds.
On this day three years ago, photographer Denis McCabe and I wandered the narrow streets of Lisbon, Portugal.
I used my Fuji XT1 to make this portrait oriented view of a classic tram navigating a steep narrow street.
Last night I imported the Fuji camera RAW file into Iridient for conversion to DNG format and then imported the DNG file into Adobe Lightroom for minor adjustments tothe color, constrast and exposure in order to make the most of the camera sensor.
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In several recent Tracking the Light posts, I displayed photos of Dublin’s LUAS trams crossing the 1820’s era cast iron River Liffey span.
In this March 11, 2014 Lumix LX3 photo, the bridge, rather than the tram crossing it, was the emphasis my photography.
My old LX3 was a wonderful and convenient tool for making urban images. Although more difficult to use, looking back I think it produced better compositions than its LX7 successor. That said, I’m on my 3rd Lumix LX7!
This view is a scaled, but otherwise unaltered version of the LX3 Jpg file made 8 years ago today.
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When in Dublin, I’d walk by Irish Rail’s Heuston Station almost daily.
In the evening on 10 March 2014, and again one year later, I captured views of the passing LUAS trams at Heuston.
Where the setting and scenes seem routine, I always try to make a new angle on the subject.
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On March 2, 2015, I walked across the Sean Heuston Bridge (formerly Kingsbridge) toward Heuston Station.
I’ve crossed this 19th century cast iron span over the Liffey perhaps a 1000 times (maybe more) during the many years I spent photographing Dublin.
LUAS tram 3019 decorated to advertise Sky Fibre (cable television) was working westbound toward its station stop at Heuston when I made a snapshot with my old Lumix LX7. The Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate looms to the left.
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In January 2012, I was visiting Graz, Austria with Stephen Hirsch and Denis McCabe.
I made this photo of trams meeting on a pedestrianized street in the ciry center using my Canon EOS 7D.
Below are two versions of the same image.
The top image is the in-camera JPG, scaled for internet.
The bottom is my interpretation of the camera RAW file with adjustments to exposure, contrast, color temperature and color saturation implemented with Adobe Lightroom to improve the scene.
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On October 13, 2016, I exposed these digital photos in the Czech Capital using my FujiFilm XT1.
Prague is among the most visually intense cities in central Europe and I filled several cards during my short cloudy visit five years ago.
In addition, I exposed several rolls of black & white film, including my first Fomapan, a Czech-made commercial brand. My Fomapan photos have made various appearances on Tracking the Light. I carry two rolls in my camera bag, waiting for the appropriate moments to expose them.
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On the evening of August 2, 2015, I made these photos of Dublin’s LUAS trams gliding along Benburb Street near Heuston Station, just a short walk from my old apartment at Islandbridge.
These are unaltered JPGs scaled from larger JPGs made by my old Lumix LX7 digital camera. I set the white balance to ‘auto’ and let the camera make the color temperture adjustment internally.
One of the nice things about digital photos is that every file has a date stamp, so when I want to find a photo from exactly six years ago, the process of locating it is relatively straightforward.
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It was a clear pleasant afternoon in Bordeaux, France on April 29, 2016, when I made this photo of a wireless Alstom tram using my first Lumix LX7 digital camera.
I was visiting this elegant French city on business with my father.
Bordeaux opted for a ground-based power supply for its modern tram system in historic areas of its city center.
Below are two variations of the same photo. The top is the camera produced JPG (scaled for internet without adjustment), the bottom is my interpretation of the camera RAW file with adjustments made using Adobe Lightroom.
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Five years ago I spent the day exploring the modern tram system centered on Valenciennes, France.
This is a model system that was built and equipped by Alstom.
This was my second visit to this moderately sized French town and its immediate suburbs.
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In May, 2012, I made this Fujichrome slide of a Dublin LUAS Red Line tram covered in an Emirates advertising livery.
The in-bound tram had paused for its Suir Road station stop. This was located about a 10-12 minute walk from my old Dublin apartment.
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I exposed this color slide on a visit to Brussels with my father in May 1996.
I carried two cameras on that trip. My primary body was a Nikon F3T that I bought new from Nikon in 1990. My secondary camera was second hand Nikkormat FTN with an outer covering of red leather. I called it ‘my red Nikkormat’.
Back then, I’d usually load Kodachrome 25 in the F3T, and Fujichrome 100 in the Nikormat. I exposed film in both cameras manually using a handheld Sekonic Studio Deluxe light meter to calculate exposure.
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On a whirlwind trip around the Czech Republic in September 2008, I made hundreds of photos in dozens of places in just a few days. A dozen years later I’m still sorting and scanning them.
Catching railway vehicles on different levels makes for photos with added interest.
Which is the subject here? The tram in the foreground, the train in the distance, or perhaps the station itself?
It was the afternoon of September 5, 2008, when photographer Denis McCabe and I were photographing at Plzen hlavni nadrazi (Plzen main station) that exposed this Fujichrome slide using a Canon EOS-3.
Tracking the Light is a Daily Rail-Photography Blog.
In May, 2000, I made this photograph of a Tatra tram (advertising Kodak film) on the streets of Prague using a Nikon F3T that was fitted with a Nikkor 24mm lens and loaded with . . .
Fuji Sensia II!
Just for the record, on a visit to Fuji, Japan, I photographed a 1067mm gauge freight train on Kodachrome.
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I’ve always found railway maintenance equipment interesting: often functional antiques, no longer suitable for revenue work get cascaded into maintenance duties.
As a kid, I was fascinated by the Boston’s bright orange Type 3 streetcars that had been converted into snow plows. For me these were the relics of an earlier era.
So, I was delighted when on a visit to Poznan, Poland in 2000, I found a vintage four-wheel tram in maintenance service,. I made a few photos using my Nikon F3 loaded with Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO).
This fortuitous encounter was the only time I caught a four-wheel tram in Poznan.
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An afternoon rain in June 2001 had made for a bright gloss at the Leipzig, Germany Hauptbahnhof.
Working with my N90S, I’d exposed this Fujichrome view of a tram in front of the impressive façade of what was once Europe’s largest railway station.
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In August 2014, I made a day trip to the famous Dutch port city of Rotterdam, where I made this view of an Alstom Citadis tram passing the famous Cube Houses-one of the city’s architectural icons.
Although many of photos I made in Rotterdam were exposed digitally, for this view I used my Canon EOS3 with 40mm lens to expose Fuji Provia100F color slide film.
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In April 2005, I visited the Czech city of Brno with Denis McCabe and the late Norman McAdams.
Working with a Nikon N90S with f2.8 180mm Nikkor lens, I exposed this Fujichrome Sensia II (ISO 100) slide of a tram as it approached the stop near the main railway station.
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On a trip to the Ukraine in 2007, fellow photographer Denis McCabe and I spent several days around L’viv—the old Austrian city of Lemberg.
Working with Fujichrome I exposed this view of a tram on very ropey looking street trackage.
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In February 1999, I made a day trip from Brussels to Antwerp, Belgium.
While in Antwerp, I took the number 2 tram to its terminus at Hoboken.
You mean there’s another Hoboken Terminal? In a manner of speaking, yes. But no copper clad Bush train sheds at this one.
When I saw this PCC departing for central Antwerp, I was amused by the National Car Rental advertisement at the back of the car. That same day I expose a view of a similar tram advertising ‘Diesel’ apparel.
Exposed on Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO) with an Nikon N90S probably fitted with a 80-200 Nikon zoom.
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The Ponte Dom Luis 1 is one of two magnificent Eiffel bridges spanning the Douro in Porto, Portugal.
On this day (April 5th), 2014, I worked with my Canon EOS 7D to make this photograph of a Eurotram crossing the bridge.
Porto is a remarkable and extraordinarily picturesque city.
Fellow photographer Denis McCabe and I were exploring Porto during a week-long photographic journey around Portugal. While the weather was good in the south of the country, it was foggy, raining and overcast in the north.
Portugal is among the countries prominently features in my book; Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe by Kalmbach Books see:
https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/search?q=brian+solomon+Railway+guide+to+Europe
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Yesterday, when I read about the Magnitude 5.4 earthquake that shook Croatia, I thought back to the pleasant few days I spent on my first trip to the Croatian capital Zagreb in August 2003.
During that trip, I exposed this Fujichrome slide of a tram in Whirlpool a advertising livery near the Zagreb main railway station.
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My father and I traveled from Brussels to Amsterdam by train on May 26, 1996. Shortly after arriving at Amsterdam Centraal, I exposed this color slide of a tram paused in front of the station.
On the front of the tramcar is a bit of graffiti which annoyed me at the time. This bit of marker seemed to spoil the scene.
Later in the day, we traveled by tram to the end one of the lines, just to see what was there. It was like Legoland.
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On a trip to Poland in August 2006, I made a few photos of the four-wheel trams at Bytom.
At the time these were some of the last traditional four-wheel trams in regular revenue service and represented a carry-over from an earlier era.
For me, it was an opportunity to photograph one of Europe’s most obscure transit lines. Thanks to Michael Walsh of the Irish Railway Record Society for recommending this location.
I made this view using a Nikon F3 loaded with Fujichrome Sensia II (100 ISO).
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Working from a ground level angle, I exposed this view of a tram paused at the Basel, Switzerland main station (seen behind the tram platforms).
Basel, like all of Switzerland, benefits from world-class public transportation including heavy rail and light rail networks. I first visited Basel in 1999.
This photo was exposed during a brief visit on April 21, 2016. Although I made several digital photos, I exposed this frame on Fuji Provia 100F slide film using my Canon EOS-3 with 40mm pancake lens.
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In May 2000, I visited Berlin, Germany.
I exposed this view at Alexanderplatz of a tram advertising beer.
Now how cool is that?!
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