Tag Archives: Vermont Rail System

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Red Engines in the Snow

Yesterday, Saturday March 6, 2021, Kris Sabbatino and I visited White River Junction, Vermont.

Hard crusty snow covered the ground under a bright polarized sky. Visually appealing conditions, but contrast and difficult to capture.

Key to making successful snow photos is exposing for the snow correctly.

If the snow is overexposed (too light), detail is lost and it becomes an amorphous white blob. If it is underexposed, then the snow will be rendered gray and other elements of the scene appear too dark.

Most automatic camera metering does not recognize snow and has a inherent bias to render it as gray instead of white, which if left unattended at the time of exposure will result in an underexposed file.

For this photo, I exposed manually. I gauged my exposure from experience, and allow the meter to read 2/3s of a stop over exposure. This still renders texture in the snow, but allows for easy corrections for the rest of scene in post production.

Below I display two versions of the camera RAW file exposed with my Nikon Z6 (NEF format). The top is the scaled but unmodified file. The bottom has been adjusted to make the most of the data recorded and lighten shadow areas while correcting color balance.

Vermont Rail System EMD diesels idle on the former Boston & Maine at White River Junction.
This the Adobe Lightroom work window showing the position of correction sliders after corrections were implemented to the create the second version.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Barnet Road-Barnet, Vermont.

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I’ve looked at this location several times over the years. Here, Barnet Road crosses the Connecticut River and the railroad south of the old station-location at Barnet, Vermont.

Either the light didn’t suit photography, or there was no train around.

On January 28th, 2020, I had ample time to set up since the southward Vermont Rail System freight I was following had stopped to switch at Barnet. 

I scoped a couple of different angles from the road bridge, and at the last minute settled on this view.

I exposed this sequence of photos using my FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm pancake lens.

This view was panned slightly, which allows for a greater sense of motion while retaining sharpness on the leading locomotive.
Trailing view from the same bridge as the photos above.

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Vermont Rail System—East Barnet.

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On my recent travels between North Conway, New Hampshire and Monson, Massachusetts, I prefer the rural highways of the Connecticut River Valley to the heavily traveled rat race to the south.

Among the benefits of my long way round is that it follows the tracks most of the way.

I don’t always find a train, and honestly across much of the territory I pass there are scant few trains to find.

Last week as I drove north, I scoped a host of locations to photograph along the old Boston & Maine/Canadian Pacific route between White River Junction and St Johnsbury, Vermont.

At the last-named point, I got out of my car by the old railroad station just in time to hear the roar of twin 16-645E3 diesels. Excellent timing! I reversed course and returned promptly to a spot that I’d photographed on previous occasions at East Barnet, Vermont.

Vermont Rail System at East Barnet, Vermont. Expose using a FujiFilm XT1 with 27mm lens.

This was a good start, but I was just getting warmed up. From there I continue my pursuit to make a variety of satisfying images. More to follow soon!

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Tips and Technique

Vermont Rail System; the Dark Side.

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On Friday May 11, 2018, I made this view of Vermont Railway System SD70M-2 432 ascending the grade at Mt. Holly on Green Mountain Railroad’s former Rutland.

Over the years I’ve made a number of photos at Mt. Holly, and I like to work the ‘dark side’ of the tracks here, because it better features the old siding that is still in place there.

This telephoto cross-lit dark-side view also adds a sense of drama and better features the mountains in the distance.

Exposed using my FujiFilm X-T1 with a 90mm Fujinon telephoto lens; ISO 200 f5.6 1/500thof a second.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Chester, Vermont—Revisited.

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I don’t recall the first time I visited the old Rutland Station at Chester. It was in the Steamtown-era and lost in the fog of my earliest memories.

I do recall watching Canadian Pacific steam locomotives run around the excursion train here in the days before I regularly made photos.

Yes, there was a time when I didn’t always carry a camera.

Those days ended on my tenth birthday when Pop gave me my own Leica IIIa.

That camera rests on the shelf waiting to be repaired. In recent years I’ve been playing with identical IIIa bodies of the same period (late 1930s).

Here are a few views of Chester exposed with various cameras on June 7, 2017.

The details are in the captions. Any favorites?

Lumix LX7 view in the morning at Chester.

Lumix LX7 view in the morning at Chester.

Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens on Fomapan 100.

Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens on Fomapan 100.

Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens on Fomapan 100. Afternoon view with VRS 263 in the distance.

Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens on Fomapan 100.

Leica IIIa with 35mm Nikkor lens on Fomapan 100.

Vermont Rail System freight 264 heading north (west) toward Rutland approaches Chester. Exposed using a FujiFilm XT1 digital camera with 18-135mm zoom lens.

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Mount Holly, Vermont—June 7, 2017; close and closer.

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When is closer better?

Vermont Rail System’s freight 263 climbs at Mt. Holly, Vermont.

Working from a selection of photos I exposed on Wednesday June 7, 2017, I’ve picked these two similar views as a composition comparison,

Both were exposed digitally using my FujiFilm X-T1 with 90mm f2.0 fixed telephoto.

Red diesels and lush green scenery under an azure sky make for a pleasant railroad setting. So, which view do you like better?

Version 1; The locomotives are slightly further away and there’s more greenery.

Version 2; I’ve opened up the aperture about a half stop to lighten up the red engines, which occupy the majority of the photo.

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photography, Tips and Technique

Red Locomotives in the Snow; Mt Holly, Vermont

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Vermont Rail System freight 263 led by former Texas Mexican GP60 381 works on Green Mountain Railroad’s former Rutland grade near Mt Holly, Vermont on February 18, 2002. Fresh powder, a clear blue dome combined with red locomotives and tonnage make for an irresistible combination. Cross-lighting the scene adds a bit of contrast and drama. Yet the snow minimizes the effect of deep shadows. Exposing in snow takes a bit of practice. Most metering systems will tend to render the snow too dark resulting in an underexposed image. A good rule of thumb: close down one full stop from normal sunlit daylight exposure. With 100 speed slide film as used here; instead of f6.3 1/500th, I’d recommend about f9 1/500th. An advantage of working with a digital camera in snow is the ability to check exposure on site, and not have to wait until after the action has passed to find out that the photos are exposed incorrectly.

Vermont Railway GP60 at Mount Holly

Nikon F3hp with Nikkor f2.8 180mm lens, Fujichrome Provia 100F.

Photographs from my day following Vermont Railway GP60 381 in the snow have appeared in a variety of publications. I used this image on page 35 of my 2003 book TRAINS—A Photographic Tour of American Railways, published by Gramercy. The book’s cover features a broadside view of this locomotive near Chester, Vermont.

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