It was frosty and cold at Christiana, Pa. when I set up my 3Pod tripod and composed this image. Amtrak Keystone 656 was just a couple of minutes away.

I had the Z6-III with the ‘Fast Fifty’ set at f1.4, which offers shallow depth of field. I focused on the ‘Christiana’ sign, which put the foreground in perfect focus and set off the background. The lead locomotive blurred a little as it entered my frame.

The resulting effect looks like a model railroad diorama.

I wonder if I’d exposed the photo just a little later if that might have improved the composition, or blocked the background buildings in such a way as to spoil the model railroad appearance.

Tracking the Light explores railroad compositions with an open eye!