![\"Conrail's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Conrail_Palmer_6May1984\u00a9Brian_Solomon_577466.jpg?resize=474%2C290\")
These photos were much more effective than what I typically achieved with my Leica 3A and 50mm Summitar. I\u2019d made a leap forward.<\/p>\n
At the time, I was delighted with the results and\u00a0on a Friday night brought a stack of 3x5in. prints down to Tucker\u2019s Hobbies (owned an operated by my friend Bob Buck).<\/p>\n
Friday evenings were our normal time to convene. And, one of Bob Buck’s patrons, a friend and a well-meaning (published) <\/em>enthusiast photographer\u00a0(who is\u00a0long since deceased and so shall remain anonymous) offered me some free photo criticism..<\/p>\n \u201cOh don\u2019t use an orange filter, it makes the Conrail paint too dark, and stop using that telephoto lens, it distorts<\/em> your perspective. Otherwise these are great shots.\u201d<\/p>\n I heeded this bad advice and returned to my older set up. Nearly two years passed before I made another serious foray into the realm of the telephoto for railroad photos.<\/p>\n Also, I largely returned\u00a0to using unfiltered Tri-X\/HP5. (Partially because I\u2019d dropped my 50mm and it would no longer accept filters.)<\/p>\n I didn’t know any better and my magic combination was unraveled before I had time to fully explore it.<\/p>\n Tracking the Light Posts Daily.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In my early days photographing every so often I\u2019d hit upon a great film-camera-lens combination. You know, just the right set up to make memorable images. On May 6, 1984, my dad lent me his Leica M3 with 50, 90 and 135mm lenses. For reasons I\u2019ve long forgotten, I loaded this with Plus-X (ISO 125) … Continue reading Great Combination\u2014Bad Advice; Conrail May 1984.<\/span>