Last week, Kris and I called into the MARC station at Perryville, Maryland. We hoped to catch NS freight 36A, which was holding on the Port Road at Ostego Street, but we were distracted by passenger action on the Northeast Corridor.

I saw the headlights of an eastward train crossing the bridge over the Susquehanna River. This was MARC train 544, consisting of an MP36PH-3C diesel leading a double-deck push-pull set that was terminating at Perryville.

I took a position on the platform to make the most of the station lights. The evening was unseasonably warm, and insects were swarming around the lights. This made for an unexpected effect, appearing something like snow in my photos. Kris opted to keep the car windows rolled up.

I was working handheld with the Nikon Z6-III and 50mm f/1.4 lens. The camera was set at ISO 20,000, which allowed me a shutter speed of 1/125 second—just fast enough to stop the action.

Tracking the Light Catches Bugs!