Life and Times of a urban railfan

In today's modern realm of Train Photography it seems that not only has everybody have advice to give but they are 100% right and nobody can be wrong. Well being around enough Photographers that do other things besides trains I have learned that there is really no right or wrong way and nobody is really right. Ok let's pick on me for example here is one shot of a conductor riding the car. The Ride Ok now for the skinny this pic is 2.5 stops underexposed why? I wanted to add the Drama of the conductor riding off into the sunrise, along with capturing the sky and fog details that otherwise be blown out. Was I wrong? Maybe to some, but to others  I am a hero. It is all in the eye of the viewer. Now let's pick on another thing called Back-lighting In regular photography it is acceptable and is used quite extensively in model shots on beaches ( sorry I don't have any sexy models for you) but it seems you ask any 100 train picture buffs I almost guarantee  93 of them...

      This week has brought about a lot of interesting things trackside let's begin with Tuesday and Wednesday  not much went on in the special realm I heard the Q226 but never the less I only missed it by a minute. (I had to be to work and I refuse to be late over a train even though I love the iron that much) So let's fast forward to Thursday, the morning brought zero trains but as I was at work when I received the text that the Nickel Plate Berkshire number 765  That belongs to the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society was coming into Akron for her annual excursion for steam in the valley. I had a place I wanted to shoot in mind but some troublemakers had showed up and I decided not to keep any bad company so I moved up the hill to the second place I had in mind. As I arrived I was met by a friend whom I had not  seen in fifteen years. As the afternoon progressed so did the 765 and along with her came the rest of my friends. While waiting on...

For the most part this summer I have been busy, not only photographing new locations, but also some new trains. While most of us like taking perfect sun shots there is just something about sunlight beaming through fog and trees that adds perfect drama and sets the scene for my mornings. For the most part I am usually having coffee and chatting it up with our local stone train conductor and a good friend that provides me with some of the inspiration for this post. So let's take a look at backlighting and how I apply it to my work. For the most part it is trial and error and takes a few shots (ok more than a few) to get it right and to achieve what you are looking for. Early Morning Shuffle On the above shot I wanted to capture the locomotives as they seemed to bask in the rays of the early morning sunlight to achieve this I positioned myself so the trees blocked out most of the sun placing it just out of the frame and making it seem like the heavens have opened up ( they did...