NEW ARTICLES  HOT ARTICLES  TOP RATED  ADD AN ARTICLE  UPDATE AN ARTICLE  GET RATED 
  HOME     MY ACCOUNT     POWER SEARCH     REGISTER     SUPPORT     SUGGEST CATEGORY  

Mastering The Art Of Rail Photography
52554 Arts & Entertainment > Photography Nov 5, 2007 bobcarper99 Mastering The Art Of Rail Photography To become a master in the art of railroad photography, you have to begin at the beginning. Let.s get started. All Aboard !!! First off, you have to like trains. That's easy stuff. Everybody at one time or another has ridden on a passenger train, or have been held up at a grade crossing with a freight train that will not budge an inch. Many ride the train every day as commuters. Others are frequent Amtrak travelers, and a select few remember the passenger train of yesteryear. Still others have ridden trains around the world. The train population can be divided into two basic groups: those that like trains, and those that do not like them. In the group that like trains, there are those that are enthusiasts and the remainder that think trains are just OK. There are close to a quarter of a million rail enthusiasts over the USA and Canada, and probably double that number all over the globe. A majority of these rail fans have schlepped out their trusty cameras to capture and preserve the excitement of train watching. The hobby has developed so well that webcams now record train activity at places like Rochelle, Illinois and the scenic west. There is an art to taking good rail photographs. If you go to Webshots and search the topic "trains" you'll see both talent and trash on display. So. lets give you a brief summary of what you should do to become a good rail photographer. Quality is the name of the game. It begins with your selection of a digital camera. The more expensive and versatile is the digital camera, the greater will be the quality of your work. You simply cannot cut it with a digital camera that has a resolution below 5.0 megapixels per square centimeter. 7.0 megapixels will squeak you into the rail photographers' club. Anything higher will get you the quality you seek. Top of the line digital cameras made by Canon or Nikon will put you in virtuoso class. They are not inexpensive by any means, but what quality product today is bought "on the cheap?" Okay, let's "shoot" some trains. The first thing you want to consider is the train traffic that will be headed your way. Obviously, you don't want to set up your photo location at a single track location that sees less than five trains a day. You would be better off going fishing. On the other hand, if you have an employee timetable or know in advance when trains are due, you can set up in a scenic location, take your time in composing your shot, and wait for the train to happen along. If you are like most folk, you'll want to be where train activity is heavy. The Amtrak Northeast corridor is the hottest stretch of rail activity anywhere in the country. Over 120 trains a day pass through there. There are no freights, only Metroliners, Acelas, and other named Washington - New York - Boston hotshots. There are virtually no grade crossings because of the very high speeds in which these trains operate. All of this line is fenced. Photographing any of these Amtrak trains is possible only from overpasses or at one of the few station stops While it's possible to have access to the boarding platforms at these station stops, I recommend you obtain permission from Amtrak security before embarking on a photo jaunt. Railfans with cameras are not as welcome along the railroad lines of the country as they used to be. The rule of thumb here is that if you are in a railroad terminal facility, you MUST have some form of a permission slip in order to be there. You run the risk of getting arrested fined, and your camera confiscated for examination by Homeland Security. If you are on a public road or vacant land not on the railroad right of way, you are generally all right. OK ..back to "shooting" trains. The most often used scene is the three-quarter wedge shot. Here is where you stand clear of the tracks, focus on the leading engine, and capture his train that goes back in the distance. What makes this interesting is that railroads frequently use locomotives belonging to other railroads in today's freights. A variant of the three quarter wedge is photographing a train on a curve. Shooting a train on a concave curve gives you the engine and a good perspective of its train. Photographing a train on a convex curve will give you a dramatic view of the front of the engine and may possibly show the rest of the train as well Photographing trains from an overpass will produce some very dramatic views of the train as it passes underneath you. All you have to do is line yourself up with the proper sun angle and do your best to compose the shot. Remember again NEVER climb up on a railroad signal bridge to do any photography. You will not pass GO. You will not collect $200. You will probably spend the next 24 hours in jail waiting for the bail bondsman to appear. There are a zillion different combinations of sun angle, dawn shots, sunset shots, and everything in between. However, since the advent of the digital camera, the most dramatic train photos occur at night. Only the very best of the digital cameras can play in this league, because the lens quality and maximum aperature will determine if you have a night scene or a black blob. These digital cameras cost well over $1000 and are definitely intended for none other than the serious or professional photographer. Photographing trains is fun, and if you are good at it, it can be profitable. The tools of the trade have become very sophisticated. The rest is up to you. Bob Carper is a veteran information systems consultant with an MBA from Pitt. For additional information go to All About Webconferencing or My Power Mall. You may also e-mail Bob at robertcarper06@comcast.net send email to bobcarper99

Write a Review   Add to My Favorite   Refer it to Friend   Report Article  

Average Visitor Rating: 0.00 (out of 5)
Number of ratings: 0 Votes

Visitor Rating


Other links owned by this user
Every year there are millions of Americans who find themselves in a pre foreclosure situation. The nightmare of losing one's home is appalling. The place where the family has experienced the happiest of moments is getting taken away. Once a home has gotte
Category:

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. Autumn will soon be here. In order to keep warm and not lose money, it is time to plan for the heating season
Category:

Secure webconferencing is indeed the way of the future. Its ultimate success will lie in how much corporate executives can implement cost cutting measures, and how rapidly the joys of flying and staying in posh hotels can be de-glamorized. This article pr
Category:

A bridge loan is financing for a new project before the old project is closed out and the money is released. The proper use of a bridge loan can make a deal happen instead of having it get stuck because the funds are not there. Let us take a look at what
Category:

One of the most burdensome and time consuming chores we face is going through the e-mail in basket. President Truman once said The Buck Stops Here. Now we have another term to describe our e-mail system, which is The Junk Stops Here. How to get rid of the
Category:

How do we all get together to discuss problems and explore new business opportunities? It is just too expensive and too time consuming to fly any more, even on short hop flights. Secure webconferencing could change the way we do world-wide business. This
Category:

The fascination of trains operating at night is a challenge to today's camera enthusiast wo also has a great fascination for trains and railroading. This article puts it all together.
Category:

Finding a used recreational vehicle in great condition ss not difficult to do. Be sure that you are looking in all of the above places, and you will locate the vehicle of your dreams. That next family vacation does not have to be a distant dream; make it
Category:

The price of energy is on the rise once again. Gasoline is over $3.00 a gallon. Not only is this price expected to stay up there, but it may even go up to $4.00 a gallon or higher. A more expedient way must be found to bring people together for conference
Category:

Small businesses rely heavily on maintaining a good cash flow and having their clients pay on time. If a small business takes in a single bounced check, this can be destructive to the cash flow of the business. So when half of the world's small businesses
Category:

As you work by day and night to running and gunning your home business, you scarcely pay attention to fatigue. Yet, just sitting and typing constantly can wear you out. Let's take a look at proper furnishings for your home office.
Category:

Railroading as a hobby has grown steadily over the years. It embraces everything from simple train watching to active participation in railfan groups around the world. When you combine the hobby of photography with train watching, the result is awesome! T
Category:

Messages that are intended to scam their victims are sent out by the millions around the world. Their favorite targets are the kids or the user that cannot comprehend that what they are reading is a spoof. They either say you have won a million dollar lot
Category:

Many discussions take place as to which is more important. Is it sales or is it production. An organization has to sell in the marketplace in oeder to earn a profit. The organization has to produce goods and services to even enter the marketplace. Which i
Category:

Submitting articles to Ezines may very well be one of the best ways to drive free traffic to your website. This article shows you the benefits of submitting articles to ezine publishers and discusses RSS feeds.
Category:

If you are looking for a loan that allows you to borrow a large amount of money over a short amount of time but with low monthly payments, then you should consider getting a balloon loan Balloon loans are not for everyone and you should consider the risks
Category:

Webshots is a good place to view millions of photographs on any subject imaginable. If railroads is one of your interests, you may have looked at photographs of trains and railroading. Ever wonder why some photographs will get your attention, while others
Category:

Other links at Arts & Entertainment > Photography
The fascination of trains operating at night is a challenge to today's camera enthusiast wo also has a great fascination for trains and railroading. This article puts it all together.
Category:

When I first started in sales many years ago I knew that the toughest challenge, aside from getting business, was the ability to stay motivated and not give up so easy. I mean, let?s be real with one another here; we all get in a blue funk (i.e., a blue
Category:

This article describes another option for photo image enlargement, using the 4x5 inch film camera together with a high definition flat bed film scanner. For those in search for the best film enlargement, using this setup might just surprise you.
Category:

Here are some tips for those who want to use a digital camera during the wedding and few basic styles and techniques for those who also want to capture the event using a digital camera.
Category:

Very few people have a completely steady hand when they hold their camera. Movement is natural, and shaking while taking a picture can be awful for the outcome and what you are left with. Camera movement is the most common cause of blurry pictures. How ca
Category:




Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics

Articles: 68285
Categories: 501

Yahoo Entertainment
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional   Valid CSS