atomicmecha

I know i did a thread here before about my ride on the WMSR (Western Maryland Sscenic Rrailroad for those that weren't taking notes), but this time, a buddy and I decided to chase the train from Cumberland to Frostburg. It was a blast, and having the jeep made it a lot easier. We put the top down and had a trip pod in the back for filming over the top of the jeep. Also, having the jeep made it easier to navigate those back roads. if it was a car, it wouldn't have made it in some spots.

anyway, here are some pictures, i'm still working on them so there'll probably be some more later. And my buddy filmed a lot and has to edit and post the videos. So those will be up soon i hope.



pictures!



























my buddy Steve


and me










steve in the jeep ready to film
















and a funny thing about this trip was, we were the only hard core train chaser there that day. and by the time we all got to frostburg, people were reconizing us while walking around town. and on the return trip, they were taking pictures of us.

Gravel Gertie

Wow! Fantastic pics! I love to go train chasing with my (adult) son. We have a blast. Out here in the west there are lots of miles of open spaces so the chasing is great. We've chased the Challenger out of Cheyenne several times and the "700" from Portland around the Bozeman area and down the Columbia River. I love steam engines. My son even paid for an afternoon of "driving" an engine in the Portola yards. Your pictures are great! Thanks! Please post more whenever you can.

woody_k

Train chasing or better known as railfanning is a very small group of people I do this out here in So Cal. Mainly Union Pacific or BNSF.

There is a great web site www.railpictures.net they have very high standards to the photos they allow on the site and boast to be the best place to find the greatest photos of all railroads.

You should check it out. Some of your above photos are great and I see you have a bunch of potential. Your compositions were really very good on most but the lighting on a few sucked. i.e. backlit and in shadows.

I have yet to get a good shot with my Jeep in the photo with a train. The RR security out here really frowns on parking close to the RoW.

atomicmecha

Yeah, Steve and I have been talking about finding other trains to chase. Problem is, most of the scenic trains around here are really out in the middle of no where’s so there are no roads, or even open dirt roads to get near the track. And we've been talking about doing a trip and go west for a few trains out there.

Sweet, thanks for the link! And thanks for the criticism. I need it. I’m still learning. The camera I have now is the first camera I’ve owned where it’s not just a point and shoot, hope for the best. I’m still figuring out how to work the lighting and colors. Which picture had the colors messed up? I know the one of the valley didn't turn out no where's near what I was seeing with my eyes. I was going to try and take it again but then here comes the train.

EDIT::i've been looking at the pictures on the railfan site, and I am amazed at those pictures. I wish they would post the camera settings with each picture. Like what F-stop did they use, shutter speed, ISO setting, etc. For someone like me, it would help me understand how they got those pictures to turn out like they did. Heck it would even help if they posted what kind of camera is was.

And this was the first time I ever did a train chasing. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a while. So with practice I’ll get better.

I think the only reason they didn't say anything to us for being so close to the track at the one crossing was because we know a few of the engineers.

JHjeeper

Don't get started, or you may never stop!

I have been a railfan for over 30 years, and it has done nothing but gotten worse over time.

I love the pics, thanks for sharing!

We went train chasing with Gravel Gertie over the weekend in southern Montana, one of our favorite areas. Saw both some new ones (Montana Rail Link), and some old ones (abandoned rail lines (NP, MILW, GN). We will post pics in a few days.

If you ever get out this way (Wyoming) I will be glad to point you to many great places to railfan in our part of the woods. But make sure and bring the Jeep, as you will need it. Oh, the stories Gravel Gertie and I can tell! All the 4x4's in our family have driven so many old rail lines, that they all think they are trains!

Scott

woody_k

Your colors are fine. The one coming through the trees...I really like.

And I know sometimes it's like here it comes and no time to set up. I see that in a few of your shots but still either way it is still a good photo.

Mainly I would try to keep from shooting into the sun as in pic #4 and get a polarizer filter. that will help with that. Secondly, try to shoot when the sun is over your shoulder. Shadows that fall towards you or toward the side you are shooting from tend to lose the detail so wanted in trains.

But as I said I see lots of talent and with a small bit of help from someone better than me you could have some really enviable shots. I have 2 people I can dial up at anytime and get help...and I need it.

With all that said...Did you have fun? That's the final answer in photography.


BTW what camera do you use? I have a Nikon D80 with the 2 kits lens. My 18-55 is way better than my 55-200.

Oh and when looking on that site I gave you....click where it says EFIX info. The info should be there and in the Photographers profile for what camera. If you have problems let me know. I have 5 photos on that site. Ken Woodford is my name and you can search from the main page.

woody_k

For a great thread from an expert of train chasing (not me BTW) take a look at this thread from a local board I visit.

http://www.socalrailfan.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=3524

Click on the thumbnails to see the larger photos.

atomicmecha

Thanks! Oddly, I have a PL filter, but it's one of them el-cheap-o ones that was bundled with the camera. So I don't even think it’s much more then a piece of plastic with a coating on it. I need to get some better filters, aka real filters. They are on my shopping list, along with a good telephoto lens and a really nice wide angle lens. Having good equipment usually helps.

But yeah, I had a blast on this trip. Didn’t take as many pictures as I had hoped, but that was because I was driving and navigating at the same time. The tricky part with this train is that it curves with the mountains but there are no roads over the mountain. So with the train doing 30, I had to do 70-80 to out run it to the next crossing. Plus a few times we got stuck behind some geezer doing 20.

But for the next time we do this, we know which spots to do and in what order and I won't need my gps barking at me. We found out the hard way this trip that with the way the roads are, it’s impossible to make every crossing before the train. My buddy and I are going to try to do this one more time before they stop for the winter.


And as for what camera I have its nothing fancy like an SLR (which I wish I had). It’s a Panasonic DMC-FZ8. It has a lot of bells and whistles like an SLR, but no interchangeable lenses. I have to buy an adapter to use filters, telephoto lenses, etc. It’s not a bad camera. my only 2 complaints about it is that I can't zoom in and out while filming a movie, and it has a built in flash rather then a hot shoe. Everything else about it is awesome.


I’ve had a few good pictures come out of the camera, so I know it can do it...like this one from a trip there a few months ago. Had to touch it up in Photoshop a little...

woody_k

That's a good photo. What I think really sets this RR line off from the rest is the use of freight engines in front of passenger cars. Now our SoCal metrolink does the same but they are painted the color scheme.

One day I'll get around and post a few of my chases.

doesyourdogbite

Great series of photos. Love the WM GP30's!