Winter photography

The leaves have fallen, cold temperatures are the norm, and white-stuff is beginning to fly: yes, Winter has arrived! We saw all of these conditions in Virginia within the last month and snow is actually falling as I write this.

As I look out my window, I see a beautiful layer of white covering everything. Even though it's not much, it still is enough snow to yield beautiful photographic results. A little snow can make an image really pop. Road conditions can be a huge deterrent at times, but play it safe and take advantage of opportunities for snow shots.

I'm sure you all know well the dreaded 11 a.m.-3 p.m. range during the summer months; that’s the time when the sun is high and mutes/diffuses color and contrast. This time of year, you no longer have that problem. You can work with light all day, and shoot nice pictures without worrying about high sun.

I love winter lighting, some of the strongest light you can get year-round. I have found backlighting can especially be awesome during the winter. You also can't beat an image with mere beautiful, warm lighting illuminating your subject and scene. Even though the trees are bare, and everything is dead, this is a great trade-off for better light.

I have also found that winter sunsets can especially be spectacular. The best part is you don't have to wait until real late to get them either. Some of the best sunsets I've witnessed have been in the winter months.

Several of my all-time favorite photographs have been taken on the most miserable of days weather-wise: cold, rainy, snowy, and driving wind. I know it can be hard to find the motivation to get out on such days, but the results can be especially striking and rewarding. I can certainly attest to that, and I'm sure several of you can too. If you place yourself in the right spot and all the elements come together perfectly, a picture with a unique “wow”-factor can be produced.

Let's dig into a few of my favorite winter photographs:

Beautiful, even late afternoon lighting illuminates this pastoral view of No. 16T rolling through the countryside east of Rural Retreat, Va., along the tracks of the former Norfolk & Western Radford Division. This train is headed up by older locomotives, and will be stopping just ahead to await maintenance of way gang to give up a track authority. The train will then get a clear to proceed east toward a meeting with train 29W at Wytheville, and then it's off to Roanoke, Va.

The sun has just set along the former Southern Railway main line from Asheville, N.C., to Knoxville, Tenn., as heavy westbound train No. 165 rumbles across a lake valley at Leadvale, Tenn. An ex-Conrail SD60I is on the point. The train traversed mountain grades, and twisted along the French Broad River on its journey from NS's Linwood Yard, but the train has now surpassed the worst of grades and prepares to hit the Bristol to Knoxville main line located just ahead in Morristown, Tenn., at CP New Line.

One little splash of sunlight provides to offset this Canadian visitor against a dark background, as it leads a relatively light eastbound ethanol train across NS's Pocahontas Division in the quaint town of Northfork, W.Va. The train is now hitting grueling 1.4-percent Elkhorn Grade, but not to worry, with three locomotives on the head-end and two ES44AC's shoving on the rear, this move will have no issue tackling the grade.  Originating in the Midwest, this train is likely en-route to Northern Virginia operating as No. 64D.

Snow is falling, bitter cold temperatures hover around 15-degress, and a bone-chilling wind has set in to usher in train No. 38Q entering the siding at Wytheville, Va., preparing to await three opposing westbounds. Two General Electric ES44ACs and a Dash-9 standard-cab power the heavy train, but wet snow and ice-slick rails make for a slow trip to Roanoke. The color position lights denote that we are no doubt along the former Norfolk & Western, as the intriguing old relics guard the west end of the passing siding.

After a morning snowfall covered everything with a gorgeous layer of white, No. 233 parades through the railroad location called Pinhook, just west of Bluefield, Va. A pair of western visitors from the BNSF Railway does the honors on the point. The heavy intermodal train has just swapped crews, and is en route to Portsmouth, Ohio, and eventually Chicago. The train will pass through multiple enlarged tunnels on its journey, thanks to the completion of NS's Heartland Corridor Project in September 2010.

After filling out to a whopping 170 loads at Clark's Gap, this heavy coal train operating as No. 810, soars across Black Lick Trestle in Kegley, W.Va., under a dramatic sky, while traversing the scenic ex-Virginian Railway. Weighing in the neighborhood of 24,000-25,000 tons, this monster train is being moved up the 0.6-percent grade by three head-end locomotives, and three ES44ACs wide-open in notch-8 on the rear. It amazes me how these trestles have withstood the years and are still in service for more than a century.

As always, thanks for viewing and hope you enjoy this winter tale.