Uncle Pete around Northern CO and Southeastern WY - (6 IMG)

[CopCarSS]

Hey Gang,

A couple of weekends ago I took a trip up towards Laramie, WY with a friend of mine. We stopped at several locations on the way up. I came home with several shots I was happy with and a couple that I'm very pleased with. Here are some of my results:

Early morning light on a soda ash empty and the grain elevator at Peckham, CO:

Union Pacific Train and Grain Elevator - Peckham, CO by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

Three shots from Hermosa, WY:

UP SD9043MAC at Hermosa, WY by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

Hard Landscape - Hermosa, WY by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

Sentinel of Another Age by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

Downtown Laramie:

Stack Train - Laramie, WY by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

And finally, here's a last-minute-of-light shot taken at Gilcrest, CO on our way back:

Last Light - Gilcrest, CO by Christopher J. May, on Flickr

As always, C&C are more than welcome!

[samfp1943]

Hello, Chris! 

             As always,  

  The 'Johnny-on-theJob' was an added touch of realism at the series of the Grain Elevator at Peckham, Co. 

  Just curious.. were you invited to atted either the 'Ceremony' or the 'Reception' at Buckeye?

  Looking further, The Custom House in Boston was an added touch...I guess it is OK for someone from Colorado to travel half-way across the County to enjoy the snow! 

Thanks, for sharing all the shots...My favorite was the night shot at Peckham. The shots of  the Armor Yellow equipment was, as usual, good stuff !

Thanks !

 

[CShaveRR]

Your picture of Laramie is more appealing to me than any Chamber-of-Commerce promotion they could come up with!

!!!!

[oltmannd]

samfp1943

As always,  

+1

[MP173]

Chris:

i am going to attempt from my usual drooling all over your photos and give you a critical analysis.

I absolutely love the Peckham grain elevator shot.  Great lighting and well composed.  At first I didnt like the Hermosa rocks shot, but the more I look at it, the more it grows on me.  Well composed.  Perhaps the lack of side lighting on the locomotives is a negetive for me, but you were unable to control that.  I really like the focus on the rocks with the slightly out of focus train.  With the background mountains, this one is a winner...almost as good as the grain elevator shot.

Laramie shot is solid.  Makes one want to go there (I did in 1978 and would like to return).  The B&W is good.  I like that you exposed that shot...in today's world, that infrastructure is quickly disappearing.

The other two shots are good...but to me "just train photos."  The signal bridge is interesting and probably it is a good idea to get those shots while the bridge is still there.  Great lighting on the final shot.

Now...to your astronomy shots.  Loved them.  Is that the Horsehead Nebula?  What is the magnatude of the comet?  I wasnt aware there was one out there.

Great work as always...

Ed

[CopCarSS]

Thanks, all, for the very kind comments!

Sam - No invite to the ceremony or the reception. I did ask my girlfriend if we could get married in a grain elevator, though. She was receptive to the idea. ;-)

Carl - Thanks! Sometimes I feel like Laramie is a forgotten gem. It's a nice town with a lot of really nice architecture. The busy railroad line with the pedestrian bridge should make it a bigger attraction for railfans than it seems it is (I've only ever caught one other railfan there).

Don - Thank you very much!

Ed - I wasn't a big fan of the lighting on the locomotives of the rock shot, but that would only work with sunlight very early or very late in the day near the summer solstice. Might have to head back that way and try again around late June. As it was, I thought the hard light kind of complimented the hard landscape, which is why this shot didn't get tossed into the trash bin with a lot of other stuff from this trip.

The nebula is actually M42 -- the Great Orion Nebula. The Horsehead Nebula isn't too far from there, but getting a decent shot of it will require an investment in some better astrophotography gear. At the moment, I'm shooting with my standard Nikon lenses and a home-made "barn-door" tracker. It's functional for what it is. Stuff like the Horsehead nebula will require a German Equitorial Mount. Alas, there's no room in the budget for that at the moment.

I'm not sure what the magnitude on the comet was, but it did make it into the realm of "visible with the naked eye," with the proviso that one had decently dark skies and knew where to look. Once I found it with the camera, it was easy to pick out in the sky. Otherwise, it would have been easier to spot with a pair of binoculars. It's on it's way out of the solar system, though. It won't be back for about 8000 years, either, so I'm pretty sure this was the only time I get to see this particular comet, LOL.