Carl: Happy Birthday !!
Happy birthday Carl !!!!!
.....Happy Birthday Carl......
Quentin
Happy Birthday BC - and Mom still likes you best!
SJ
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Thank you all--this is my first chance to be on the Forum all day, what with work, a trip to the Arboretum with four of my favorite girls (and my favorite little guy!), and a rib dinner followed by Pig-Pickin' cake. So now, with just a year before I'm eligible to retire from work, I'm ready to retire for the night as soon as Pat's TV programs are over.
And another shout-out to Larry on his special day. Try as you might, young-un, you won't catch me!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Oops, almost missed this one!
, Carl!
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
CShaveRRAnd another shout-out to Larry on his special day. Try as you might, young-un, you won't catch me!
I'm content to just follow along at a respectful distance...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Alex
EricSP, if you come in here, this is especially for you!
Three years and three months after it was built, ARMN 111111 finally made an appearance in Proviso. We sent it to Wisconsin with a load of cheese.
Carl!... Happy Birthday! (Well, probably belated at this point) How the heck did I miss this? I hope your day was great....
Since it is already the 19th, and I hate being late, I'll just say "Happy Birthmonth, Carl!"
Thanks, guys! I'd love to get out to your neck of the woods, but it isn't in the lineup for this weekend. A new computer has entered the building here, and we'll probably work with it today (after the "real" work, of course). And tomorrow, Pat goes in for oral surgery and I have to be around while she's "out of it".
J. Edgar.....while at work today driving west on I-94 in Detroit i passed under an old RR bridge and whatcha know.....it still had a PC moniker on it
We've been on this subject before, but I'll add my bit....Passing under a RR bridge adjacent to Washington, Pa. on I-70 one can see on the overhead bridge: The icon of Baltimore & Ohio RR. {With the Capitol dome plainly visible on it.
Just southwest of downtown Pittsburgh is a very high steel viaduct with "Norfolk and Westerm Railway Company" on it -- and the paint job looks like it's been freshened the last few years.
I think it is on Penn Lincoln Parkway inbound just before the tunnel.
I'll never forget the first time I saw it. Construction zone, heavy traffic, nowhere to pull over to the side (this guy shot through the windshield from the passenger seat) ... and bang! There it was! I was so mad I couldn't get a photo.
But here it is, from the northeastroads.com website:
The Adirondack Scenic bridge over NYS Route 28 in Thendara is marked "New York Central," but it's a brand new bridge 3 years ago, and was painted like that right from the get-go.
Hmmm...
Lettering bridges sure isn't as noticeable as UP's heritage units, but it sure is nice to see CSX and NS honouring those great ol' fallen flags.
I thought I'd share a recent shot I took which leads me to a question:
I like what I had in mind for this pic but I don't know why the lamps (loco and signal) are 'blown out'. What can I do to prevent or minimize this? Different ISO setting?
Dan
They are simply over-exposed. If you (or your camera) had adjusted the exposure for the lights, the rest of the picture would be under-exposed.
There really isn't much you can do, methinks. Maybe Chris (or someone else with more camera smarts than I have) can weigh in with a solution.
You might be able to do something in Photoshop or the like, "dodging" the bright areas and hoping that the halos didn't obliterate the detail around them.
I like the shot anyway, Dan. Not a photography expert, as I keep saying, but I love the train. And the scenery.
While I was off on my weekend, they replaced the ties of a good quarter-mile of one of our hump leads. It would appear that panel track was used to lay concrete ties over fresh ballast. I'm sure that new rail will be coming later. Our local construction contractor (Rossi) was cleaning up the old rails, ties, and dirt today.
Just saw over on the Railway Age news site (and it's been published elsewhere) that the city fathers in Aurora have approved the closure of the grade crossing at McClure Road, to help create a quiet zone in the city. While closure of crossings is one of the best ways to create a quiet zone, I'm pretty sure this will affect a few of us who visit the site to watch the action. I'm hoping that our lot will remain accessible from the south, without the "No Trespassing" signs being moved back to other streets.
Any comments from the locals?
CNW 6000 I thought I'd share a recent shot I took which leads me to a question: I like what I had in mind for this pic but I don't know why the lamps (loco and signal) are 'blown out'. What can I do to prevent or minimize this? Different ISO setting?
My guess is that you took this photo in the early morning or late evening. Because of that, the bright areas are overexposed (you'll note that the sky is blown out as well). There is no way to prevent this; the only thing you could do is fix it in post-processing.
The way to prevent this from happening is to shoot in brighter conditions. You might want to try a smaller aperature (F8 to F16); of course if you are shooting in low-light conditions, then the reduced aperature will not work, unless you crank up the ISO setting to compensate.
As I recall the ISO was at 80 or 100. What would you suggest as this was taken on a cloudy late afternoon?
That happens to me sometimes. Minimizing the "bloom" from the lights can be difficult, but it can be done. You might want to step down the "F" stop one step, or so, or if your camera can bracket, set it to take a series of shots over exposed, and under exposed. I have done that with my camera, with pretty good results. All in all though, shooting in brighter conditions will help. The lights are overexposed, but the sky isn't too bad. I have shots where the sky is totally "hot" and that generally happens when I am shooting in cloudy conditions especially high clouds that diffuse, but don't block the sun. Otherwise, it's a good photo, I like the angle, the colors, and the depth of field. I think it's pretty cool
Here is a recent example of mine Shot at ISO 200, 1/1000 f/4.5. The sun was to my right, and I adjusted for brightness and contrast in GIMP 2.4.6, and that does reduce the blooming a bit.
Thanks Tim. I diligently sat trackside for a couple of hours today but CN didn't cooperate with me and send me any trains lol. We'll see how tomorrow and the weekend goes.
Dan, Headlights are tricky things to work with sometimes, especially with head-on/telephoto shots. They usually flare a little bit no matter what, but you can try and minimize the problem. My technique in any situation where I'll be shooting straight into the headlights is to try to switch to manual mode and expose the scene correctly before the train gets there. That way the headlights don't mess with the camera settings and end up under exposing or over exposing the picture. Sometimes you still end up with a little flare to the headlights, but it isn't that overwhelming. That's the technique I used for this shot if I remember right:
http://badgerrails.webng.com/photos/cp/cpwi24.html
Of course, it helps that I had full sunlight and so I could keep the exposure higher to avoid the flaring. Sometimes I don't have enough time to play with manual mode settings, and then I just shoot like I normally do and hope the camera sets the exposure properly.
Shooting in cloudy weather has always been tricky for me too. I generally bump up the ISO to around 400 on cloudy days so I can keep higher shutter speeds and aperture sizes and still get the proper exposure, but I'm working with a DSLR body that doesn't have as much grain or noise issues at a higher ISO. I don't know what you're shooting with, but some cameras can't go as high on the ISO setting without becoming really noisy.
Out of curiosity, are you using a digital zoom on your camera to get a shot like this? It kind of looks like it in the image, as it doesn't have quite the sharp edges or definition as an optical zoom shot, but it's hard to tell for sure. Generally you want to stick with an optical zoom settings and avoid using a digital zoom unless it's the only way to get the shot, as it just reduces the image quality to zoom in. I think it could also be contributing to the headlight flare you're seeing.
Hope that helps you a little bit. It is kind of a neat shot though, I can see why you like it!
Noah
CNW 6000Thanks Tim. I diligently sat trackside for a couple of hours today but CN didn't cooperate with me and send me any trains lol. We'll see how tomorrow and the weekend goes.
Don'tcha hate that?
Hopefully I will be back out with the camera soon, busy week ahead, but we shall see. This time of year it's tough to shoot around here, we have more cloudy than sunny days on average, and the sun goes down to darn fast......
Noah,
I currently use a Canon Powershot A530. I have used (and think I did for that shot) the digital zoom. I have 'disabled' that feature. Where that train was Digital Zoom was the only setting I had to get the shot unless I wanted to trespass. I was shooting in "Program" mode where I can change ISO and exposure but not choose the F stop. Now I'm using "Manual" where I can set my ISO , exposure time, and F stop manually (depending on exposure and optical zoom used). I was under the assumption (probably a bad one or incorrect) that 'forcing' the ISO to be around 80/100 made for the best shots. I can try shooting at higher ISOs but haven't experimented with them. I will be!My camera's ranges are:-ISO: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800,-f Stop: 2.6-11 (depending on zoom I get different numbers in between and a choice of a 'light or dark' f stop value at wherever I'm at),-White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent High, and Manual Eval,-Colors: Vivid, Neutral, B/W, Positive Film, Light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone, and Manual Eval.
I think the camera is capable of better shots than I'm taking with it. Thanks for your (and the others too!) input and help.
Tim,
I find that (maybe it's just my luck) when it's sunny out I tend to only see trains coming from 'up sun' or close enough to it that it's hard to get shots that look decent. Sometimes it's nice to just sit trackside and watch the thing roll by if I can't make the shot work.
You're actually dealing with two overlapping problems here.
1.) Headlamp bloom due to slight overexposure
2.) Lens flare due to being too "head-on" to the locomotive
CNW 6000Noah, I currently use a Canon Powershot A530. I have used (and think I did for that shot) the digital zoom. I have 'disabled' that feature. Where that train was Digital Zoom was the only setting I had to get the shot unless I wanted to trespass. I was shooting in "Program" mode where I can change ISO and exposure but not choose the F stop. Now I'm using "Manual" where I can set my ISO , exposure time, and F stop manually (depending on exposure and optical zoom used). I was under the assumption (probably a bad one or incorrect) that 'forcing' the ISO to be around 80/100 made for the best shots. I can try shooting at higher ISOs but haven't experimented with them. I will be!My camera's ranges are:-ISO: 80, 100, 200, 400, 800,-f Stop: 2.6-11 (depending on zoom I get different numbers in between and a choice of a 'light or dark' f stop value at wherever I'm at),-White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent High, and Manual Eval,-Colors: Vivid, Neutral, B/W, Positive Film, Light Skin Tone, Dark Skin Tone, and Manual Eval. I think the camera is capable of better shots than I'm taking with it. Thanks for your (and the others too!) input and help. Tim, I find that (maybe it's just my luck) when it's sunny out I tend to only see trains coming from 'up sun' or close enough to it that it's hard to get shots that look decent. Sometimes it's nice to just sit trackside and watch the thing roll by if I can't make the shot work.
That happens to me too. I have days where everything is coming out of the sun.
Here's a tip: When ever I go out, and I find a place to shoot from, I take a few "test shots". I shoot the scene at a higher f-stop and shutter speed, look at it in the LCD, and then adjust until I get the settings that will work. Or, I will bracket the scene, usually shooting at a full f/stop above, and below the setting on the camera.
I have a Fuji S800fd, and it has a full manual mode, like your Powershot, that allows me to set the camera how I want it. I generally shoot an ISO if 200, I can go up to an ISO of 3200, I think, but I have never tried a shot at that speed. Usually, the higher the ISO the noisier (grainier) the shot turns out.
As far as taking better photos I can offer some advice, and everyone has different ideas on what makes a "good" photo. First of all, the camera doesn't matter, it's the set of eyes behind the camera. Composition is one of the most important things you can do to improve your photos. The shot you posted here, I would give a good mark for composition. You framed the locomotive in-between the two signals pretty well, and you have nice leading lines from both the siding and the tracks that lead the eye to the subject. Also, you have good depth-of-field as well, as the eyes follow the train to the end. You got a good reflection of the headlights off the rails, and good color as well. The only distracting part is the power poles to the right, they form a "jagged edge" which can be distracting for some. I think it adds a bit of character. Overall, it's a nice shot of a train in it's element, and that's not a bad thing. The headlight flare/bloom is a distraction, but not a major one, as it doesn't overpower the rest of the scene. The sky while a bit over exposed is not totally blown out like it looks on some of my photos. Overcast is probably the worst to shoot in, especially when the clouds only diffuse, but don't block, the light. For best lighting, especially in the fall, the best light to shoot is is mid-morning and late afternoon, when the sun is at a decent angle. Otherwise, when the sun is high, it can create harsh shadows that are hard to compensate for.
The best advice I can give you is to just keep trying.....you are definitely on the right track.(no pun intended)
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