CShaveRR Larry--you wouldn't be looking toward retiring around October 16, would you? That might well be my target date, too, if I can figure out how to make things work for me.
Larry--you wouldn't be looking toward retiring around October 16, would you? That might well be my target date, too, if I can figure out how to make things work for me.
I got the estimate for December 31 - and I know I have a lot of loose ends to wrap up before I go (actually before December 15th, but I might as well stick to the end of the year). I'm pretty sure I can survive on what they'll give me (a couple of promotions ago I was living on that much). Just the savings in gasoline each week (200 miles just driving to work) will be pretty good, if I can avoid random roaming around the area.
The tough part will be avoiding using my vacation as much as possible - that lump sum will be handy.
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...
Brian - Between chasing trains and some housekeeping tasks, I haven't had a lot of time for post-processing. I should have some time this week though. I'll send you somet goodies later this week.
Quentin - Thanks!
Justin - Thanks for the kind words!
Chad - Thanks. I really enjoy getting out the big lenses from time to time. Alas, once summer gets here and start baking the rails, heat distortion causes too much image degradation, so I have to put the big glass away most of the time. It's good to be able to use it for the time being. I'll have your stuff in the mail this week.
Larry - Thanks for the kind words, and congrats on getting towards retirement. What sort of lens are you looking for?
Carl - I'll keep my eyes open for some numbers and send them your way next time I'm out. I see a lot of those cars in these coal drags. CNW, MP, and DRGW seem very common in there, too.
MC - There's an NW2 out there? It must hide every time I'm out there because I've never seen it.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
Cop Car,
Youre welcome. Better than anything I could take with my cheapy ol' camra. Kodak Easy Share V803. I wish i had a better camara. A faster and clearer shutter. It's an 8.0 mega pixel.
All together a nice day today. got into the lower 60's here. Went to my pastors gym for a youth groop outing. We only had a basket ball and tumble matts. Should have seen the fort I made!
I will se you all tommorow!
The road to to success is always under construction. _____________________________________________________________________________ When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape.
CopCarSSCarl - I'll keep my eyes open for some numbers and send them your way next time I'm out. I see a lot of those cars in these coal drags. CNW, MP, and DRGW seem very common in there, too.
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)
......Retirement fellows.....Go for it. It will work out if you have made a good "normal" prep. We've been at it now for 15 years and we're still going....Hopefully, the economy will start working it's way back and restore some investments. That, I'm sure has effected many of us.
Quentin
bubbajustinYoure welcome. Better than anything I could take with my cheapy ol' camra. Kodak Easy Share V803. I wish i had a better camara. A faster and clearer shutter. It's an 8.0 mega pixel.
Justin - While photographic equipment can certainly help, it's definately not the most important piece of equipment you have in the field. That's the operator behind the camera. Learn the rules of photography now, and when you have the money to improve your kit, you'll be able to take advantage of it that much more.
CShaveRRGood luck with that, Chris--getting the old BN numbers involves "scanning" the ACI labels. Fortunately, most of those ex-BN (sometimes ex-C&S) hoppers have them yet. Did I show you that at the museum in Golden a couple of years ago?
You did, but I wouldn't be able to do anything with it. I do have a little ace up my sleeve, though. If I shoot a "roster" shot of the cars, I should be able to get a crop of the ACI label for you thanks to the resolution that my K20D can deliver.
CShaveRRMy biggest concern is finding prescription insurance for the years between retirement and when Medicare kicks in
That can be a real concern Carl.....Our company had supplied gap and prescription Ins. since we retired and this past Jan. 1st, that changed. They got out of the Ins. business and set up an account for us to draw from on a monthly basis. {To help pay premiums}. After one does attain the age to qualify for said insurance.....{Medicare Plan D}, we've been happily surprised to learn mail in 90 day type plan really saves one money.....Tier one, generics....No co payment...That's pretty good.
CShaveRRbut thank Goodness Railroad Retirement will support us fairly well.
Yes, Carl, from what I know about Railroad Retirement, it is greatly superior to Social Insecurity. As I understand it, none of it is taxable, so you will not have to work through a complicated formula every year when you file your 1040 (at least, so far, the formula itself does not change from year to year). My father worked under Railroad Retirement for less than the minmum time to be covered before he died, so my mother had no income from it--and no possible WW I veteran's benefits since he was discharged because of cardio-vascular problems less than ninety days after he went into the army. We survived, especially after my oldest brothers were able to be out on their own (all of us were able to finish college). My wife worked for the Census Bureau for several years (she never worked on the decennial censuses, but on continual, year-round censuses; she says that it is a wonderful job to be retired from) before she retired, and she went into the medical insurance which was offered her before retirement, and we still have that (greatly superior to Medicare Part B)--and no Medicare Part B. We have excellent prescription coverage, dental insurance, eye care insurance, as well as medical insurance. The last nine months (Jan.-Sept.) I worked, I was covered under her policy--which did quite well by us since right after I became covered I first had a colonoscopy, then a foot of sausage casing was removed, then I had radiation and chemotherapy--all covered at low cost to us directly.
We are grateful that I was able to convert my 401k to an annuity before the stock market began dropping, dropping, dropping. There may be increases in the payment if the stock market does well, but there will be no decrease below the initial contracted payment.
Johnny
Deggestygreatly superior to Medicare Part B)--and no Medicare Part B
Johnny.....With a good "gap" insurance along with Medicare A and B....the end result is pretty good. I believe anyone using Med. A and B, it is normal to secure a gap ins. to work with it.
CopCarSSWhat sort of lens are you looking for?
Haven't really put any serious thought into it yet. As "bad" as zoom lenses are, I think I'd like something that will get me some medium to long shots. The lens I have on the Rebel now gets me something like a conventional 30-70mm range (the Rebel has a smaller sensor, so the lenses have non-conventional focal lengths).
We'll see.
CopCarSS bubbajustinYoure welcome. Better than anything I could take with my cheapy ol' camra. Kodak Easy Share V803. I wish i had a better camara. A faster and clearer shutter. It's an 8.0 mega pixel. Justin - While photographic equipment can certainly help, it's definately not the most important piece of equipment you have in the field. That's the operator behind the camera. Learn the rules of photography now, and when you have the money to improve your kit, you'll be able to take advantage of it that much more.
I'll echo what Chris said and offer some proof (if I may). The following shots (while I may not say they are 'wallhangers') are decent IMO. They were taken with an Olympus D540 Zoom that's 3.2 megapixel. I used a tripod (helps at night!) but practiced until I got the 'hang' of things.NS at SpeedLighting the Snow
Currently I shoot with a Canon A590IS that's 8 megapixels. I have taken lousy shots with the 'better' camera. Get out there, practice, and read on the subject. You'll surprise yourself! Don't be afraid to ask questions either. I know I've learned from asking folks like CopCar and others.
Dan
Larry - Zoom lenses really aren't that bad anymore. In fact, some are very, VERY good. Nikon's 14-24mm f2.8 blows away anything (including expensive primes) in that range. There are some really good options for you in Canonland in the telezoom arena, too.
I used to have a 70-200mm f4L that constantly impressed me with what it could do. There's even an Image Stabilized version of that lens now (though it's a bit expensive). The 70-300mm IS lens is worlds better than the old 75-300mm IS lens, too. The 300mm end works out to a 480mm equivalency in 35mm terms, so it'll give you a fairly healthy bit of reach.
Dan - Excellent posts illustrating my point. How did I miss NS at Speed? That's a great shot!
Oh goody - time for my "rule of thirds" dissertation! (Those of you who have heard it before may skip this post...)
Justin -
One really simple rule that can significantly improve your pictures is known as the "rule of thirds."
Perhaps the best way to explain it is with a little exercise. Find a picture you find pleasing to the eye and print it off on plain paper.
On the picture draw four lines, two vertical, two horizontal, that divide the picture into thirds. You should end up with a "tic-tac-toe" board. Don't add any X's or O's!
The key to using the rule of thirds is to orient your focal points using those lines. Your primary focal point should be on one of the four intersections. Your horizon should be on one of the horizontal lines, and any strong vertical features should go on one of the vertical lines. Odds are that the picture you choose will exhibit one or more of these factors.
Of course, there will be variations. Still trying to hit one or more of those focal points/lines will turn a snapshot into a portrait.
Most people instinctively put the focal point of their picture (say, the headlight) dead center. Sometimes that's appropriate. More often, though, it's not.
Looking at the two pictures above, "NS at Speed" has the track about on the bottom third line, while the vertical portion of the signal structure is about on the right hand third line.
"Lighting the snow" has the headlight about on the top third line, with the beam headed for the intersection between the top and right third lines. The power pole is on the right third line.
Some cameras have the lines in the viewfinder.
As has already been stated - the most important piece of equipment is the person behind the camera. Take a moment to compose your picture before you press the shutter button. Tipping or turning the camera just a bit may be all it takes to turn a good picture into a great one.
Remember, too, that you are shooting digital. Electrons cost next to nothing - take lots of pictures!
Edit: Chris - a 70-300 is probably what I'll be looking into. I already have a tripod.
CNW 6000taken with an Olympus D540 Zoom that's 3.2 megapixel
The 3.2 megapixel camera made your RR scenes look quite "normal" and "real"....
On a side note: The 2nd picture sure shows the head lights and especially the ditch lights, providing quite a bit of light out in front of the engine,,,,{A subject with lots of discussion back a few weeks ago about British trains, in the past.. not using head lights}....
Thanks for the compliments Larry/Chris/Quentin. Speaking of digital pics, the two biggest lessons I learned are:1. Digital zoom should be avoided if possible.2. Set the camera to take the biggest pictures it can with the best detail. The amount of pictures you can take will be smaller but they should be of a better quality. If you need to, get a bigger memory card. You can find decent cards (2 or 4 GB) for $15 or less when on sale.
Decent photo editing software helps for resizing/cropping and doing other editing functions. I won't go there because that's largely a discussion of price and preference.
CNW 60002. Set the camera to take the biggest pictures it can with the best detail. The amount of pictures you can take will be smaller but they should be of a better quality. If you need to get a bigger memory card. You can find decent cards (2 or 4 GB) for $15 or less when on sale.
My digital Rebel will fit around 260 full JPG images on a 1 Gig card, so my two cards (and two spare batteries) will yield over 500 shots - usually enough for a full day's shooting. If I need more space, I can always fire up the laptop and unload a card. But memory is cheap these days, too.
If I go to JPG+RAW, I'm down to around 60 images per 1 Gig card, but 120 images is still a pretty healthy day trackside.
Larry - There's an embedded JPG in your RAW file that you can extract if you're looking for something quick and simple to post. It's only Medium Sized (IIRC), but it's in the RAW file and it'll allow you a little more room because you can shoot just RAW instead of RAW+JPG. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll find the link to the program.
On a 2 GB SD card my A590IS will give about 570 pics at max file size, max detail or around 45 minutes of video. I could use a 1 GB card but sometimes I'll shoot videos too. I also carry an extra card, batteries, and lens cloth while 'afield'. One never knows what one will need!
About 90% of the shooting I do falls into the "snapshot" variety, so I don't get into RAW very often. That'll be a retirement project. I'll take the link for my files, though.
Hi all,
Thanks for the tips guys. I really appreiate it! As Dan once told me you learn by trial and error. By the way I got some shots this last weekend. I willsend them to you dan and Carl if you guys want. Maby I need to put on a more positive spin. That might help. Actually last weekend I might have accedentaly took an abstract picture! Being positive really helps things! Larry. Momtold me about that very thing. A tic tac toe board! I will try to find that on my camra. And I will also try to find a triopd. Don't know if my camra will fit on it though. Heck I will make oneI I can't find one! A fairly nice day today. Quite blustery though. Warm at least... there I go being positive again I'm proud of myself. anyways. 62* now. I'm going to grandpah Charlies tommorow. He has a suprise job fro us. Maby fishin'? I will have fun though. thanks again for all the words of encouragement!
Larry-
Here's the download page. And here is an article about it from TOP that explains the concept much better than I did.
bubbajustin ...And I will also try to find a triopd. Don't know if my camra will fit on it though. Heck I will make oneI I can't find one!
...And I will also try to find a triopd. Don't know if my camra will fit on it though. Heck I will make oneI I can't find one!
Justin,
On the bottom of your camera you should find a threaded hole for the tripod mount to attach to. Good luck.
OHHHHH! That's what that's for! Ok! Thanks Carl. I never would have guessd what that was for! Thanks budd! By the way check youre e-mail if u have time. Thanks!
Psst....I'm Dan! LOL! CShaveRR is Carl.
Sorr Caral AND Dan... I guess that I was so suprised about the thredded hole I didn't notice... Soory. Besides The N&WC is my favorite fallen flag anyways. I was just so excited!
Must be...lol. Guess I better put "Dan" in my sig.
Oh you didn't have to do that. I will remember now. Anyways. CARL WILL BE YELLOW AND DAN WILL BE BLUE FOR THE COLD WEATHER UP THERE! So Carl... Anything interesting happen at the yard today that you wold like to share with the world wide web? and Dan... Thanks for the shots. Ive never seen a light config. like that BCRail loco. Any reason for that config.?
Well night everybody. Parental controlles will log me out in 1 minute. See ya all tommorw! Dan and Carl...Thanks for the laughs tonight!!!
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