As my Eagle season continues, I’m finding more immature Eagles than ever before. Bald Eagles don’t reach full maturity until they are 5 years old, and their colors change depending on their age. Most importantly, in the first few years, their feathers are brown and mottled white making them difficult to spot. They’ve been pretty good to me this year, though, by being active. It’s much easier to see them in flight and follow them to a perch. So, here’s to the Youngsters, making my Eagle season lots of fun!
In my last post, I discussed the challenges of proper exposure for photographs of mature Eagles. As you can see, the immatures are a bit easier. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
For me, there are three kinds of Eagle pictures: Portrait, Interesting, and Action.
Portraits are an Eagle perched in a tree or on a fence post, sitting in the traditional regal pose with wings folded and beak raised slightly, head not quite in silhouette. This pose tells the world that they are the masters of the air.
An interesting picture is one where the Eagle cocks his head, looks down to survey its hunting ground, maybe some preening or flexing wings a little. The Eagle is on its perch but not assuming the regal pose described above.
Action photos speak for themselves. My action photos tend to be the moment of liftoff from a perch, possibly a couple more frames depending on the direction the Eagle takes. Sometimes, I can capture an Eagle in flight – generally tail feathers as they fly away (laughing all the way). Simply put, action photos imply movement and this post is about Eagles in motion! Now you understand the title of the post.
I have been fortunate to capture Eagles in flight at times, but never on the scale I’ve attained in this young Eagle Season (we’re just over halfway in!). I attribute my success to more patience while shooting, holding on a bit longer when photographing Eagle portraits and watching for the telltale signs that they Eagle might take flight. I also thank the Canon engineers for making their autofocus systems so much better so the camera holds focus on the subject in motion.
There are some challenges to making the liftoff pictures – let’s discuss them. Every decision in photography starts with the exposure triangle: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.
Aperture is the opening that allows light onto the sensor. Large apertures allow more light but have a very short depth of field. Small apertures allow less light and have a deeper depth of field. Depth of field is the amount of the image that’s in focus, from near your camera to far away.
Shutter speed is the time the shutter is open. A fast shutter speed freezes motion and a slow shutter speed allows motion in a picture. A fast shutter speed keeps the detail in the Eagle in flight, and a slow shutter speed allows the wings to blur a bit.
ISO is the level of sensitivity in the camera’s sensor. A high ISO allows for taking pictures in lower light but introduces noise in the image. Modern camera systems are getting better every day in minimizing noise.
That’s not a detailed discussion of the elements of the exposure triangle, but it defines the terms enough for our discussion. One of the biggest challenges to Eagle photography is the color of the Eagles. Golden Eagles have dark brown feathers. Adult Bald Eagles have white heads and dark brown body feathers. Juvenile Bald Eagles have a mix of colors as they mature. The human eye can easily discern the difference in these colors, but cameras can not interpret the same tonal ranges. This makes proper exposure critical.
What is proper exposure? That depends on a multitude of other factors not directly related to the camera. Golden Eagle? Bald Eagle? Adult or Juvenile? Bright sun or shadow? My perfect conditions for Eagles is a slightly overcast sky that soften the sunlight, regardless of subject or surrounding area. I don’t get that often, so I have to make my settings match the light.
Then there’s the optics. I take pictures of Eagles using long focal length lenses, an 800 mm lens and a 100-500 mm lens. I also use a device called a teleconverter that magnifies what the camera sees. Remember my brief discussion on depth of field above? It gets more complicated because the longer the focal length on the lens, the depth of field compresses (becomes shorter). The longer the focal length, the less light can enter the camera body and hit the sensor. The best solution is higher ISO, but that introduces noise. Thank the engineers for making denoise software that corrects for that in the digital darkroom.
So that’s basic considerations. If your subject is in good, even light, shooting would be easy. But I want to be ready for the eventual liftoff so that’s where my settings are. I have my cameras set to shutter priority (Canon labels it Tv), 1/2000 second to freeze motion. At the focal length of my lenses, I let the camera pick. The cameras choices are limited however, so the piece of the exposure triangle that floats is the ISO. I set my cameras to Auto ISO, but I have a limit of 12,800 so I limit noise somewhat. Those settings generally serve me well, except in very low light (like an Eagle that has flown into a pine tree in a shadowy section).
Enough tech talk – let’s get into the pictures! All these images have been made in the last 2 months. Some of them have been on social media. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
This is my new favorite Eagle image. I saw him in a tree along a Creek where I’d never seen an Eagle before, but I drive by very slowly these days just in case!
In my last post, I introduced my recent trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to participate in a night photography workshop. I got several positive comments on those building shots – Thank You!
The day I arrived in Albuquerque, I connected with several friends who also love to photograph trains. After dinner, one of my friends and I drove to a secluded spot south of the city to see what Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) trains would come by. In the hour or so that we were there, we photographed many trains going by. Here’s a sampling of that evening.
The skies to the east were stunning and contributed to this composition!These three locomotives were pulling a very long train. I will admit to removing all the graffiti from this trestle to minimize distractions from the main subject.Approaching from the west, I zoomed in a bit to capture this one locomotive from the rest of the train.We were at this location in the evening so the light was intriguing. I love this composition that includes a signal.
The star of the weekend and the purpose of my trip was to photograph Santa Fe Steam Locomotive 2926. This locomotive, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia PA in May 1944, is currently owned and operated by the New Mexico Heritage Rail (NMHR). Locomotive 2926 was among the last group of steam passenger locomotives built for the Santa Fe Railway. This class of locomotives comprised the heaviest 4-8-4’s built in the United States. Locomotive 2926 was used by the Santa Fe from the time it was built until December 1953, with more than a million miles under its wheels. In 1956, the Locomotive was donated to the City of Albuquerque and placed on display in Coronado Park. Locomotive 2926 was acquired by the NMHR in July 1999 and restoration to operating condition began. In 2018, a fire was lit in the firebox for the first time in 65 years and 2926 moved under its own power on July 24, 2021. (Go to WWW.2926.US for more information.)
The NMHR brought the 2926 to the Albuquerque Rail Yards for our workshop, and what a subject it is!
This gorgeous sky wasn’t going to last, which was fine. We were there to shoot in the dark!The NMHR had great models for the shoot. Although, the Engineer on the front of the 2926 really was the Engineer!Lots going on here. Will it run? Is it on time?A little monochrome treatment for this shot. Is the Engineer talking to a traveler or a railroad executive?Our friendly Engineer set this lamp in front of the locomotive, making for a great and fun composition!
For this shoot, I used my Canon EOS R5 camera body with a Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM lens, tripod mounted (shutter speeds varied from 2-5 seconds to sync with the strobe lights). I prefer to shoot my night locomotive pictures with the camera no higher than 30 inches off the ground. The wide angle lens really added some drama to the compositions.
I hope you like these images. I had fun taking them and then making them in the digital darkroom!
Ever since I was a little boy, Bison have been one of my favorite animals. When I was a little boy, the City of Cheyenne had a few Bison in pens in Lions Park, on the north side of town. In the summer months, we’d make lunch and head to the Park to have lunch with Dad. We’d frequently go by the Bison pens and marvel at their beauty. Eventually, the Bison went away, along with the Deer and Elk that the City had in adjacent pens. The Terry Ranch, south of Cheyenne on I-25, rebranded itself as the Terry Bison Ranch and we were able to see lots of Bison on our trips to and from Colorado. The Terry Bison Ranch also operated a restaurant with Bison on the menu. When we visited Mom and Dad, we stopped by for a delicious Bison Burger. After I got serious about photography, I’d stop by the Terry Bison Ranch for pictures.
Another favorite venue is the Bear River State Park in Evanston WY. I always stop there on my way home, say howdy to the Bison, and visit with the Park staff. It’s a great rest stop!
When my lovely bride and I visited Yellowstone National Park four years ago (has it been four years already?), we encountered Bison up close in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys. Taking pictures of Bison is challenging. Their bodies are dark, so the tendency is to overexpose to bring out detail. In bright light (like the middle of the day), that’s a deadly combination. Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn’t. On that trip, the magic was mostly ‘doesn’t.’
Our recent trip to Wyoming, however, was a different story! We saw Bison on the North Fork of the Shoshone River, the road between Cody WY and the east entrance to Yellowstone, near Meeteetse WY, and along the road in Grand Teton National Park. The skies were frequently overcast, diffusing the light, so I was able to make some great Bison images on this trip. I hope you like them!
North Fork Road (along the Shoshone River between Cody WY and Yellowstone National Park):
Snow was present but so was the sagebrush, making photos a little easier.Don’t worry, I really wasn’t this close to this one. I love my zoom lenses!Watching the magnificent animal glide through the sagebrush was a wonderful experience.
West of Meeteetse WY:
This group was grazing the hillside. The light was great, but they were very far away.
Grand Teton National Park:
Fast forward to the Tetons Workshop. We encountered this herd along the road near the Triangle X Ranch, our base of operations. They became our subject a couple of times. The sky was overcast, diffusing the light which really helped. Sadly, the overcast obscured the Tetons causing us to look for alternative subjects.The famous snow face shot! In deep snow, Bison find food by pushing their massive heads into the snow until they reach the grass below! Photographers must be sharp, because they only ‘come up for air’ for a couple breaths before they plunge back in. We waited for one Bison to raise his head for more than 15 minutes. My arms were tired from holding the camera up in anticipation. Again, I wasn’t close – love my zoom lenses!One of my favorite Bison shots, and one of the few I made in portrait mode (meaning taller than wider – landscape mode is wider than tall). This beautiful Bison started walking towards our photo line, but didn’t get close enough to get worried! This Bison stood still for some time. Obviously not hungry, it didn’t go digging for food. It’s only movement was to look at the photo line before turning its head to give us a nice full profile.I changed my position a couple times to try to avoid the brush from obscuring the Bison. That’s the difference between this one and the previous shot. And of course, the head is turned.
Bison are magnificent animals! In the right light, they photograph very well. Or, if one is a good photographer, one can account for the light better! Regardless, the most important thing to remember is ‘Don’t Pet the Fluffy Cows!’
All good things must come to an end – and it’s time to ‘put a bow,’ signaling the end of the 2022-2023 Eagle season – for me, at least. Since we returned from our trip, we’ve seen many Eagles in the Carson Valley but lately there have been few the last week or so. The nearby area outside the Valley has had no Eagles in the last few weeks so, for me, Eagle Season is over. It’s okay, with the weather warming up a bit we have lots of other projects around to occupy my time. And I’m still processing image files from the trip.
2022 was my best Eagle year ever! While I’ve taken some great pictures in past years, I got more great Eagle shots in 2022 than any time before. As you saw in one of my ‘Be There’ posts, my Eagle year continued while I was in Wyoming. Here’s a couple more Carson Valley area shots from 2022.
On my final run around the Valley and nearby areas, I hadn’t been having any luck finding subjects to photograph. As I was turning around to head for home, this beautiful creature flew up (from the direction I had come) and landed in this snow covered tree as if to say ‘…well, you ignored me before so here I am now – take my picture!’I love it when I’m ready when the fun starts. He lifted off while I was shooting portraits.
With an incredible finish to 2022, I was excited to return home and get out to see what 2023 would bring. Sadly, my lovely bride and I both got a crud on the way home, so we stayed very close to home for a couple weeks after our return. When we were able to get out, we found lots of subjects. Most, however, were fairly far away – even for my Canon RF 800 f/11 lens. An 800 mm focal length really brings those far away subjects up close. When combined with the 45 MP sensor on my Canon EOS R5 camera body, I have lots of data to work with when editing images. My greatest challenge is getting good focus on far away subjects. That’s not the fault of the equipment, rather, it’s the limitations of the photographer’s skills. We all have our limitations. Thankfully, I found the Topaz Denoise and Sharpen software, which can rescue some of my poorly shot image files.
Here’s the stuff from 2023! All in the Carson Valley.
There were two hot zones for Eagles in 2023. This is a fence line west of SR 88 between Mottsville Lane and Centerville Lane. When I saw pictures from one of my friends in this area, my ‘crud-addled’ brain couldn’t identify the fence. Of course, I wasn’t remembering that long focal lengths will cause the depth of field to compress, giving what we see every day a different look as a picture. One cannot forget the physics of capturing light!It doesn’t get any better than this – well, maybe if they were a little closer! This tree at the west end of Cornforth Lane was a popular place to find Eagles.Same fence, different angle! There were so many Eagles that they almost needed air traffic controllers!
A second hot zone was on Old Foothill Road, just south of the state line.
The only Eagle I was able to get up close in the Valley this year. I don’t stop for Raptors on utility poles very often, but I couldn’t pass this one by. I was kneeling in the snow, getting as low as I could, to keep the wire from obscuring that beautiful face.For some reason, this tree was a popular stop for the Eagles this year. I made this image in a snow storm. When I stopped and got out of the car, a third Eagle flew off. Wouldn’t this picture have been really great with another Eagle?Same tree as above, but on this day we had the best light we’d seen at this location. (Except for the snowy day, most of the images here were so backlit that the Eagles are shadows). I was excited to get some detail and color for a change.Although I focus (pun intended) on Eagles from November to February every winter, the Raptor migration includes Hawks. I’m very selective about my Hawk images. No utility poles! I like my Hawks on a fence post at eye level. This Red Tail was on a utility wire and I felt something, so I started shooting. A few frames in he lifted off and hit the snow – coming up with this apparently tasty morsel. This is one of the many image files I have of this meal time.
And that’s it for my 2022-2023 Eagle Season! I’ll still have my cameras out and about and may bump into something, but I won’t be actively looking for Eagles for the next 10 months or so. Stay tuned for the rest of the ‘Be There’ series because there’s lots more to come (Bison and Big Horns and Elk – oh my!)! Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
My lovely bride and I visited Yosemite National Park in August 2017. The schedule was driven by a night photography workshop in which I participated. We decided to spend a week there and had a wonderful time. In one of the gift shops, we found a poster with ‘Orland’s Penultimate Compendium of Photographic Truths’. It hangs in a frame in my Study, just to the left of the Digital Darkroom (aka my computer desk). The Compendium is a list of mostly humorous statements:
“The best scenic turnouts are clearly designated by highway signs reading NO STOPPING ANYTIME.”
“Falling cameras are attracted to rocks.”
“At critical moments your camera will alert you to amazing photographic scenes by flashing the words WARNING: LOW BATTERY”
In the tiniest of fonts near the bottom of the poster is this statement: “The First Rule of Photography: BE THERE!”
Those two words have so much meaning. They describe a concept so simple, yet so true. BE THERE! One cannot make an image of the Grand Canyon, or Old Faithful, or a steam locomotive, or an Eagle flying along a river without being there. For the travel photographer and tourist, landscape scenes are done by simply being there (even though one must be there when the light is best for truly great pictures, but that’s a whole different post).
For the wildlife photographer, life is a bit different. Sadly, critters have their own schedule and their own view of the world. I’ve said it many times, critters don’t take direction! They won’t tip their head or turn their bodies when one asks them to. They arrive and depart on their schedule, with little to no regard for the person standing there with a camera. How rude! And ask them to sign a model release. Forget it!
A couple days ago, I was out looking for Eagles in an area that I know they hunt. The roads go up mountain passes and have closures during the winter for obvious reasons. I had just driven along a stretch of river and reached the closed gates. Preparing to turn around, I saw this Eagle fly up from the direction I had just driven. He landed in a tree and gave me a look that seemed to say, “Well, you didn’t stop for pictures before so here I am now!” I obliged and got some fantastic images, and I gave thanks to that Eagle and the Photo Gods for sending him to me.
I’m not always fortunate to find exactly what I’m looking for, so I take pictures of the wildlife I find and frequently of the gorgeous scenery I’m passing through. This post is about the wildlife I’ve been finding while out looking for Eagles this season.
A couple weeks ago, my scheduled spotter canceled at the last minute so my lovely bride came with me. We were driving to the Eagle area when she suddenly says, “There’s a Bear!” Sure enough, this handsome critter was about 20 yards off the road and allowed me to grab a few shots.
Sometimes, the predator is a bit smaller. Like this character.
I was hiking the road behind the closed gates when I saw this Coyote near the river. I tracked him through the brush, across the road, and up the hill.
Sometimes the subject is small, like this little Junco who was hopping the snowy road while I was hiking. He was not concerned about me until I knelt down to get a better angle, then he took flight. Darn it!
Occasionally, I get a real treat. I had seen their tracks in many places along the road, but I came over a small rise and these three ladies were in the road. They quickly went up the hill, but stopped to let me get several images. This one is my favorite.
If I hadn’t been there – even though I was there for a different purpose – I wouldn’t have gotten these images! These two words have become my new photographic mantra – BE THERE! But watch for rocks under your feet and keep your batteries charged! I love what I do, and hope that you do, too.
Well, the Eagles and the Photography Gods have been very good to me in this young Eagle Season! I started heading to my regular area in early November and was not disappointed. I have not come up empty for Eagles this year (knock on wood!). I don’t always get pictures, but I see them. This Season has also provided some bonus pictures. Read on!
I have been most fortunate with my action shots this Season. I’ve had my camera up and ready when they take off!
I amazed myself with this one! I haven’t had luck in the past ‘getting glass on’ a flying subject, much less getting a usable image.
One of the greatest challenges with Eagles is getting proper exposure, especially in full sun. Their bodies are dark brown and their heads are white (I know, that’s obvious!), so how does one get an exposure that works? Well, I generally underexpose the keep the head from being ‘blown out’ (meaning totally white with no detail and no recoverable data) because software is much better at recovering detail in the shadows (darker areas of an image). The key is to watch the histogram while shooting to ensure that there will be usable data.
This guy was out on a blustery day. Note the feathers being moved around by the wind. He doesn’t look happy, but Eagles always look like that. They’re just serious.
I can’t help but think about vampires when I look at this picture. But I know he doesn’t want to drink my blood!
Another thing that amazes me about Eagles is the position of their wings in flight. A fully mature Eagle’s wingspan extends over 6 feet – wider than most people are tall! And yet, they are so graceful in flight.
While this Eagle appears to be out of control, he was just taking flight.
Here’s the bonus content!
Kingfishers are small and fast, and very camera shy! I saw this guy across the river and was able to capture him in pixels before he took flight!
When I’m in the ‘hot zone’ in the area I look for Eagles, I usually drive at about 10-20 mph (but I keep an eye on my mirrors to ensure I’m not blocking traffic). I call this ‘slow rolling.’ While slow rolling one day, this shy guy was on the road and quickly jumped into the brush. I was able to get this image before he disappeared.
And the ultimate bonus prize this year was this youngster. I was slow rolling around a corner and there he was in the middle of the road. He looked up and saw me, and bounded up the hill! I quickly parked and got out of the F-150 to see if he would be visible, and there he was up the hill. My RF 800 lens used every millimeter of focal length to get this image.
And so, I’m off to a good start this year. I have a bunch of pictures of Eagles sitting in the trees, but I wanted to share the action shots. Stay tuned – there will be more in the coming weeks!
Trains magazine has been in publication for 81 years. The Nevada Northern Railway is completing the restoration of Locomotive 81, a 2-8-0 built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1917. This locomotive was retired almost 60 years ago, but was resurrected by the dedicated crew at the NNRY. (If you’ve ever thought about being the Engineer on a steam locomotive, go the http://www.nnry.com and click on the visit/ride tab to see how you can do it!) Could there be a better reason to have a big weekend-long celebration?
Actually, Trains magazine had plans to celebrate 80 years of publication in 2020. We all know what happened then so they delayed their party and partnered with NNRY to have a much bigger impact. And what a weekend it was!
My lovely bride accompanied me on the adventure. She patiently sat on the trains while we rode to various locations, disembarked the photographers, and then the locomotives pulled back and forth numerous times at each location to the delight of all the cameras. She also served as my assistant around the East Ely Yard, but managed to get in a few frames of her own with her cell phone. I appreciate her support of my photography hobby. Je t’ami, Mon ChouChou!
I won’t bore you with all the images from every location we visited, but I will try to share the feeling of being there. Enjoy!
One of our first scenes – the Steam Crane demonstration. This crane is mounted on a rail car and powered by a steam engine. It was used to clear the tracks after crashes to keep the railroad moving. In this image, the crane is lifting the ore car to set it back on the tracks. Go to http://www.nnry.com to find more information on this beautiful machine.This is the crew, taking a well deserved rest after the demonstration.From the East Ely Yard, the 81 pulling a train.A longer view.Locomotive 81 with the 1956 Pontiac Hy-Rail car at the wig-wag signals.Add in Locomotive 93 for a scene not found very often – in black and white for fun! With 60 photographers and videographers in attendance, space in the photo line was at a premium. Locomotives 81 and 93 team up for the haul up Robinson Canyon in this image.My favorite image from the weekend. We stepped off the train and navigated through tall sagebrush. Everyone turned right and headed for a road to set up up the photo line. I turned left and ventured into even taller sagebrush. Setting my tripod as tall as I could, I used the articulating screen on the back of the camera body to look up at the composition and take the shot.
As I said, I didn’t share all the images from the weekend. I hope that I have provided a nice cross section of images so you have a feel for how much fun it was, despite having to fight (figuratively, not literally) for a spot on a crowded photo line.
The NNRY received several grants in the last year to improve equipment, preserve and archive the rich history that makes this railway a National Historic Landmark, and restore the track that connects the East Ely Yard to the Magill Depot. I look forward to making more images of this wonderful piece of history.
After two days of class room and shooting around the East Ely Yard, on Day 3 we climbed aboard the train and headed out for Grand Landscape Day. It was chilly, but it wasn’t snowing so that was a big plus. We boarded the train and headed out to the Hy-Line. This section of track leaves the East Ely Yard and heads toward McGill, where the smelter was located.
For the workshop, I carried two camera bodies with different focal length zoom lenses. On the tripod, I had my Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 24-240mm lens. My Canon EOS 6D Mk II hung from my body with a Tamron 28-300 lens. When making images of trains, I love having my camera on a tripod. I set the tripod to a low height for the vantage point I want, and I have a stable platform for exposure bracketing and focus stacking. Sometimes the action is fast and a tripod-mounted camera is not ideal, so I carried my 6D II for those quick handheld shots. In addition, the second camera body provided redundancy in case I had a problem with my primary camera.
Workshop Instructor Mike Massee captured me a couple times during the workshop. Big thanks to Mike for letting me include these images.
Nevada Northern Railway Winter Photography Workshop on February 12 through February 14, 2021. Photo by Mike Massee while acting as the workshop instructor. This image was made on Friday – no snow on the ground!Nevada Northern Railway Winter Photography Workshop on February 12 through February 14, 2021. Photo by Mike Massee while acting as the workshop instructor. Sunday in Robinson Canyon. Note the height of the camera on the tripod, typical for my railroad photography.
And so, on to my images from the day.
A somewhat unique shot – the black smoke is from the boiler, while the white smoke is from the whistle.The train crew makes several runs at each location so we can change position for different views. I liked this one in black and white.A little different interpretation. Great sky in the background. Some participants rode in the Caboose (the yellow car) and the rest rode in the Outfit Car, just ahead of the Caboose. The view from the cupola of the Caboose is amazing.Since I’m in a line of photographers, I keep my eyes open for other perspectives. For this shot, I crossed the tracks and crouched down in a ditch (to stay out of the other photographers shots). I was by myself, so I was the only one to get this shot.
After several runs on the Hy-Line, we headed up to the Tunnel.
I love the east side of the Tunnel. Great background for the locomotive.
We returned to the East Ely Yard for lunch and prepared for the afternoon shoot at the Tunnel and Robinson Canyon. The crew reconfigured the train for a different look.
In that ‘road less traveled’ theme, I climbed the side of the Tunnel to shoot down on the train. Again, I was by myself.When a locomotive exits the Tunnel, the smoke does amazing things. Since the 93 is pulling uphill in this shot, it’s working hard and making a lot of smoke. This view from just behind the guardrail on U.S. 50.Robinson Canyon is a marvelous venue for shooting. For this shot, I went high on the slope. I had my Canon EOS R5 camera and tried some new techniques on this portion of the shoot. One of the great things I learned about this amazing camera is the AutoFocus system is wonderful. When used in combination with the Touch Sensor Shutter Release (touching the LCD screen on the back of the camera to release the shutter, the AF system focuses on the point that I touched), I adjusted the position of the camera body with the tripod head, recomposed for focal length and composition, and touched the screen to focus on my desired focal point and release the shutter. I need to perfect my technique, but I liked the process for slow action such as this moving train. The resulting image files were easier to process. On the way back from Robinson Canyon, we stopped at the grade crossing at County Road 19 for some shots. In this shot, I am looking east, with the East Ely Yard in the background. I processed this image using a different filter than I usually use, providing a softer look for the locomotive.
That ends three days of fun but challenging photography. I learned more about using flash, but also learned how to take pictures in driving snow and cold. A trip to the Nevada Northern Railway is always great, but also wonderful when one’s photographic skills are pushed to the limit.
On the drive home, I stopped by Eastgate Canyon. This canyon is located 5 miles from U.S. 50 on State Highway 722., and is the home to a band of Desert Bighorn Sheep. My lovely bride and I found them last October when we drove by, so I checked to see if I could find them. Sure enough, they were grazing on a hillside within range of my camera.
A young Ram, making sure I wasn’t getting too close.The view looking west towards U.S. 50 through the entrance to Eastgate Canyon.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this series from the Nevada Northern Railway. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Friday morning dawned cool but otherwise nice. The workshop participants gathered in the East Ely Depot to begin the day. We all brought some pictures of our work so we could get to know one another and the instructors could assess our photography skills, then we headed into the East Ely Yard for some pictures.
One of my favorite images from the weekend. I was able to process the image file in Adobe Camera Raw and cleanup some clutter in Photoshop. No need to use other software for a filter.
This is the NNRY’s 1956 Pontiac Hy-Rail car, used by the NNRY for track inspection. Look close and you can see the wheels that keep the car on the tracks just behind the bumper in front of the tire.
I took advantage of the open door at the RIP Building. Just inside, I found this line of wheels and axles, so I did a little focus stacking. There are four different focal planes and five exposures of each focal plane to create the image. I blended the RAW image files in Helicon Focus 7, then applied a black and white filter in Nik Silver Efex.
This is the interior of the Outfit Car, used by the crews to travel to work locations. This was our base of operations for our shoot on Sunday. For this image, I used three image files with different exposures blended in Adobe Camera Raw, some clean up in Photoshop, then a filter from Topaz Studio.
This is the interior of a Caboose, taken from the door.
This is the scene when you walk through the cupola and into the back of the Caboose from the previous image. I paused before taking the picture…thinking about the men who spent their working lives in this space. Do you think they had to sneak a little coal from the Tender to keep the Caboose warm?
After the morning in the Yard, we returned to the Depot for some lunch and the lighting class. Then we headed back into the Yard to finish the day.
This is the Photo Line. And this one was easy because of the low number of photographers.
We’re all going for shots like this…
…and this!
Keep your eyes open and camera ready. Every now and then you turn and see something like this.
As the light began to fade, we set up in the Freight Depot and the 93 made several runs by us. Shutter speed is key here, depending on what you want your image to show. I used a fast shutter speed to freeze the action in this shot. I also made some shots with the 93 ‘blurring’ by.
That’s not everything from the day, but it’s a nice representation. Lots to see and lots of images to make. But wait ’til the next post – cuz the weather went bonkers on us!
The PHOTOROGR Project 