Gallettia

[John 2]

Not a train buff but I think I have said before that I like photographing these old steamers. It's not easy in this part of the world because they are generally North bound in the morning and on the main line for the return journey. That either means shooting into the sun or putting up with the clutter of the electrified main line. However, there is just one stretch near to where I live, that runs East to West, and there is still a pedestrian crossing allowing you to get quite close to the line. It is also near the top of a long incline and so the engine is working quite hard by the time it arrives. Add the fact that the engine is painted red.................. So unusually, I dragged myself out of bed early for a change to capture these.

C&C very welcome.

Fuji XT-1
55-200mm Fuji lens

1/1000th sec @ f11 - ISO 1600


1/1250th sec @ f11 - ISO 1600


1/1250th sec @ f11 ISO - 1600

[deetheturk]

After all the excuses you produce three great images well captured mate!

[Rebel]

Great images, the red of the train against the neutral colours of the steam and surroundings work really well.

[Shadowman]

Nice series.

[TheBigE]

Really great series. I like the detail in the smoke, it is strong yet not overpowering to the image. Well done.

[Manfred M]

Great images, John!

You have some really nice shots here, taken in some fairly harsh lighting. I think this is something for me to remember, should I ever get a chance to shoot these old steam trains. The harsh lighting really makes the smoke look three dimensional. The warm sunlight on the early spring setting really contrasts the reds and blacks of the train quite nicely.

[KimC]

Beautiful shots; the first is my favorite.

[Barbara Ponder]

John these are wonderful! I especially like #1 and 2 the archway just adds that extra something and the steam is the icing on the cake!

[marlunn]

very nice set John, especially with the driver - icing on the cake having him in the shot

[IzzieK]

I like the first and the second one, John but you missed the solitary hand in #1...I think that is a hand...In all of them, I like the framing you did as it emphasized what the whole shots is all about...

[Mike Buckley]

Very, very well done! The bridge in the second one is a small but exceptionally nice touch.

[Mike Buckley]

These also work well as black-and-white or sepia versions, but who wouldn't love the red tones in the color versions?

[rpcrowe]

Really first class imagery...

[bnnrcn]

Very nice images John

[John 2]

Thanks all for a great set of comments. I've been playing with a graphic treatment on some of the images I made and I might eventually post them as well.

@ David. Not excuses. What I was trying to say was that occasionally all of the elements come together. It's only at this time of year for instance that the sun is in the right place at the time these excursions are passing through.
@ Erik/Manfred. The harsh lighting needed a fair amount of selective PP but Photoshop's "Highlights/Shadows" tool works well for this sort of subject.
@Barbara/Mark/Mike. The right setting does make a difference and we are fairly lucky on this line, there are a lot of heritage features that are well maintained.
@Izzie. Now come on Izzie. Someone has to signal the right turn.

Thanks again everyone.