These trains belong to the Durango-Silverton RR in southern Colorado and the shots were taken about a dozen miles north of Durango, less than two weeks ago.
Technically it is a “narrow gauge” RR, but without having done any measurements, I’d guess that they were very close to the full standard gauge in size. The close-up is a southbound evening shot, while the broader image is a northbound morning capture.
There is no cropping [in the narrow dimension] of these shots and the full exif date is still embedded on the close-up. Gps info is also included. Thanks for looking. -Art
the first one looks like a model train...
I love both pictures. I have seen that train a few years ago. They also have a nice small railway museum in Durango...
really nice photos..........did you do any sharpening on the first one? It is exceptionally clear and sharp, almost too sharp.
Track there is 3' between rails. regular track is 4' 8.5" between rails. Reason the narrow gauge engine makes things look lide standard gauge is that it overhangs the track so much on each side.
If you ever get the chance, go on over to the Chama/Antonito area and ride that one as well. Little longer ride and some super views.
Many thanks for everyone's kind comments. It was a very enjoyable shoot and I'm really happy with the look of the close-up shot.
As for the processing details [primarily the close-up], I don't think there was too much out of the ordinary, but here's more info so you can see what you think: The images were shot in raw, with camera in full manual mode, matrix metering and exposure compensation set at -0.5 stops, which I have been doing a lot lately and seem to like the results. Image stabilization (vr) was turned off since I was using a tripod. As it turned out, the engine was not only dark, but was also shaded, so in ACR the main adjustments were to add +0.6 back into the exposure and then also add "Fill" of about 47 to lighten the detail in the locomotive. Sharpening was minimal in ACR where the first two sliders were set to 96 and rad=1.7.
The image was then moved to PS where three adjustments were done: a small amount of warming filter was added to remove a blueish color cast (due to the shade); a very slight amount of contrast was added using curves... and then, what I believe was the biggest difference - I added blur to the background. This step really made the engine jump off the screen.
The last thing I did was resize for the web and use USM at 75% and 0.6 pixels.
Again, many thanks for your comments. Best wishes. -Art
[... and then, what I believe was the biggest difference - I added blur to the background. This step really made the engine jump off the screen.
....ah, that's the difference - it gives it a bit of the "minature" look. There is actually a pretty simple process in PS that you can do to give photos that fake Tilt Shift or minature look.
Stunning shots of the Durango & Silverton in action, Art B.
How many on this 'thread' or anywhere in the FM forum are old enough to have ridden steam when that was THE (maybe only) WAY to go long distance in America. No Interstate highways, no jets, no radial tires, no TV, no most of what we now take for granted?
OK, yeah, I come from those days. But, yeah, gas at 20-30 cents/gallon was a plus!
Gosh, that 80-400 sure looks like it performs nicely in that focal range. Love the first image. I find the bright green OOF branch distracting in the second image though (but it's still nice).
