link here  | |  tools  |  share:
photo size: medium 640 new

Brian Carter Transport Pics
recent  |  interesting  |  random  |  favorites  |  contacts  |  sets  |  tags:  
Shiny Tug after sunset 20240323--105
Shiny Tug after sunset 20240323--105

60085 Snowdon is at the head of a rake of bogie stone hoppers, pictured at Swinden Quarry in the Yorkshire Dales (Rylstone in railway parlance). Parked on the adjacent track is the quarry's resident shunter Cracoe, built in 1994 by RFS Industries at Doncaster.

Taken during a Northern Diesel Photo Charters event organised by Chris Gee.

This was the first angle set up for the second group doing the charter. Once I'd reached the front row of the gallery, it took me a while to start getting satisfactory results, as the first frames were far from being sharp. I wasn't sure whether the camera was moving during the lengthy exposures or whether I simply wasn't focusing correctly, but eventually realised that the strong gusts of wind were causing the camera to shake. The solution was to completely lower the central column, which meant I was shooting from a slightly lower angle than I wanted - but it did the trick (although I still lost the occasional frame when there was a particularly strong gust during one of the longer exposures).

The other problem with this angle was the trees on the left; the position of the lights meant they were brightly illuminated (I've actually toned down the brightness here), and the strong, gusty wind meant that many branches were blowing around all over the place. I was prepared to clone them out, but I'm actually amazed that in one five-second exposure they were sharp and not moving!

I originally uploaded that version with the sharp trees on the left, but it had been underexposed and I'd had to lighten it. This also meant increasing the colour saturation, but in doing so I'd created patches of darker yellow on the front of the loco (noticeable if you zoomed in) - which I didn't notice until a few days after uploading. So I wondered if I could get something better using one of the frames taken with a longer exposure, but cloning in the non-blurred trees from that other frame - and this is the result. I've also cloned in the cab interior from a frame taken with a much lower exposure.

Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.

© All Rights Reserved
Taken on: March 23, 2024
Sets appears in:   • Northern Diesel Photo Charters night shoots    • BR class 60 locos   
Groups appears in:   • After Dark - Night Photography    • Night Rails    more » • UK Railway Industrial Landscapes    • Railfreight in the UK    • UK Train - Best Shots    • GBrailfreight (GBRF)    • Classic and Modern Cars, Trucks, Buses, Trams and Trains worldw    • Top Quality Railway Shots. UK ONLY.    • Mercancías y más mercancias    • All about rails, worldwide.    • Northern Diesel Photo Charters    « less
Camera: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3 II, f/6.3, 8 sec, 35mm (=52mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3 II
Aperture: f/6.3
Exposure Time: 8
Focal Length: 35mm (35mm equivalent: 52mm)
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: -1 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Contrast: High
Sharpness: Hard
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Show full info
Stats: 802 views / 5 comments
Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: