Steaming!
Trying to capture a little of days gone by.
Trying to capture a little of days gone by.
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May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on a trip to the 'Blue Bell' steam line in Sussex, UK. I had gone past the line and seen the trains thundering along several times, but had not actually traveled on one before this day. It actually my birthday treat!Time
I took this picture in the late morning, we had arrived early, as we were having lunch in the themed restaurant. The trains were starting to get ready to take passengers out, so I had a walk down the platform to watch them preparing them. As I got down there I saw this huge engine pulling into the station and saw a chap in period costume standing close by. I quickly got into position so I could catch both the train and the guy in the same shot and managed to get it!.Lighting
There was a lot of low storm clouds around and the sun was low in the sky, which highlighted the side of the locomotive perfectly.Equipment
It was a surprise day out for my birthday, so was properly prepared for a lot of photography, all I had was my trusty Nikon 200 with my Nikkor 18-70mm DX lens and not a lot else. As soon as we got to the station my camera came out of the bag and I started clicking away!Inspiration
I had originally taken my camera to record my birthday day out, but didn't know I would be in such a picturesque place. The whole station was set out as if you had gone back in time 80 years, even the staff were in period costume, loving my history nearly as much as photography there were so many opportunities. I walked down the platform towards a guy standing by the tracks just as this beast of an engine came into the station, perfect!Editing
All I did was to put it into greyscale and see what the effect was, I liked it, so left it as just that.In my camera bag
I usually carry a lot of kit, when I know I'm going out to take pictures, still have my trusty D200, with a 18-70mm and a 70-300 Nikon lenses. I usually carry cokin filters, mainly graduated and NDs, have a Nikon flash unit and well as a 'around the lens' LED light for close up, I have a selection of macro rings, as I haven't got round to getting a dedicated macro lens yet and my trusty remote shutter release for low light situations. Basically, I like gadgets!Feedback
The main thing I did for this shot, was find the right position, make sure the subject was framed and take as many shots as you can to achieve the perfect shot. I walked right down the platform, past everyone else and then just sat down right at the end. I wanted to get low, so it didn't look as if I was standing on a high platform. I saw the engine approaching so worked out how I wanted to frame it, getting the guy in period costume into the shot. I held it still and focused on the rails just behind the guy and started to snap away as the engine came into shot. Basically, don't go with the crowd, as long as it's safe to do so, find a place to take your shot away from the masses, getting low down often brings a new slant on your pics and adds to the depth.
