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6776



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Grand Canyon Railway (Former VIA Rail Canada) ALCo-MLW FPA-4 "6776", at the Grand Canyon depot. This was my former profession....
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Grand Canyon Railway (Former VIA Rail Canada) ALCo-MLW FPA-4 "6776", at the Grand Canyon depot. This was my former profession.
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upload_dateJul, 2016

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I worked for the Grand Canyon Railway for almost 10 years, and would often bring my camera along.

Time

This was taken just after lunch, about 2pm. This was a down time for the crew, prior to afternoon departure, so I took a walk and burned through a roll prior to climbing back in the cab.

Lighting

The light was softened by a layer of clouds. Not enough for rain, but enough to diffuse any annoying glare. In fact, the paint on the locomotive is so fresh, you can see the clouds reflected!

Equipment

My trusty workhorse for about 20 years, a Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL and, if memory serves, my 55mm Mamiya lens.

Inspiration

The GCRy had purchased a number of ALCo/MLW FPA-4 locomotives in the 1990's. This was right after 6776 was introduced into service, with a new paint scheme (red racing stripes!).

Editing

No post processing here. This was 35mm, developed by the local processor and scanned on my old flatbed scanner. Again, this photo was taken in the 90's, prior to a lot of the "photoshop" craze.

In my camera bag

My go-to kit was my 1000 DTL, my 35mm, 55mm, 105mm, 200mm, and 400mm lenses, all M42 screw mount. Typical film load was Kodak or Fuji, as more specialty films were harder to acquire in rural Arizona. Occasionally, I'd come across a roll of Tri-X. Later kit included a couple of slave flashes and hot shoes with tripod mounts. Before everything got stolen, I was experimenting with different light sources, a la O. Winston Link.

Feedback

For me, photography has always been about 50% inspiration, 40% technique, and 10% dumb luck. With digital now being king, take thousands of photos! Experiment with bracketing, depth of field, and exposure. Try to achieve your desired vision without filters and post-processing. And always keep an eye out for that lucky shot!

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