Winter Steaming
Nothing quite compares to the sight of a steam engine on a Winter's day in the snow. This was taken at Tanfield railway in County Durham. ...
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Nothing quite compares to the sight of a steam engine on a Winter's day in the snow. This was taken at Tanfield railway in County Durham.
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Jun, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken at one of my favourite places, Tanfield Railway, County Durham, England. This small heritage railway, operated by volunteers, uses small, former colliery engines. Trains only run at weekends, and only for part of the year.Time
On Easter weekend the trains run for 4 days, and in 2018 Easter Monday, April 2nd, was forecast for snow showers, pretty unusual at that time of year in North East England, so I headed there for the first scheduled trains (around 10:00 a.m.). The morning was overcast, with some sleet, but at about quarter past one it started to snow properly. With fingers crossed I waited for the next train to arrive at the station. When it appeared half an hour later the cold air meant that the steam was spectacular and if you look closely you can see that the snow was still falling.Lighting
The cloudy sky meant that the light was quite soft and the snow on the ground helped reflect some light onto the approaching engine.Equipment
My Pentax KP with 18-135 lens, both superbly weather sealed, were perfect for this shot.Inspiration
I love steam engines. I must stress that I am not a steam engine geek - I'm just attracted to their aesthetic and character, coloured by nostalgia from my childhood. As most heritage railways do not usually operate during the Winter months, apart from Santa specials in December when we very rarely have snow, I was very keen to take advantage of this brief opportunity for a wintry shot.Editing
This was a very straightforward shot to process - no adjustments needed, just a simple black and white conversion using Nik Silver Efex software, including adding a slight vignette.In my camera bag
I'm not interested in owning lots of kit - I simply want what will enable me to take the photos that I want. That means that these days I usually just carry my Sony A6500 with 18-200 lens for its compact size, light weight and general convenience, in a Billingham Hadley Small bag which often also contains my phone and wallet and sometimes a small pair of Nikon binoculars.I have found that this suffices for 95% of my photographic needs. If planning to shoot at night and/or indoors in low light I simply slip my Sony RX100iii in my pocket. I have, however, used Pentax kit since early in my film photography days (I still own most of the film cameras and lenses), and having had a series of Pentax DSLRs I now have a KP with 18-135 and 55-300 Pentax lenses and a Sigma 10-20, carried in a Lowepro hybrid backpack when walking. I trust the KP and Pentax lenses to operate reliably in the worst weather.Feedback
To capture steam engines at their best, try to photograph them when the weather is cooler, when the steam tends to look much better. Expose to capture as much detail as possible in the smoke and steam - I underexposed by a stop for this shot because of the black engine and sign, and the dark bridge and trees. Also, try to capture them where they are climbing a gradient as they will be working harder, so producing more smoke and steam. Try to avoid including anything modern in the shot to give it a more timeless feel. It pays to research the routes of heritage railways for the best locations, and be aware that quite often the trains travelling in one direction will have the engine facing backwards, which will not make such a good shot. Don't forget to check the timetable, and please support any heritage railway that you visit financially, either by taking a trip on the train or making a donation, as they are mostly run by volunteers and always need money to keep operating and preserve our history..
