Track Basher
Member
An interesting question.
I think my view has changed over the years. During the 80s and 90s it was loco hauled trains but now the train in the picture is immaterial. Loco hauled is a bit thin on the ground these days.
One thing that has not changed however is that the quality of the photo is down to location. In order to get a good photo is mainly down to location. If you are travelling around by train getting station shots this does have some limitations. There are however some other considerations. Finding a great location makes the picture.
You need to consider the location of the sun with locations. Some are best according to different times of day. You can roughly work out where the sun will be but it is best to visit and see the actual location at different times of day. There are a few shots I have taken which I have had several go at defore getting the perfect shot correctly lit by sunlight. Shots into sun rarely work well. Once I have perfected a shot at a location I tend not to use it again unless it is something special.
Another shot that rarely works well is the train under a station canopy on the platform side this is nearly always dark.
I also try different effects. Night time is particularly interesting as you can end up with some spectacular results. Some people are scared by this but with modern digital cameras you gan have a go at different exposures with virtually no cost. The one I am currently trying to get right is the pan shot but have yet to get it right.
You are welcome to have a look at my efforts using the link below.
I think my view has changed over the years. During the 80s and 90s it was loco hauled trains but now the train in the picture is immaterial. Loco hauled is a bit thin on the ground these days.
One thing that has not changed however is that the quality of the photo is down to location. In order to get a good photo is mainly down to location. If you are travelling around by train getting station shots this does have some limitations. There are however some other considerations. Finding a great location makes the picture.
You need to consider the location of the sun with locations. Some are best according to different times of day. You can roughly work out where the sun will be but it is best to visit and see the actual location at different times of day. There are a few shots I have taken which I have had several go at defore getting the perfect shot correctly lit by sunlight. Shots into sun rarely work well. Once I have perfected a shot at a location I tend not to use it again unless it is something special.
Another shot that rarely works well is the train under a station canopy on the platform side this is nearly always dark.
I also try different effects. Night time is particularly interesting as you can end up with some spectacular results. Some people are scared by this but with modern digital cameras you gan have a go at different exposures with virtually no cost. The one I am currently trying to get right is the pan shot but have yet to get it right.
You are welcome to have a look at my efforts using the link below.