CHOO CHOO!!

A good photo friend of mine works for the local railway company.

He loves his trains. He works on trains, he photographs trains and he rides trains.

My friend messages me "at 4pm today a steam train will come into the station be watered and head towards place X. You'll be able to get a good look from platform 5"

Luckily I had the day off work and no major plans. Camera battery charged, SD cards formatted, 2x lenses packed, bag on my back and off I go into the sun.

Before I even got to the station the camera is hanging on my waist. I love my body strap. (see my gear post why) I turn the corner and see a lovely rainbow. Not the best of background for a rainbow a big dirty train station but better than nothing.

Surprise rainbow over local train station

Walking towards the main entrance is like an obstacle course. People getting in and out of taxis, people rushing to get their trains and people just being people.

A few side steps here and a few strafes there I make it to the door. Inside I'm greeted by a turn style (I don't have a ticket and don't fancy buying one) a nice guard in his big hi-vis jacket and a stream of people going in and out.

I gingerly walk to the turn style guard.

"my friend who works for the rail company says you have a steam train coming through soon" I said.

he leans forward opens the door and lets me through.

"platform 5" he says as I walk through.

a bit shocked I walk towards said platform. I was expecting to be told I wasn't allowed in, I needed a ticket or to pay something. To give my name at least but no.

I walked to platform 5, I climbed the stairs 2 at a time. A bit excited to see a steam train. I don't remember the last time I saw a steam train.

Once on platform 5 I saw a sea of train enthusiasts. Old and young the like peering over the railing, looking waiting to see any sign of the train.

Pentax K-1 on my strap, my 50mm F1.4 attached and a desire to get the best photo I can. I'm a bit early I know I have a few mins. Time for some test shots.

Im not sure about you but every time I see someone else shoot I watch them and see what they do the same, what they do differently and what I can learn from that.

I always see people photograph their outstretched hand......Why? I understand you want to get your exposure correct, make sure lens is focusing correctly and stuff but you look a bit strange doing it (in my opinion)

Slowly the train pulls in, everyone scrambling to get closer. people wanting to be closer than the other guy.

A nice sunny day so ISO nice and low. shooting at F1.4 starting wide and slowly stepping down seeing how narrow I can go. F1.4, F2, F8, F11. After a couple of shots I wasn't really feeling it.

Non cropped, Minimal edited Photo

50mm is a beautiful Focal Length and I love my 50mm F1.4, but never use a lens just because you love it. My 50mm was wrong for the shoot. (As you can see from the above pic you'll see 50mm was way too much)

I wanted more of the engine, more of the cab, more of the scene.

Time for the big gun. A few days prior I had received my newest most expensive lens. Pentax HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8 ED WR. This lens is a beast!!!! Ill do a more depth review / look at this lens in another post. Just know this lens is big, heavy and it gets the job done.

the 15-30mm on a Full frame 35mm sensor gives ultra wide photos.

111 degrees diagonally @ 15mm

72 degrees @30mm

A strange lens to use at first but you soon get use to it.

another minimally edited shot from the day ISO 100, F11, 1/320s

I've never photographed a train before. What do people normally shoot? close ups of the wheels? smoke billowing? train driver leaning out the cab window with a dirty black face?

I decided to shoot what I liked, what I felt at the time, a few shots later and I started to get into it.

A moody sky, A shiny cab, Light smoke

Eventually the train did move further down the track and closer to the platform.

A couple of pics I do like

Fave Pic Of The Day