RP Article #26: If I Knew Then - Dennis Livesey

[Chris Starnes]

By Dennis Livesey
Posted August 22, 2011

If I Knew Then What I Know Now About Railroad Photography



Recently, looking back on the railroad photos I did when I was younger, I started to add up what I did wrong and wish I could do over.

I unfortunately did not have a mentor, a photography class, or a book on railroad photography to guide me. All I had were my many railroad books, some general photo books (that had nothing addressing the peculiarities of railroad photography) and TRAINS magazine to inspire me.

I had no nuts and bolts on how to achieve the images in those publications. And without guidance, my work was a complete mess. Let me count the ways.

1.
My grasp of composition was most tenuous. I read the rule of thirds many times but I had no idea what it meant. I didn’t try to duplicate Beebe or Steinheimer, since that would be “copying.” Consequently, I just composed willy-nilly. Often I shot much too tight and the subject would not have any breathing room.

2.
Exposure was what the meter said. Thus black locomotives became gray and were way overexposed. Overcast days meant my pictures would present underexposed trains and dull skies. Or dusk shots that looked like noon.

3.
I used whatever film was available/cheap and processing was often the drug store. Thus I now have grainy negatives or faded Ektachrome. There was also the 35MM Kodak movie film that was given to me for free at work that I used as still film. 200 rolls of it have now gone a hazy magenta.

4.
I didn’t know that the key to get clear, sharp pictures was to have a shutter speed of a 500th of a second for action shots in “screaming sunshine” for good, sparkling contrast. I wouldn’t know what “good contrast” was even if it was delivered to me by UPS. I also didn’t know I needed at least the reciprocal of the focal length (I.E. 300mm needs at least 300th of a second) in shutter time for clear photography. Thus I have a complete collection of Penn Central trains that are blurry.

5.
I knew the Kodak rule was to have the sun at your back. Well, somewhere else I heard that was “flat” lighting. I didn’t really know what that meant but it sounded bad; so I didn’t do it. I also wanted to be “avant garde” and cool and different. Since everyone wanted sunny days, I went out in the rain or overcast or on the wrong side. Thus I got a lot of backlit/dark side/grubby weather/dull lighting/hard-to-see photos.

6.
In Popular Photography magazine some guy said he got more color saturation by underexposing a 1/3 of a stop. I didn’t know what saturation meant but it sounded good. Thus I got a lot of underexposed photos.

7.
I was very uncomfortable dealing with any person I didn’t know as a kid so I avoided working people into the shot. Also old-school railfan photography eschewed having human’s near the equipment anyway. Thus I have little human interest in my old photos.

8.
I heard that morning and evening were the best times for lighting. But heck, there was NO way I’d be getting up at 4AM just to take pictures of trains. What kind of nerd does that? The result was lots of ugly high sun shots.

9.
I hated the look of on-camera flash. But to avoid learning how to use it, I claimed the lame neophyte excuse that it wasn’t “truthful or real.” I never realized how it could help in places like locomotive cabs or balancing other interior/exterior shots.

10.
Exposing Kodachrome correctly is skill/luck. I lacked both. Still do.

11.
After 1972 I had a black Nikkormat with an f1.4 50mm, both a good camera and a good lens. But having blown the budget just buying into the status name of Nikon, I couldn’t afford any other Nikkor lenses. So I bought cheap substitute lenses with subsequent loss in image quality. Pentax I think would have been the better system for me at the time.

In spite of it all, I DO have some photos from long ago that I’m proud of. And with the blessings of digital I now come back with far more “keepers”. Still, while wistfully comparing my shots from the ‘60’s with contemporary lens artists, I wish I had a time machine. With it, I would go back and stand by the gangly kid and mentor him. If he let me.

[skyliner]

Dennis:
Very well done! Been there and done more than a few of those myself...but am glad that I still have the shots to look at.
George

[Freericks]

Dennis,

You couldn't describe my experience more perfectly too! It's a shame we didn't know each other as kids (not that either of us would have known how to help the other one anyway).

Charles

[skyliner]

Charles:
Your comment brings to mind that you, Dennis and I all spent at least some of our 'formative' rail photography years in the New York suburbs...but never managed to run into each other.
George

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by skyliner

Charles:
Your comment brings to mind that you, Dennis and I all spent at least some of our 'formative' rail photography years in the New York suburbs...but never managed to run into each other.
George

Here's how close you and I came George...

<table width='200' border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' align='center'><align='center'><tr><td width='200' bgcolor='EFEFEF'><center><a href='http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=212010' target='_blank'><img src='http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/7/1/9/1719.1195174800.tb.jpg' alt='Image &copy; George W. Hamlin' border='1'></a></center></td></tr><tr><td height='15'><div align='center' class='smallfont'>PhotoID: 212010<br>Photograph &copy; George W. Hamlin</td></tr></table>

<table width='200' border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' align='center'><align='center'><tr><td width='200' bgcolor='EFEFEF'><center><a href='http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=315261' target='_blank'><img src='http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/3/4/9/4349.1266988519.tb.jpg' alt='Image &copy; Charles J Freericks' border='1'></a></center></td></tr><tr><td height='15'><div align='center' class='smallfont'>PhotoID: 315261<br>Photograph &copy; Charles J Freericks</td></tr></table>

Looks like an hour or so that we missed each other back in November of 1976.


Hmmmmm.... looks like the xml is different in this forum than others... here are the links instead...

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=212010

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=315261

[JRMDC]

Wow, amazing coincidence in timing!

[Dennis A. Livesey]

That is scary amazing guys! Unfortunately I can't make it a trifecta because I was living in Los Angeles at the time.

Besides, my shot would have been backlight, over exposed, cut off, bad color...

[skyliner]

Charles:
That's pretty amazing. Agree about the strict security at Oak Island.
George

[Freericks]

Dennis, you should see the rest of the pictures from that roll (mine, not George's). Backlit, cutoff, poorly framed, blurry, etc.

[Hatchetman]

It is MUCH easier to learn photography today. That is why I admire the old timers so much. They put 10X as much time and real $ into it than most of us today.

I was out shooting with my manual focus film camera and an Amtrak came up on me at 60mph. Damn! That takes skill. We shall see how it turns out, but I have low expectations.

[oltmannd]

Originally Posted by Hatchetman

It is MUCH easier to learn photography today. That is why I admire the old timers so much. They put 10X as much time and real $ into it than most of us today.

I was out shooting with my manual focus film camera and an Amtrak came up on me at 60mph. Damn! That takes skill. We shall see how it turns out, but I have low expectations.

You got that right! It was much harder back then, even if you had a clue. You only got one shot at it - and no feedback until the roll came back from Kodak.

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by oltmannd

You got that right! It was much harder back then, even if you had a clue. You only got one shot at it - and no feedback until the roll came back from Kodak.

And - I swear, the rarer the power or train the less likely you were to get it right.

Penn Central GP38-2s pulling a merchandise train - you'd hit the focus, exposure, and framing perfectly.

Next shot on the roll - Erie Lackawanna and Reading Alco Centuries with a high and wide - the focus would be off, you would wildly overexpose, and you would cut off part of the train.

[Dennis A. Livesey]

In 2009, I elected to shoot Kodachrome on my Argus C-3. Going over the instructions, I thought, "How on earth did anybody get anything from something so archaically complicated?" I mean, you could double expose very easily, or not cock the shutter, or touch the shutter button while it moved during exposure or if you didn't put the lens in right, everything will be out of focus.

But soon after I learned the steps that I had to follow, (they were just a few) your get into the film mindset where you follow the rules, and in the end, you get what you planned.

In some ways it was simpler. In other ways harder.

And it not really a bad thing that is easer to take a good picture now. Having good equipment in more people hand's has raised the quality of all photography.

And that is a good thing.

[Chris Z]

How many of you forgot to set the ISO to match the film. I was pacing a trio of GM&O GP35's among a lot of other shots only to wind up getting pictures of a lot of different colored grain. I'm still kicking myself for that.

Chris Z

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by Chris Z

How many of you forgot to set the ISO to match the film. I was pacing a trio of GM&O GP35's among a lot of other shots only to wind up getting pictures of a lot of different colored grain. I'm still kicking myself for that.

Chris Z

Been there, done that...

The other thing that happened to me was not getting the film to thread/catch properly. Shot CNJ RS3s pulling a work train, PC E7s running light, and then dozens of MP54 commuter MUs, GG1 freights and passengers, and some of the "new" E60s - only to discover the film didn't catch.

And then there was my Super 8 camera that had its light meter stop working, and I never noticed. Another day on the NEC, with GG1s, E44s, E33s and all of it was so overexposed and washed out that it was useless.

[Chris Z]

Check out the caption on this picture.

<table width='200' border='0' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' align='center'><align='center'><tr><td width='200' bgcolor='EFEFEF'><center><a href='http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=361280' target='_blank'><img src='http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/5/2/5/9525.1303486877.tb.jpg' alt='Image &copy; Chris Zygmunt' border='1'></a></center></td></tr><tr><td height='15'><div align='center' class='smallfont'>PhotoID: 361280<br>Photograph &copy; Chris Zygmunt</td></tr></table>

I don't know what happened with the link, but here is what it said.

A freight extra pulled by a mudhen carries a gondola load of photographers. It just came through Windy Point and is headed for Chama. At Chama I overheard one of those photographers that he kept shooting pictures on this two day trip and at the end finally realized he never had any film in the camera. What a bummer.

Chris Z

[Freericks]

the coding that alows the photoid link isn't working in this forum.

[Hatchetman]

i finished a roll of film. set the camera aside for a week or so. then i knew i needed a new roll of film, so grabbed the camera and popped open the back, forgetting i had not even rewound the exposed film, let alone taken it out of the camera.

[milwman]

Dennis, That in a word is why I try to help newbies on the forums.

[chuckman]

As a teenager now, I feel quite lucky. I have had many other photographers step in to help me out in the early years, but despite this, had many similar experiences as you did...thanks for sharing your experiences. We can all relate to them!

[oltmannd]

Originally Posted by Dennis A. Livesey

In 2009, I elected to shoot Kodachrome on my Argus C-3. Going over the instructions, I thought, "How on earth did anybody get anything from something so archaically complicated?" I mean, you could double expose very easily, or not cock the shutter, or touch the shutter button while it moved during exposure or if you didn't put the lens in right, everything will be out of focus.

But soon after I learned the steps that I had to follow, (they were just a few) your get into the film mindset where you follow the rules, and in the end, you get what you planned.

In some ways it was simpler. In other ways harder.

And it not really a bad thing that is easer to take a good picture now. Having good equipment in more people hand's has raised the quality of all photography.

And that is a good thing.

Oooh, the dreaded double exposure....

I was about 12 years old and there was a steam excursion using one of those CPR Pacifics from Phila to the Jersey Shore that was using a route about 5 miles from home. My dad and I headed over to get picture of the return trip. I had my Kodak 620 folding camera with it's typical 8 shot roll of Kodacolor in it. Cranked the shutter all the way up "full speed" - 1/100th. Made my best guess at the f stop. Turned the lens to set the focus at my guess of where the train would be when I took the picture.

Was expecting the train to be drifting on a slight downgrade at maybe 40 mph or so. They were using the ex-Reading line that ran it's last passenger train several years prior. Instead, what we got was the Pacific running a wide open throttle! Maybe 70 mph, maybe more. An approaching storm of smoke, steam and noise! That'll get your adrenaline flowing! Managed to get the shot I'd planned. Was pretty happy that I didn't blow it completely. Watched the train fly by, turned and saw an open end obs car. Wow! A bonus! Raised the camera and pushed the shutter....and then it hit me.

Forgot to wind the film.....

Argh!

[Dennis A. Livesey]

In day of film, you had a choice of types. Great! Kodachrome for those sunny days, B&W for the power of monochrome, negative film, high speed film, etc, etc.

Problem. You have only shot 20 exposures of Kodachrome but you have to change to high speed Ektachrome because it is overcast. You don't want to waste the rest of the 16 exposures. Solution: You rewind the film, leave a tab, mark the roll well, and then reload (advance to exposure 22 with a lens cap on) and use the rest of the roll later.

That is what I did for years with no problems.

Except for about three times I screwed up and double exposed.

Now I have shots of GG1 PRR 4877 in beautiful Tuscan double exposed with some Conrail diesels.

[Hatchetman]

Originally Posted by Dennis A. Livesey

Problem. You have only shot 20 exposures of Kodachrome but you have to change to high speed Ektachrome because it is overcast. You don't want to waste the rest of the 16 exposures. Solution: You rewind the film, leave a tab, mark the roll well, and then reload (advance to exposure 22 with a lens cap on) and use the rest of the roll later.

That concept, while completely logical, would have never occurred to me. Thankfully today film cameras are so cheap you can own six with all different films. Only problem is you won't see a picture you took today for months!

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by Dennis A. Livesey

In day of film, you had a choice of types. Great! Kodachrome for those sunny days, B&W for the power of monochrome, negative film, high speed film, etc, etc.

Problem. You have only shot 20 exposures of Kodachrome but you have to change to high speed Ektachrome because it is overcast. You don't want to waste the rest of the 16 exposures. Solution: You rewind the film, leave a tab, mark the roll well, and then reload (advance to exposure 22 with a lens cap on) and use the rest of the roll later.

That is what I did for years with no problems.

Except for about three times I screwed up and double exposed.

Now I have shots of GG1 PRR 4877 in beautiful Tuscan double exposed with some Conrail diesels.

I did this too, but the other thing that could happen to you was that you went to a place that didn't look where to cut the film after the first exposure.

You didn't really line-up the film exactly, and if you got it wrong enough, you would get frames that were cut off.

The smarter folks carried around multiple camera bodies - but I never did (well, I would, but that was usually slides and black & white, not different speed films).