Is it possible to salvage a shot like this?

spacetrain1983 · 09-02-2020, 06:52 AM

By now, I'm sure you remember my various attempts at getting shots in of a pair of Albany and Eastern B40-8s leading a northbound train on the Coos Bay Rail Line (not Link anymore as of 2018`), and the various flaws said shots have had. However, there's a few that I've yet to post, and this is one of them - northbound at Hauser siding, and... it could've been the best in the sequence, save one critical issue - raindrops were on the camera lens, causing what you see here. I've long assumed this frame to be unfixable, but... I'm not sure. So, I'm putting it here.

Click image for larger version

Name: IMG_2884.jpg
Views: 115
Size: 1.95 MB
ID: 9806

Who knows... maybe editing miracles are possible? I have my doubts, but... here goes nothing.

bigbassloyd · 09-02-2020, 01:45 PM

Fixable? No
Improved? Probably

It wouldn't be worth the effort though. The full size view shows that the numberboards / front of the cab is blurry.

Loyd L.

KevinM · 09-02-2020, 05:21 PM

I've never seen drops on the lens cause major issues, but then I'm pretty careful to keep the lens covered (or facing down) until I take the shot, so I rarely have much in the way of water on the lens. That said, I have had some internal lens fogging problems on nasty days with all-day rain. The result is much the same as what we see in your shot. When that happens, there is really nothing (that I know of) that you can really do to save the image.

Best bets.....

- Get a good rain coat for your camera and train yourself to don and doff it quickly.

- Use a lens with a big-ass hood on it. The "tulip" hoods aren't great in the rain.

- Keep your lens down or covered until just before you take the shot.

- This is one situation in which expensive glass makes the difference. I have had fogging issues on my "air-pumper" Nikkor 24-120 f/4G VR lens ($1,000), but have never had any problems of the sort with my Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8G ($1800 when I bought mine). The latter has a bigger hood, does not telescope when it zooms and has weather sealing. When it rains, it's my go-to lens.

RobJor · 09-02-2020, 06:17 PM

Slightest moisture at night will cause all kinds of problems.

If the drop were somewhere other than on the subject? but there are still other issues.

spacetrain1983 · 09-04-2020, 06:34 AM

Oh well, had a feeling. I had a raincoat on and protecting my setup for this shot, but I was trying to protect myself, my Canon, and also my phone, which I had recording on a tripod in front of me. Overall a hard balance, and... well, definitely wasn't perfect. But, who knows, maybe one day I'll stumble across a submittable frame from that day.

Mberry · 09-04-2020, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacetrain1983

Oh well, had a feeling. I had a raincoat on and protecting my setup for this shot, but I was trying to protect myself, my Canon, and also my phone, which I had recording on a tripod in front of me. Overall a hard balance, and... well, definitely wasn't perfect. But, who knows, maybe one day I'll stumble across a submittable frame from that day.

I would simplify and lose the video, especially on a rainy day. If it's really coming down what I do is hold the camera and shoot with one hand and hold an umbrella in the other.

I did that here: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/615716/

Decapod401 · 09-05-2020, 03:04 AM

If I recall, I suggested several years ago that you choose between video and still photos and concentrate on doing one well. Apparently you would rather do both, and presumably, both results suffer. If you're still hell-bent on getting photos onto RP, forget about video. If you pay more attention to the camera, set up your exposure, and frame the shot before the train arrives, you won't have to come here to ask how to salvage a photo.