So I was doing a bit of scouting for photo locations for the Frontier Days train that will be running betwixt Cheyenne and Denver starting Thursday. I didn’t do a lot of shooting because I was mostly concerned about checking out logistics like sun angles and parking places, but I did manage to get a few shots, some with my new toys.
I picked up a pair of dedicated teleconverters to use with my 300mm f2.8. I got a 1.4x and a 2x that will make the lens a 420mm f4 and 600mm f5.6 respectively. Because I’m using them on the cropped body K20D, the field of view is equivalent to a 450mm (no tcs), 615mm (1.4x) and 900mm (2x) so I’ve finally got some long glass back in my arsenal. Of course, I forgot that really long teles are hard to use on railroad subjects in summer because of heat distortion, but I still got a couple interesting shots with them.
When I got to Cheyenne, I did a little shooting around town, including some shots of a motorcycle gathering at the Depot Plaza. Afterwards, I went out to the Ames memorial west of town and got a couple shots of it.
I’ve forgotten how busy and interesting the transcon can be. I think if I get a free weekend sometime I might go camping in the Medicine Bow Wilderness and do some more railfanning on the line.
Enough babbling, onto the pictures!
(How’s that as an illustration of recent history in the Colorado area?)
(OK, I know it’s not a train shot, but I had to sneak one of the shots I took at the Depot Plaza in!)
(The Ames Memorial. I wish that the tracks still went past this memorial as I think it would be a terrific
Ho-hum…just your usual supply of fantastic(!) photos!
Chris, we went to the restaurant in the station (part of the building nearest the camera in your overhead shot) the day we left Denver last year. Lousiest service we’ve ever had (I think it was just one dumb waiter). But while we were there we saw three or four trains come by, stop, change crews, and get out of there–all eastbound (perhaps westbounds change crews elsewhere?).
I’ve had similar experiences at the restaurant a couple of times. Then again, I’ve had very good service there, too. I’m not sure what the magic combination is. Still, it’s not the worst place to have slow service since there is all kinds of traffic to watch!
Westbounds do change crews there, too. I’m not sure why, but it seems like there will be a whole slew of eastbounds, then a bunch of westbounds. Less often I’ll see trains going both directions stopping to change crews. I forgot to bring my scanner with me. Perhaps listening to some radio chatter would have cleared the matter up. Oh well, I’ll have it with me next weekend!
Chris, I don’t comment so often because you get plenty enough deserved kudos without my chiming in, but this group is pretty indicative of the fun that you have with your camera(s).
The first three shots are awesome for different reasons: (1) is a great heritage of UP shot of some relatively clean power in a nice group pose, (2) is an interesting view of the dynamic or energetic nature of the heavy-haul transportation business, as epitomized by the heat optical disturbance above the power which is obviously cranking the HP pretty well, and (3) is a delightful story, from the train, the station and the townscape in the background.
That third picture, though a daylight shot, has some of the Link storytelling quality to it, even though everything is at something of a distance.
The bike shot is a nice change of pace; something fitting for a coffee-table book, for sure.
Thanks for sharing again your adventures in the high country.
(BTW, have you had a chance to play with your view camera lately?)
I haven’t had the view camera out in awhile. I’ve found the image quality out of my new camera (Pentax K20D) isn’t desperately far away from my 4x5 stuff, so I haven’t been using it as much.
I’m thinking that once I get back from my Alaska cruise at the end of the month I might try selling my 4x5 gear and moving on up to 8x10. At 8x10 there will be a huge jump in image quality, and I can start doing contact prints that should be pretty good looking. Of course, I’ve seen contact prints from 11x14 and 16x20 cameras that are just jaw-droppingly beautiful, so I may have to go there eventually, too. It’s a disease I tell you!
First he gives us some (more) great photos, then he tells us he’s headed for Alaska on a cruise. Can you say SCENERY?
Chris - Going for an 8x10 bellows camera will give you the ability to do some amazing things with your photos - stuff that’s just not possible with an SLR or other fixed lense camera.
Of course, you just gave me an idea - with the backs that are coming out now pushing over 12 MP, one may be able to get some of those jaw-dropping 8x10 shots using a medium format that has a bellows…
All you need then is a printer like was used to print out the 16x10 I have of my granddaughter…
…If that is the Cheyenne Station…I must have passed right in front of it 55 years ago headed west for Uncle Sam…It was evening and remember being at an open car “dutch door” and smelling fresh mowed hay…and it was a beautiful evening…And I suppose we passed right by it again umpteen months later on the way home…to Ft. Meade, Md. to be mustered out.
Larry - There are a couple options for “Digital View Cameras” Michael Reichmann is using one such system right now and has some thoughts about it here and here. Couple his system with the just announced Phase One P65+ (a 60 MP Medium Format back), and a photographer could really push the limits.
Of course, the cost on that whole set-up would be prohibitive for 99.9% of us (building a new P65+ based view camera system would probably get close to a $50K investment!). There is comparitively cheap option for 4x5 users, though, a Betterlight Scanning back. Their webpage is here. Their top model is a 140 Mp monster. Of course, the down side is that they can’t be used on moving subjects (like trains), but the image quality is out of this world. I’ve almost picked up a used Betterlight a couple of times. I really need to get a smaller laptop before I do though (Betterlight backs only work while teathered to a laptop). Someday…
Bergie - That thing really is in the middle of nowhere, isn’t it! Of course, someone is building a monster of a house just down the road a bit from there. Maybe the memorial will see 2 or 3 cars a week now!
Quentin - That is indeed the station at Cheyenne. I haven’t studied lots of stations, but this one sits at the top of my list right now as my favorite. It’s just a stunning looking building. Add in a great bridge-top location for photos and a bunch of traffic thanks to the crew changes that occur on the transcon and it’s a spot that I could (and have!) spent hours railfanning.
…Chris…I wonder if there is enough ambient light around the station at night, along with perhaps some accent lighting for you to get one of your famous {and beautiful}, night scenes like you have done of the Denver Union Station facility.
Chris, If the 844 or 3985 is the guest locomotive this year the grain elev.and the depot shots would make excellent B&W photos or color,Im sure you got more places to choose from…I look forward to seenig what you get !
Those are my favorite from these photos…As always,Great photos !
The thing about contact printing is that you can then experiment with some of the really old printing processes that can produce some amazing results. The problem with contact printing, though, is you have less ability to make use of dodge and burn, something that AA was very adept with, especially in a lot of his Yosemite work.
The other alternative to the digital backs is the drum scanner (just as expensive or more so) which at least allows you to get that film into a digital file that you can then do the “darkroom” manipulations on.
There is, as I say, no known cure and no vaccine has yet been developed to prevent infection in the susceptible. There are even those who believe that susceptibility is a an inherited trait.
