ALL STEAMED UP BUT REALLY CHUFFED
13th November 2011
I've never really got over my boyhood love of steam trains and, I suppose, if it had not been for hockey being such a great passion I might still be a 64 year old train spotter. So when I got the opportunity to do a shoot from the footplate of a steam engine on the Bluebell Railway I was really....well, chuffed!
The shoot was going to throw up some real issues. Fortunately No 1638 had a relatively open cab and part of the run was in daylight. I started out with a Nikon 20 mm lens on my camera and, after some experimenting, I more or less stuck with it. I does not entirely fill the whole cab but it came very close. Thank goodness for Nikon FX cameras! It was interesting that I took one zoom lens with me but found that it was a bit prone to flare when the firebox door was open. Most of the shots that were not taken with the 20 mm were taken with a wonderful cheapo Nikon 50 mm.
Quite apart from issues with the light, I am usually shooting moving objects whilst stationery. Here I was moving quite a bit myself. No matter how smooth the ride might be in the carriages, it's quite different on the loco. For this reason I selected a relatively high ISO (2000)and could not see any real benefits in cranking it up further. Working in a confined space with low shutter speeds for some of the time, meant that I had some depth of field issues occasionally, but overall I am quite pleased with the results.
It was a relatively dull day and it did not take long to discover that I would need some flash assist. A combination of flat dull surfaces did not promise much in the way of good shots,and I had visions of the driver and fireman being dreadully over exposed, but I pulled out the catchlight card and pointed the flash skyward. I had also promised the driver not to point the flash directly in his face. I think I got the balance just about right.
The most challenging shot was going through I tunnel. I was told to duck under the cab roof to avoid water dripping from the ceiling. This meant holding on to the roof for dear life. Looking back towards the train, the engine smoke being illuminated by the carriage lights was amazing. Unfortunately, because of the need to stop myself falling into the firebox (when I first got on board I was told "This bit is very hot and this bit is very dirty") I could not get a proper grip on my camera.
All in all, an amazing experience. I only hope they ask me back!
The shoot was going to throw up some real issues. Fortunately No 1638 had a relatively open cab and part of the run was in daylight. I started out with a Nikon 20 mm lens on my camera and, after some experimenting, I more or less stuck with it. I does not entirely fill the whole cab but it came very close. Thank goodness for Nikon FX cameras! It was interesting that I took one zoom lens with me but found that it was a bit prone to flare when the firebox door was open. Most of the shots that were not taken with the 20 mm were taken with a wonderful cheapo Nikon 50 mm.
Quite apart from issues with the light, I am usually shooting moving objects whilst stationery. Here I was moving quite a bit myself. No matter how smooth the ride might be in the carriages, it's quite different on the loco. For this reason I selected a relatively high ISO (2000)and could not see any real benefits in cranking it up further. Working in a confined space with low shutter speeds for some of the time, meant that I had some depth of field issues occasionally, but overall I am quite pleased with the results.
It was a relatively dull day and it did not take long to discover that I would need some flash assist. A combination of flat dull surfaces did not promise much in the way of good shots,and I had visions of the driver and fireman being dreadully over exposed, but I pulled out the catchlight card and pointed the flash skyward. I had also promised the driver not to point the flash directly in his face. I think I got the balance just about right.
The most challenging shot was going through I tunnel. I was told to duck under the cab roof to avoid water dripping from the ceiling. This meant holding on to the roof for dear life. Looking back towards the train, the engine smoke being illuminated by the carriage lights was amazing. Unfortunately, because of the need to stop myself falling into the firebox (when I first got on board I was told "This bit is very hot and this bit is very dirty") I could not get a proper grip on my camera.
All in all, an amazing experience. I only hope they ask me back!
