Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Winter Night Shoot at the Roundhouse

We will set up strobes near the turntable to photograph a locomotive or two with part of the yard or roundhouse in the background. There is something magic about night photography, and even more with a live steam locomotive.

We will give a short presentation on night photography and specific instructions for the shots we are setting up. The aperture controls the flash exposure and the shutter speed gives more or less detail in the background. Exposure will be somewhere between f/8 and f/11 at ISO 100. Flash will freeze any movement in areas it lights. Anything that moves (smoke, steam, people or your camera) will blur in the ambient areas.

Equipment needed to participate:

1. A camera capable of long shutter speeds. Almost all cameras are capable of 10-15 sec. which should be fine. Digital or film are great. However chimping will allow fine tuning exposures on the fly.
2. Something solid to support your camera as in a tripod.
3. A remote release isn't critical but it will certainly improve your odds of getting sharp pictures.
4. Film or cards. Daylight film will give pleasant results. If you can set the color balance of your digital camera you may want to set it warmer than daylight, otherwise use auto.
5. A heavy coat, hat gloves and boots. As I write this we are expecting an overnight low of -15.

Our number one concern is for your safety. The lights are heavy and hot and will do a lot of damage if knocked over. With each light is a cord. There will be hundreds of feet of electrical cord for the lights. The cords will mostly be in unlighted areas to keep them out of the shot. There are rails all over the yard (duh) that are hard to see and easy to trip over and there may be ice also.

We have plenty of time for everyone to get their shot. Feel free to move around for different angles. Watch out for the lights, cords and for God's sake don't block someone else's shot.