Steam & Excursion > Some more Western Maryland Scenic pix

Saturday was an interesting day on the WMS. The day started dark and overcast, as indicated by my picture at the Cumberland station. The beautifully restored station with its sheds and water column has all kinds of steam era ambience. But I came all the way from California for WINTER photographs (I had signed up when the East Coast was buried under snow!) and found a bit of winter for the second image as the train approached Frostburg.
On the way home the sun came out providing a nice view at Helmstetters. Thanks to Carl Franz for another good trip.

JBWX

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MORE PLEASE!

Nice shots - the best of both worlds - some snow, some sun - too bad you
had to deal with a world of overcast, but as they say, any day with steam
is a good day.

I hear Carl's trips were a sell out. Good for everyone, except those
looking to join in last minute.

/Mitch

Overcast or not, that first shot is especially stunning.

NYC_L4a Wrote:
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> Overcast or not, that first shot is especially
> stunning.

I completely agree.

You may want to try to make a black & white version for a very classic appearance.

RuleG Wrote:
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> NYC_L4a Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Overcast or not, that first shot is especially
> > stunning.
>
> I completely agree.
>
> You may want to try to make a black & white
> version for a very classic appearance.

Thanks. That first image is an example of what can be done in Photoshop, for better or worse. The basic exposure was very dark and very flat, and what was posted had a lot of Photoshop processing. It looks very processed to me, which can be good or bad....but it is different. I did do a B&W version, and when I have more time to do it right, the B&W may be the best. But for quick and dirty on my laptop I stayed with the color version. I have only begun to edit my pictures, but when all is said and done this trip will probably be a good example of the ability of digital to make decent pix in poor light so much easier than it was with film.

JBWX

> RuleG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> > You may want to try to make a black & white
> > version for a very classic appearance.

Or sepia (and just a little bit of Photoshop, lol):
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/attachments/fullsize/716000/WM_734_AM_Station_Sepia_TO_0001.jpg


jbwest Wrote:
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> Thanks. That first image is an example of what can
> be done in Photoshop, for better or worse. The
> basic exposure was very dark and very flat, and
> what was posted had a lot of Photoshop processing.
> It looks very processed to me...

Me too - but there's an easy fix. Gary Knapp once said
to me, and I'll remember it forever, that photoediting
is like drinking in a bar. The more you do, the better
everything starts to look - until the next morning!!!

LOL!!

Fortunately - you can dial back the editing and do not
have to live with an A or B choice - this works well
with those overkill HDR's - take the original slightly
processed image, copy it, and then paste it over and
on top of the "maybe I went to far" edit (or vice versa)
and then blend the two until you strike the perfect
balance.

/Mitch

After a nice sun lit shot at Helmstetters, the sun disappearred and it was like from Spring back to Winter. The second shot is Sunday's eastbound at Helmstetters. And finally Sunday evening a thirsty engine takes a long drink back in Cumberland.

JBWX

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I like the Eastbound at Helmstetters. I was wondering if they would turn just the engine or the whole train. It appears they turned the whole train as the WM hoppers are still against the engine. Thanks for sharing.

Originally I thought shot one was a painting. You artistically captured the beauty of steam with a camera instead of paint and canvas.
Bob

Apparently more than one of you failed to get the message about this years winter trip !!!

BTW, the 734 image used for the message of questionable origin below, was captured from the RailPictures.net database a few years ago. It is no longer in the database, and the name of the
photographer was not recorded when the file was saved. At the time, the Photo ID # was: 248252.

Any chance someone viewing here recalls the original photographer's name? - I'd like to know.

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Yes, I agree, the first image looks like a painting. Very nice.

refarkas Wrote:
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> Originally I thought shot one was a painting. You
> artistically captured the beauty of steam with a
> camera instead of paint and canvas.
> Bob

Yes, it does look a bit like a painting, and some folks like the effect, some may not. But it definitely is different than the traditional photo-realistic image. It is a particularly useful approach for old slides that were underexposed back in the day....easy to do with ASA 10 or 25 film. One of my favorites, dating back to 1961 is the attached "painting". The slide was backlit and very very dark, basically useless as a normal image. But the Photoshop product is one of my favorite images. But it is a bit of an acquired taste because it does look more like a painting than a photograph.

JBWX



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/13 08:50 by jbwest.

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J B congratulation on great pictures and image of day for train orders .

Another great round of photos, I'm glad you're out there capturing and sharing.

Cheers,
Karl