26.01.09
How to shoot pictures of steam trains
Words by Paul Sutton
With the short days and damp conditions winter brings, it can be difficult finding something worthwhile to shoot. One fine solution in the run-up to Christmas is to head to your nearest Heritage Railway for a Santa Special. A day at the railway could yield much more than you may at first think.
The subject matter isn’t just confined to the steam trains themselves. There’s also the staff who prepare and run engines, the excited children and, of course, Santa himself. Whatever subject or angle you choose, there’s plenty to fill your memory card with.
This time of the year the ambient temperature is much colder, so steam is in abundance, which will add to the overall look of your shots. Whether it’s an engine under full steam in the open countryside or just sat waiting for the next service in the station, the opportunities to bag some memorable shots are there for the taking.
Planning when and where to go can be as simple as logging on to the Internet and searching through sites such as UK Heritage Railways (ukhrail.uel.ac.uk) to find your nearest railway. There are many lines available across the country, each offering different facilities and attractions. Two of my personal favourites are the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and the East Lancashire Railway, both of which have comprehensive itineraries and detail special services on their websites.
Temperatures are much cooler so wearing the right clothing becomes more important. It’s prudent to pack hat and gloves, as well wearing a good waterproof jacket – the weather invariably doesn’t play ball. There’s not much worse than standing in the elements, soaked through waiting for the next service to come into shot, whilst a chill wind bites through your damp clothing. Also, if you have one, take along a high visibility vest or jacket too. Armed with hi-vis clothing some centres will allow you into the yard early on before things get too busy.
Chances are you will be on your feet the majority of the day too, so try to pack only the kit you might need. You don’t want to be heading home early because your shoulders and feet are aching.
I prefer dry, bright and overcast conditions; this tends to yield diffuse light, making the scene much easier to expose correctly. As we are at the mercy of the weather in this country, you will have to take whatever light is available. Low light and slow shutter speeds can be the norm. Don’t feel unduly concerned about raising the ISO to get a faster shutter speed. I feel a little noise or grain can add to this particular subject.
Exposing shots correctly can be a little tricky to say the least. One second you will be metering for a dark steam engine on an overcast day, suddenly there will be a large blast of steam or the sun breaks through which will completely throw your metering out. Check the histogram regularly and compensate accordingly.
Some Heritage Railways have engine sheds and yards that are accessible to the public from designated viewing areas. This can make arriving early worthwhile as it offers the opportunity to capture the engines being prepared for the day’s service. Normally, the engines are being readied from as early as 5am, but chances are that they won’t start moving throughout the yard under their own power for at least another couple hours. Light levels will be quite low at this time of day, so a tripod will come in handy to capture some longer exposures, allowing the steam and smoke to be swirled around by the wind.
Don’t concentrate on the engines at the expense of candids and detail shots. At Santa Specials, the young children visiting Santa invariably look excited and expectant. Capturing their expressions as they wait to board can be as rewarding as the engine shots themselves. One word of warning though, in this day and age taking shots of children can be frowned upon so my advice would be to ask the parents if it would be okay. The main thing is, use a little common sense and you should be okay.
There is also a multitude of detail shots to be had. Heritage railway stations invariably have original fixtures such as lighting, signs and clocks. The engines themselves offer myriad opportunities too. In short, keep an eye open for shapes and forms.
The engines in motion are a wonderful sight. Successfully capturing them in full steam can take a little local knowledge or some research to find the best vantage points. Bridges and overpasses come in very handy for this, but be mindful of your surroundings and watch out for the passing traffic. Public footpaths or bridleways in close proximity with the line can provide good viewing areas.
It would be advisable to visit the stations first to collect a timetable for the day, just to see what engine is running and where to. You don’t want to be set up waiting, only to discover that the service is running in the opposite direction. In essence, planning is key, but keep in mind that British trains got their reputation for lateness somehow. Don’t expect everything to run to plan!
KIT BAG
Whenever I make a trip out to capture the engines, I prefer to take a good ‘walkabout’ zoom lens for my DSLR which will provide both a wider angle and a little mid-range distance, a 17-70mm or similar. For distant subjects I predominantly use a telephoto lens of 70-200mm. This zoom range gives me enough choice when I’m trackside or in the public viewing areas around the yard. The longer focal length of this lens allows me to pick out candids from a ‘comfortable’ distance in the stations too.
As my lens doesn’t have image stabilisation built in, I prefer to use a monopod to help steady the camera at the long end. Also, taking a 1.4x teleconverter will provide a little extra reach if I need it.
For wider shots of the engines running through the countryside, I find it useful to take my Cokin filters with me. Then if the sky needs holding back a bit, I can simply attach my neutral density graduates.
NIGHT STEAM
Some railways organise night shoots; you’ll find details on the Heritage Railway website. There’s usually a charge, but it’s worth it for the chance to meet up with other like-minded snappers and shoot these fabulous machines in a controlled environment, especially as they often offer access to areas not normally open to the public.
There is, however, an unwritten agreement not to use flash; its use is deemed selfish as it can ruin other people’s shots. This means long exposures are the order of the evening, so take a sturdy tripod and a cable release (or similar) with you.
Exposures running into multiple seconds will be the norm. Make every effort to avoid walking into others’ compositions and be aware of your surroundings. An unwary photographer can easily land on the floor, having tripped over a tripod. Although precisely what will be accessible differs from station to station, you could reasonably expect to be shooting on a closed-off station platform, within the engine yard itself or possibly even out on the line.
Night shoots are a real chance to capture shots that aren’t available to the general public – something out of the norm to really treasure.
Related Articles
-
26.01.09
Motorsports are not just for petrol heads
- Average Article Rating 4 Stars
-
Your Rating
Login Required!
Sorry - You must be a registered user & logged in to rate this.
Login | Register
Back to Categories