aperture way down are techniques to help you achieve a slow shutter speed. Of course, use a tripod and cable release to avoid cam- era shake during the long exposure. • Cold weather can cause a dramatic ef- fect with steam. And in some snowy situa- tions, a steam plow may be run to clear the tracks, throwing sheets of snow to one side. • Seek out work trains. Most tourist railroads that run work trains will gen- erally use a diesel loco- motive, but some will use a steam engine, and if pulling one or a few flat cars or gondolas of supplies and equip- ment or ballast, as well as probably a ca- boose, the result can be a very authentic ap- pearing steam freight train. Your best approach to finding out about the possibility of a work train being run is to talk with the trainmen or even inquire at the railroad’s office. • Use grain intentionally. The ex-
treme grain/noise and contrast of an ISO 1600-3200 speed film or digital capture set- ting can be used to greatly enhance the nos- talgic or vintage olde tyme look or mood of a steam train photo.
Beyond the Camera for a Vintage Look Now that you have taken some authentic old tyme looking steam train photos, there are ways you can further enhance the vintage look when making a print, or processing for a digital slide show. (Note: As it would be im- practical to provide the specific steps in each of many image processing programs, all in-
structions are given for Photoshop or Ele- ments. The noted functions generally will be similar in other programs. Please e-mail me at
nostalgicphotos@juno.com if you have any questions.) • Vignettes: Many old time photos were oval, or in oval frames. To achieve an oval vignette effect, in the computer im- age editor, use the Elliptical Marquee tool (with a feather- ing set to 0 pixels for a hard edge oval, or with a feath- ering set to about ten pix- els to softly fade the im- age out to a white background) and draw the oval around your subject and portion of the background you want to retain. Then use SELECT > INVERSE to switch the selection to the
background, then
hit DELETE to remove the background.
Georgetown Loop’s 1921 2-8-0 Baldwin No. 40 eases off the high Devils Gate Viaduct on the Georgetown Loop Railroad out of Silver Plume, Colo. (top). A rainy morning has kept the open gondolas free of riders, creating the look of an early 1900s steam train. Sepia toning and printing with an oval vignette add to the old tyme look. The open gondola full of riders immediately behind the tender was obscured by the line side vegetation to achieve an authentic looking steam train photo at the Georgetown Loop (above).
Or in the darkroom, sim- ply cut an oval shape in a piece of opaque cardboard, then while holding this mask over the paper when making a print, move it in a slight oval motion to cover the background. The constant movement during the expo- sure will create a soft edge to the oval image, fading to a white background. You can mount the print in an oval mat, in either an oval or rectangular frame. • Sepia: Some digital cameras can be set to capture in a sepia mode, or you can con- vert to sepia in an image editing program. In Photoshop, first convert your b&w image to “RGB” (color) mode (the image will still look B&W) with IMAGE > MODE > RGB COLOR. Then use IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > VARIATIONS > MID- TONES. In Elements, convert to RGB in the same manner as in Photo- shop, but then use ENHANCE > ADJUST COLOR > COLOR VARIATIONS. Final adjust- ments (in both programs) can also then be made with LEVELS > SATURATION or COL- OR BALANCE. B&W darkroom prints can be sepia toned using a product like Kodak or Berg Sepia toner solutions. Full strength solutions can pro- vide too much of a saturated sepia color, so experiment with diluted, weak solu- tions for a very mild sepia tone, to more closely resem- ble the sepia look in vintage photos. • Sepia slides: If a tradi- tional slide show is your goal, a good method to ob- tain sepia slides is to make b&w prints and then re- photograph the prints us- ing a close-up lens and day- light balanced (outdoor) color slide film, but indoors under ordinary house light bulbs. The resulting brown- ish color cast caused by the daylight balanced film in incandescent light will pro- vide slides with a nice sepia color.
MORNING SUN BOOKS
These all-color 128-page hardcover books will be available August 1, 2013
MISSOURI-KANSAS-TEXAS VOLUME 2:
THE RED ERA By Daryl McGee
A look back at the years when Katy’s very existence was threat- ened and the road struggled on with old or rebuilt power. Item# 1480
NEW ENGLAND RAILROAD AND ITS
LEHIGH AND
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By Mike Bednar Follow the L&NE till it ceased operation in 1960 and then was operated by CNJ, LV, CR and NS. Item# 1481
Order today at price of $59.95 apiece plus $7 shipping (add $2 for each add’l book) Canada-$12; foreign-$21, each. All books are shipped via U.S. Mail.
PA (6%) and NJ (7%) residents add Sales Tax
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www.morningsunbooks.com
ww.RonRailPictures.com PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
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PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES Two Discs Set 2 Hrs 23 Min
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PHILADELPHIA MEMORIES
VOLUME 1 SURFACE LINES
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Two Discs Set 2 Hours 23 Minutes
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From the lens of Gary Grahl. See Philadelphia PCC’s during the color- ful 1970’ and 1980’s on Routes 6, 15, 23, 53, 56, and 60. ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours Explore the history of light rail in
New Jersey from Newark Subway, thru PCC’s last ride in the Public Service Era, to NJ Transit Light Rail and More! ONLY $29.95
NJ LIGHT RAIL LINES
Two Discs Set Approx. 3 Hours
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Add $4.00 S&H per order (PA add 6% tax) See us on the web at
www.ronrailpictures.com or mail check or M/O to RonRail Pictures, DeptT
5552 Republic Way, Bethlehem, PA 18017 15
schemes and
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Morning Sun Books, Inc.
NEW!
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