After the previous attempt, I wanted to work on sharpness. The strong flash lasts for a time that is long enough to get motion unsharpness. Solution: less powerful flashing, ISO up. Sharpness is fine now. Next working points: get the ISO value down and light some more aspects of the train and its surroundings. Continue reading Optimizing the night shots
Night photography fascinates me. How to get good pictures in almost complete darkness?Previous attempts with flashes were frustrating. I didn’t like the whole setup with classic batteries: they are always empty when you need them, and flashes didn’t fire a bit too often. Also, separate battery powered remotes were needed.This year I tried a new system with rechargable high-capacity batteries and efficient flash units, with … Continue reading Into the night again
Since a couple of years now, Belgian rail freight operator Lineas is building up a network of train services around Tergnier. I’ve wanted to check this out for a while, and on August 7th of 2020 I finally made it there. We left before sunrise and started the day at Couvron-et-Aumencourt, between Tergnier and Laon. Lineas, Europorte and SNCF Infra made for a good start … Continue reading First time around Tergnier
One memory of a warm day in the Tergnier region. Vegetation was freshly removed and we were lucky to be there at this moment, with an unobstructed view on tracks and fields. Continue reading Looking out over the fields
Last weekend, works between Bruges and Ghent meant rerouting of rail traffic over scenic West-Flemisch rail lines, that otherwise don’t see that many freight and intercity traffic.Add to that a sunny Saturday, and no car available. What you get is an oldschool day trip by bicycle. Packed with photogear, tripod, lunch and water; led by the circumstances to get the most out of the day. … Continue reading Oldschool day out
3 photos, 3 regions, 1 day. I started the day in Drongen on the 4-track section of line 50A from Ghent to Bruges. The second freight train that came through was the Railtraxx containershuttle from Oradea to Zeebruges. Second destination: Idergem, between Geraardbergen and Denderleeuw, where I could catch a 1344 with a train connecting Longeau to Aalst.Third destination: Berneau, for a few trains in … Continue reading Cargo from west to east
At the time this photo was made, diesel traction between Liège and Luxemburg had ended only a few months ago. As such it become more usual to see blue 55’s on freight trains, as proven by this example. With a heavy coal train to Germany, sisters 5502 and 5519 are singing loud to pull it up the hill.During the summer of 2000, I started going … Continue reading Yellow and blue oldie
This is the last photo I made of a B-Logistics train. 10 days later, the company was rebranded to Lineas. It was all about the name then: we had to wait a few more days before the first Lineas styled locomotives would exit the workshop.On a nice April evening, we see 1329 with mixed freight train 41898 on the way to Antwerp. It left Somain … Continue reading The end and a new beginning
Another shot of the same train as one week earlier, with a different consist. On April 11th 2017, almost exactly 3 years ago, an SNCF TRAXX locomotive was seen transporting coal wagons towards France. Continue reading Same but different
As shadows were getting longer, a distant noise announced the train I came here for. The rush hour train with a 21 series locomotive was nice, and a freight train would only make it better. The then regular SNCF train towards France was about right on time and marked the moment to head home after a succesfull photo-evening. Continue reading Tubes for France
Railscapes 