In the absence of Tim O'Malley's Midweek photos post, I thought I would share some of my first attempts at night photography.
After getting a heads-up from one of my friends, we first set up at a crossing in Bridgeville, PA before hightailing over to Bruceton, the Wheeling and Lake Erie's interchange with the AVR (who would forward the billet train to the B&P later that evening). We had expected that the train would spend less than 20 minutes at Rook Yard before arriving, but it took almost a hour and a half for the train to show. The late arrival did, however, allow me to try night shooting for the first time.
My camera is about 15 years old, and usually cannot handle moving objects in low light. Thankfully, however, the train stopped for an additional 30 minutes at Bruceton while the conductor reset the switch and the crew called the AVR dispatcher for permission, allowing me to make some exposures.
Unlike Kent (Two23), I only have the flash on my camera. However, because the train was sitting still, I was able to leave the shutter open for 3-4 seconds each shot, which compensated for the camera's wonky light meter.
You can see the downside of a prolonged exposure in this shot of the engineer; because they was moving around, the extra seconds meant that their face was not quite clear.
The final pair of shots are from earlier that evening at Bridgeville, and are included for context.
