SHOOT STEAM TRAINS

FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Photographing steam trains pose challenges, especially with exposure. We show you hew to choo choo choose the right settings for fantastic steamy scenes

Setting Mode: Shutter-priority  Exposure: 1/500 sec at f/8 ISO 800

      THE ERA OF STEAM has long gone, but thankfully there are many areas of the country still operating steam engines as a mailer of preservation and a means of attracting tourists. Steam season is just starling in some areas, so it's worth getting in touch with your local railway to find out the best way to go about visiting and taking some photographs. Not only are the engines an interesting subject, but they can also provide invaluable experience for a photographer when it comes to understanding and controlling your camera's metering system. We spoke to Nick Walton, who took this fantastic image of an engine emerging from a tunnel at Grosmont. for his advice on how to go about photographing steam.

1    Exposure mode: When shooting moving trains we recommend selecting shutter-priority mode and combining it with a fast shutter speed. Be aware that the camera may struggle to find the right exposure due to the very dark body of the engine in contrast to the bright white steam bellowing out. By metering from the engine and dialling in negative exposure compensation, you can help prevent the highlights from 'blowing' out. Bracketing your shots is another option to ensure that you don't lose detail in areas of extreme shadows and highlights.
2    Aperture & ISO: Using a mid-aperture ensures that you get good depth-of-field, which also helps with accurate focusing. You can control the aperture chosen in shutter-priority mode by adjusting the ISO rating. We would recommend keeping the aperture between f/5.6 and f/11, and the ISO below 40C, if possible. If you plan to convert your image to black b white you may get away with a higher ISO as the extra noise adds to the atmosphere. However, try not to go above ISO 800 as the increased noise can significantly degrade image quality. Nick has used f/8 and ISO 800. which has provided good exposure of both the engine and surroundings.
3  Shutter speed: Select a shutter speed of l/250sec or faster. The train is unlikely to be moving at high speed however too slow of a shutter speed will capture the motion in the smoke and lose the detail and texture. In this image. Nick has used a shutter speed of l/500sec to freeze the action, capturing a sharp image of both the engine and the smoke framing it.

 4   Focusing: four camera's auto focus system may struggle to lock on to the dark nose of the train, so focus on an area of contrast such as the number or lamp on the front of the engine, or the track. If photographing the train coming out of a dark tunnel, like Nick has done, pre-focus on the area in front of the tunnel entrance and switch to manual focus. This will lock focus, leaving you ready to start shooting as soon as the :rain emerges.
5 Post-processing: This kind of image suits a black & white conversion perfectly as the extra grain from the high ISO adds to the vintage feel. After converting to mono, use a Levels adjustment layer in Photoshop to adjust contrast (Layer>New Adjustment Layer). You can also use the Dodge and Burn tools, set to a low exposure and with a soft brush, to selectively adjust the exposure. Remember to do this on a duplicate image layer, though, in case you make a mistake or need to start again.