Bill C

Thanks Arthur. I used low power mainly to make sure that I could keep popping off the flashes as fast as I wanted; since they're mostly specular I want a larger number of them, spread apart distance-wise.

BTW, for your night time architecture, you might consider using a flashlight (continuous, not a flash) that throws a narrower beam. You'd get more "reach," especially to higher floors, and can see exactly where you're "painting." In years past, these lights would have been very yellowish, but today's LED flashlights can put out a lot of bluish power too.

Thanks for the book suggestion. I rarely do night shooting, but it seems like an interesting book so I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks Lannie. I'm sure that you would have had something similar had you been there; the biggest part of this was just showing up.

Sorry I seem to be 'bout a year late answering back.

Thanks Alan, I have to confess that getting the concrete squirrel in the shot was the easy part (wink).

Clear plastic wine glass and spoon between polarizers. The color is due to interaction of polarized light with the plastic - this is how it looks through the viewfinder.  (The color goes away if either polarizing filter is removed.)

I hate taking the same photo that "everyone else" does, so I like to explore unusual variations. This is a well-known local landmark seen in an abstract way.

Here's the story behind this: a handful of friends liked to enter the company photo contest, just to see how it goes. This is in the back yard of the St Louis Gateway Arch, which has been photographed in about every way imagineable. Local people have seen them all, over and over, so are a bit numbed to this.

I said, wouldn't that be something if you could win a contest category with a shot of the Arch? So we decided to have our own secret "Arch Challenge."

With two weeks 'til entry, I didn't have anything, so had to get going. I figured a night shot would be the best bet, so one evening went on a "reconnaisance mission," taking only a camera. (A tripod would come on the more serious follow up.)

I liked the squiggly reflections from this angle, so dragged a trash can over for camera support while I took a test shot. Then the shadowy figures just appeared, and I shot another.

I never made it back, so this is the shot I used. Didn't win, but did get a 2nd in Abstracts category. Someone asked me, how much is it adjusted? Only a very tiny bit, a little contrast and a slight color shift. Other than than, and cropping sides, it would be an out-of-camera jpg.

Thanks, Rob and William.

Most of the light is ambient, it's a long-exposure night shot, but the locomotive has been dressed up with a series of low-power flash pops.

Thanks Gail. I tried pre-focusing, but you never know how far in they'll stick the snout so there's more misses than successes. Even if the focus is ok, there's often motion blur - there's a narrow time window before the light fades too far. So yep, you have to take what you can get.

Thanks Gail. It's great fun to see it run, too.  Unfortunately, all the photos then will have dozens and dozens (or hundreds) of photographers and enthusiasts crowding around. This is one advantage to being there in the middle of the night.  I don't know about other railways, but Union Pacific has bent over backwards to accomodate enthusiasts.

Hi Gail. I didn't list ALL the how-to details. You can experiment in your own home.  Turn out nearly all the lights, then find a camera exposure that still leaves things dim (or dark). Use a manual exposure, say about 10 seconds, at whatever aperture and ISO speed works ok. (It needs to be long enough for you to walk around and fire your flash as many times as you want.) You should set your flash to a "manual" power setting, low enough that you can fire it repeatedly, as fast as you want. Probably 1/4 power or less will work. I like to use the camera's self-timer; I can get in position for my first flash, then when I hear the shutter click, I can start the sequence of flashes. Don't let the flash shine on you, or make a silhouette of you. Experiment a bit and have fun.

Thanks Joe.  Yes, the basic technique is: set a base exposure so that ambient light does not blow out the exposure. Then add flash to suit your taste.  Setting a low power means no waiting for recycle. (Also, remember that you are not seeing the multiple "bad" shots working up to this.)

Thanks for the kind words Maurizio, Paweł, and Grażyna. I love anything mechanical, but operating steam locomotives are extra-special. The Union Pacific Railroad, in the U.S., still maintains and operates these two locos (#3985 and #844) as goodwill ambassadors.

Thanks Wayne, too bad I missed the focus. Unique is right, I've never seen another shot like it, even on the 'net.

This is the engineer's "office" of Union Pacific's #3985 steam loco.

Shot through the window, at night, manually firing a handheld flash several times (through different windows). 

The cab is locked up at night, but the viewing platform is still in place, so I found the clearest window I could and shot through it.  (See windows on opposite side to get an idea what they're like.)

Mom raccoon having a sip of water during a very hot, humid day.  Raccoons don't generally come out before dark, but I guess the nursing moms must need extra food, so they get an early start. 

It's rare to see them drink, but we had an unusually hot, humid summer.

Thanks Joe.  I didn't really intend to leave photos up here, but I'll put up a few more trains, at least for a while.

Looks like you've done a bit of train shooting yourself!

UP 3985 is said to be the world's largest operating steam locomotive.  This is a long-exposure night shot, about 30 seconds, lighting the loco with about 6 or 8 low-power "pops" of flash. (Yes, I passed through the entire scene, but since it's dark and I only point flash at the engine, I don't show up.)

This is only the front HALF of the engine, the back half is a repeat.