Train Pics

I made a visit down to Wheaton Illinois to see my brother this past weekend. Took some great shots of the trains that go by his appartment almost continually. I got some very strange looks from people while standing outside, at 10:30 pm, in 35 degree weather, next to a railroad crossing with a tripod/camera. I think i scared the crap out of a train conductor too.

All of these have some level editing, and one has a bit of curve editing, otherwise they're pretty true to the originals (except the light trails one. that's two shots together)

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This is without a doubt my favorite of all the(artistic) photos from the weekend. I waited for a LONG time for that stupid train to come back. and then it came up too fast and I almost missed the shot (framing is a bit.. eh). and then I thought the exposure was all messed up when i previewed it on the screen. But when i looked on my laptop the next day my jaw just dropped. I can't believe how well it turned out. I'm quite happy with it.

and a random shot of an '04 STi wheel.

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I'm definitely uploading the last train shot, probably the STi wheel, and the light trails. Not sure about the other two. opinions and critique are welcome.

the wheel is 1/640, then in order : 8 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 seconds (x2 since it is a combination of two photos), and 8 seconds. naturally, all except the wheel are on a tripod.

I also use a cheap remote shutter button so i don't have to use the 10 second timer. at 5 bucks, it's easily the cheapest, most useful time-saving accessory for night photos. tripods don't count since they're like 50-500 bucks.

Quote from Bic-B@ll

what kind of camera are you using?

a Canon 20D. my 20D. I love this camera to death. I was going to get a 350D, but after using a 20D for about 2 minutes I swore I'd never buy a rebel.btw spellbinder, tripods = mega useful try to avoid getting a flimsy one. you'll spend more money, but if you're serious about it, the extra money is worth it.

Quote from Izuno

So this kind of effect works as well in Digital as it does on film? Sorry for noobing your thread.Great pictures, btw.

thanks. ^_~ and yep. Digital reacts pretty much exactly the same way film does to my knowledge. I havn't had much experience with film, but I havn't found any major discrepencies. about the only difference is that digital (SLR) sensors have significantly less noise. i've heard more than one person who grew up on film say how surprised they were at how smooth the images are on digital bodies compared to film.

Quote from NykO18

Your pictures are awesome.I always loved that kind of shots.

Thanks, I'm glad you like them too. I've never taken shots like this before, but I certainly like the results. I've been taking new kinds of photos a lot these last few months and I'm really loving pushing the boundaries of my photographic experience/knowledge.