Mandy Vien
April 2025 - Train
About the Image(s)
Title: Train
Alberta's Morants curve is a popular spot for photographers, especially in the winter.
Without a schedule, photographers gather at the lookout waiting for the train.
Train travels in either directions using same track, therefore, they travel very far apart. We can wait for hours without seeing a train.
The train is quiet, in my case, I did not hear the train until I see the locomotive. This image was taken with slow shutter to capture the movement.
Title: Train in the snow valley
Camera and lens: R5, EF 24-70mm @24mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter: 1/160 sec
11 comments posted
The image would have been better had the freight train been shorter. the length of the train precluded you from having the entire train streak better demonstrating speed. But those circumstances were not under your control, so if the focus of attention is the locomotive, then you succeeded. The image is well-framed, demonstrating the entire landscape. I assume it was a cloudy day, hence the haze of the mountains in the distance, which do add scale to your image. However, the sky over the mountains is light and may be overexposed. Most to the time, that can be cured with the use of a graduated ND filter, or to a lesser degree by compensating the entire image to underexpose it. You don't say if that was done. But the. image did capture what you wanted, and the depth of field is good, even to the snow on the trees in the background. Posted: 04/01/2025 05:39:19
Mandy, I had a similar image at the same spot; however, I chosed the fall with yellow leaves and waited for the color train. I have toned the sky down a little bit and also changed the curves to make it clearer in PS. Posted: 04/01/2025 07:20:27
I like this version more. Posted: 04/08/2025 04:08:37
Pamela, I would love to return in Fall for a Fall view, also waiting for the stacked colour cargos train would added colours to the image. Posted: 04/10/2025 18:54:10
Mandy, Nice landscape with what seems to be a recognizable train, but I think the effect of motion is too intense which distorts completely the train (locomotive and wagons) to make it not recognizable any more. Posted: 04/03/2025 12:55:50
Thanks Ed. The curve is the signature landscape. There can be different type of trains. Colourful train as mentioned by Pamela would add interest. Posted: 04/11/2025 13:03:09
Lovely travel shot, Mandy. I liked the curved composition. Playing with speed to enhance motion is my favourite too.
I found the sky a bit overexposed, so agreed with Pamela Posted: 04/08/2025 04:11:10
I found the sky a bit overexposed, so agreed with Pamela Posted: 04/08/2025 04:11:10
Thank you all for your comment and suggestions. I likes Pamela's edit, toning down the sky shows the mountain peaks and also keep the focus on the train.
Posted: 04/10/2025 18:52:00
Posted: 04/10/2025 18:52:00
Mandy, I waited for 3 hours for the colored train, haha! I liked your blurred train so much, lots of movement! Posted: 04/10/2025 19:12:07
We only had one hour before going to the hotel, luckily, we saw 3 trains, only one moving forward. I had an image of the train at the beginning of the curve at 1/500 s and received many acceptances. I am not sure if shutter of 1/160 is acceptable for Travel category, probably should put it to PIDC. Posted: 04/11/2025 13:00:52
Hi Mandy. It is amazing that you and Pam have the same image. The blur of the train looks better in Pam's perhaps the cropping and I like her PP sky Posted: 04/18/2025 10:58:32