A rarity in my pictures - cropped to square. J15 class 0-6-0 no. 65462 at Bolton Abbey, Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, 25 November 2005

Last time I was out shooting with a bunch of mates, the mickey taking started again.  They have a theory my camera only works when it’s on end shooting ‘portrait’ or vertical format pictures.  So that set me thinking, why?

Before going into figures, let’s get our terms straight.  ‘Landscape’ pictures are horizontal, ‘Portrait’ are vertical.  And then of course there’s square, but that one’s obvious.  For the purposes of this blog post, I’ll use vertical and horizontal.  That’s because we’ll be talking about landscape as subject matter, so let’s not confuse ourselves!

I started out checking the facts.  Looking at the pictures I regard as ‘good’ - the overall figures are 56% vertical and 44% horizontal.  That pretty much holds for railway shots - 54% vertical and 46% horizontal.  For landscape shots the figures become 61% vertical and 39% horizontal.  And for people shots the figures are 59% vertical, 36% horizontal and (at last!) 5% square.

So the mickey taking was right, my camera does churn out more vertical pictures than horizontal pictures, and that’s especially true of landscape shots.

When you think landscape shots, that sort of makes sense.  A good foregound is a great lead in to a picture, though it can be a challenge from a depth of field perspective.  But then many, if not most landscape shots are from the stability of a tripod, so a small aperture is no big deal. 

When you think people shots it also makes sense.  People (at least the majority!) are taller than they are wider, so a vertical format makes perfect sense.  Even when you start taking bits of people, the same holds true.  Not many people have a face as wide as it is tall!  Of course some people have two faces, but that’s a different discussion…

It’s railway shots where the choice of vertical format isn’t so obvious.  So why?  Interestingly, if you further break it down - diesel and electric traction seems to favour a horizontal approach, whilst steam favours a vertical approach. 

With that subdivision, the choice becomes obvious.  Steam engines by definition have smoke and steam coming out of the top of them.  And that smoke and steam is generally what the picture’s about.  And that’s why my favourite steam railway pictures are mostly vertical format. 

The vertical approach also enables some of the landscape photography style to come into play.  As trains run on tracks, the vertical approach instantly gives a strong lead in line to the subject in the form of the rails themselves.  And yes I’m sad enough to try to get the rails leading into one of the bottom corners of the picture.  It’s sort of tidy!

So, that’s my logic.  It’s also worth chucking into the thinking that composition theory suggests vertical pictures are more dynamic, whilst horizontal pictures are more restful.  Whatever the theory, I’ll stick with my approach, I like it!

0-6-2T 'Triumph' (Bagnall 2511/1934) at Kemsley Down on the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, 15 November 2008

The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway is under threat.  The landowners want to sell the site for re-development.  Will one of heritage railway’s longest operators have to pack up and move out?

I’d read about all this in Steam railway, so when my email pinged with a note from David Fletcher asking if I’d be interested in a photo charter, the answer had to be yes.

Now at this point I have to own up to a real liking for gritty industrials.  To me, it’s what railways are all about.  And I knew from a visit to the line years ago, it was certainly gritty.  Joe Public would say shabby, but a little line wending its way through the industry it was created to serve is pretty much as good as it gets.

And maybe that’s the problem.  Gricers look at it and go ‘Wow!’.  If I’d taken the wife and kids, they’d be asking when we’re going home. 

A really difficult dilemma, and one the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway does try to address.  Check out their website - there’s a load of events on it targetted at Joe Public.  Good on you guys.  But the real challenge remains, go ‘plastic’ and convince Joe and his family to travel, or remain true to the cause, and keep it as it is?

The Charter was a lot of fun.  The weather really played along - some sunshine to get the nice shots, some cloud to get the gritty stuff.  The organisation was spot on.  The day kept moving right along, but always with enough time to get the shot you wanted.  Well done David!

Of course we had a laugh too - that’s what charters are all about.  Wall to wall sun keeps things too serious, a bit of cloud means the sillier parts of the group (myself included) try out the dafter ideas.  And so it was I ended up lying between the rails…

Me lying between the rails trying to get that elusive different angle - fag optional. And before any Health & Safety types start up - the loco was stopped. Picture by Jason Cross.

Travelling on the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway was also fun.  Sure, you could go in the carriage, if you’re a wuss.  Much more fun to travel on the open sided paper wagons!  Standing room only of course, except for Jason…

Travelling on the open freight wagons, designed for carrying rolls of paper. Jason shows his infirmities by insisting on travelling sittng down.

The day ended up with a short night shoot at the line’s shed.  I always love engine sheds, and this one is a gem.  In view of the threat hanging over the line - go there now.

Click here to see pictures from the day…

Really spikey rocks next to the sea at Toxeftra, Akamas, Cyprus, 8 November 2008

On the way back from walking the Avakas Gorge, we stopped off to watch the last light on the sea at Toxeftra.  This coastline of Cyprus is perfect for sunset shots, but alas, today was unusual in having cloud cover so nothing doing on the golden glow on the sea front.

Despite that, the sea fascinates me.  We drove our (rented!) 4×4 over some pretty rough ground to get down to the sea, and it was then I discovered some amazing spikey rock formations.

Not exactly stuff you want to walk on, these rocks were razor sharp.  One false move and you’d hurt yourself pretty badly. 

The sun had long since set, so armed with my tripod I tried to pick up some of the shapes and forms the rocks made.  As with so much of Cyprus, it needed care in framing.  Why every Cypriot seems determined to spoil their beautiful island with litter is beyond me.

I turne the ISO right down to 100 for maximum saturation and quality - with the camera firmly attached to the tripod there wasn’t any problem with 5 and 10 second exposures.  Despite the fact the light was falling fast, the rocks still came up beautifully.  Quite amazing their delicate colours come through so well.

I was just packing up to go when I looked across to Agios Georgios and the island that always reminds me of a giant turtle sat in the sea.  It was almost dark, but the colours were amazing.

To see the pictures, click here.

A two stop graduated filter has been used to hold the smoke and sky back a bit to keep detail in both the highlights and the shadows. 9017 departing Hampton Loade, 10 October 2008.

This one is a recurrent question. People see me using graduted filters - I use them most of the time - and they ask why.

I explain its about the dynamic range a digital SLR can deal with.  In summary, not much.  If you’re lucky, about the same as old fashioned slide film.  So probably about the equivalent of four or five stops between the darkest and lightest areas.  Newcomers to DSLRs are often disappointed when they discover it’s just so easy to burn the sky out - and a burnt highlight on a picture can never, ever be recovered.  And don’t believe anybody who says it can.

Graduated filters are the solution.  Look through the viewfinder, line the grad up so that it holds the sky back a bit, problem solved.  The picture comes within the range the camera can handle, so you end up with nice skies and shadow detail.  Result.

So how do you choose a graduated filter that works for you?  First off, they’re usually rectangular, and slip into a filter holder so that you can move them around in front of the lens to control the area of the picture they affect.

They come in different grades or darknesses.  I use three; a one stop (0.3), a two stop (0.6) and a three stop (0.9).  And I use them in a filter holder that can accomodate three filters at once.  Don’t think I’ve ever had all three in, but one day…!  Generally I use the two stop on sunny days and the three stop on dull days.  If the weather is really awful, then I combine the three stop and the one stop to get a four stop differential between the lighter (sky) and the darker (subject).  And if that doesn’t work, put the camera away and go to he pub.

Graduated filters come in two types; soft and hard grad.  The difference is how they graduate from clear to shaded. 

Personally I find the soft grads pretty useless. The graduation happens over 3-4cm of filter, which means that with the average aperture size you’re using with your DSLR, they don’t graduate at all.

Hard grads however are perfect.  On a hard grad the graduation happens over about 1cm - and so enable pretty precise placing on the horizon or whatever else your trying to balance between.

In terms of brands, I use Lee Filters. They’re big, the filter holder is pretty robust, stays firmly attached to the lens and can accomodate a lenshood.  The filters themselves, despite being bits of perspex, are also surprisingly robust. They’re also frighteningly expensive - but worth every penny.  Alternatively, Cokin also make graduated filters, in both their A and P ranges.

Whatever you use, make sure its big enough to get in front of your lens at its widest angle end without vignetting. That was one of my drivers for choosing Lee - I needed something that wouldn’t vignette with my beloved 17mm lens.

Please add your comments below - what’s been your experience with filters?

The late afternoon sun accentuates the autumn colours in the vineyards at Polemi, Cyprus, 9 November 2008

Autumn in Cyprus is delightful.  The temperatures are still in the mid-twenties, and the sun still shines most of the time.

Peace comes to the vineyards in Polemi around our villa.  The cooler nights turn the vine leaves golden, such that the late afternoon sunshine really brings out the colours.

Interestingly this year many grapes remained unpicked on the vines.  Why?  Don’t know.  From a photography perspective they just added to the experience, the sun glistening on their dark skins.

A further dimension is that the ground around the vines gets cultivated to stop the weeds taking hold.  The soil is still turned using traditional implements, leaving interesting graphic shapes in the fields.  These too are an interesting study through the viewfinder! 

All in all, an interesting afternoon stroll through the vineyards.  To see the pictures, click here and scroll down.

The Avakas Gorge - bring your walking boots! 8 November 2008

I’ve wanted to go and have a look at the Avakas Gorge for a while - and now I’ve been there, seen it, done it (but I couldn’t get a T-shirt!).

The steepest and deepest bit of the Avakas Gorge isn’t very long.  If you’ve got the energy, you can walk from the coast road near Agios Georgios right up through the gorge to Arodes.  We chose the easy way - parking the car at the bottom and then walking up to the gorge from there.

It really is spectacular and quite unlike anything else I’ve seen in Cyprus.  The path gets narrower and narrower until you’re pretty much forced to walk through the stream at the gorge’s bottom.  At that point Pam declared enough and sat on a rock to read her book.  I explored a bit further.

From a photography perspective it’s a bit of a challenge.  I was glad I had a tripod with me.  In the shade at the bottom handholding was out of the question.  Given I had to use a tripod, I also wound the ISO down to 100 for maximum quality and the aperture up to f22 for maximum depth of field.

We were travelling light photography kit wise this trip, so the only lens I had to use was a 17-35.  As it happened, the perfect choice. 

My favourite shot of the afternoon is above.  Interestingly, the only way I could get into position was by going under overhanging rocks - that water was steadily and rapidly dripping through.  Ah well - nice cold shower for me and the Nikon!

I guess that reinforces the advice about visiting the gorge.  Carry water.  Wear strong - and ideally waterproof - footwear.  Many people wear a safety helmet to protect against falling rocks.  Expect it to take much longer than you expect.  At times of heavy rainfall, exercise extreme caution about going into the gorge - flash floods can happen in seconds.

See also my post on Cyprusandmore.com with more information about how to get to the gorge if you fancy a visit.

To see the pictures, click here.

Agios Antonios Church sits serenely amongst the noise of Bar Street, 9 November 2008

This one always touches me as we walk by.  Right in the heart of the tourist area of Kato Paphos is the famous ‘Bar Street’, and right in the middle of that stands Agios Antonios Church.

Officially named after the church, Antonios Street is much better known as ‘Bar Street’.  In the late evening the street buzzes with defeaning load music from the many clubs and bars, all vying to be the loudest and most fun.  At that time of day it’s impossible to walk along the street without being hassled by young people employed by the bars touting for business, and in summer months all sorts of fun things happen.

In amongst all the crowds, the colour and the noise, Agios Antonios stands serenely.  How the street must have changed since the church was built!

To see this and other Paphos churches, click here.

'Jubilee' Class 4-6-0 no. 5690 'Leander' approaching Quorn on the Great Central Railway, 29 October 2008

‘Leander’ is very much a personal favourite, but it’s also one that’s evaded me for years.  Last time I took pictures of her was in 1975 when she hauled a special on the main line through Oxford.  Spectacular she looked then, and spectacular she looks now.

We had a two day charter with her on the GCR; day one with a freight, day two with a passenger train.  Day one had wall to wall sunshine all morning, day two saw a couple of hours of sunshine during the late morning.

Some days you’ve got it, and some days you haven’t.  For whatever reason I struggled to get away from the crowd to do my own thing, perhaps it’s just laziness on my part!  Despite that I’ve ended up with nice action shots of ‘Leander’ strutting her stuff.

I guess the interesting thing from this charter was dealing with the bright sunshine with a loco intent on making crisp white smoke.  That’s a combination digital cameras just don’t like.  They don’t like contrast at any time, and sun on white smoke leads effortlessly to burnt highlights.

My normal graduated filter tricks only went so far in holding back the smoke, so post processing was a bit of a challenge trying to keep detail in the smoke and the darker underneath of the loco.

Despite the challenges, I’m happy with the pictures from the two days - and of course the lineside banter was excellent.

To see the pictures, click here…

Microsoft Windows Vista - Spawn of the Devil?

I’ve just had to buy a new laptop. In of itself, not a problem. But it seems you can’t buy a laptop these days without it coming with Windows Vista. So where’s the problem?

About 18 months ago we had to buy a new laptop for Pam. We ended up with a nice Toshiba, and it too came with Microsoft’s Vista. What a nightmare it turned out to be! Vista was supposed to be all that is good, but in fact it was a complete and utter nightmare.

The problems started when we tried to load our applications. Nikon Capture to unpack Raw files? Not supported - or even able to run. Colour profile the screen? No chance - our screen calibrator was not supported. Print? No - Epson didn’t have a Vista driver for a 4800. ProShow Gold? Not supported. On top of that it seemed to drain all the horsepower the laptop had been bought with.

The result was after a couple of fruitless weeks with the laptop being threatened with flying lessons out of the window into the garden, we went out and bought a Microsoft XP licence, and ‘downgraded’ the Toshiba to that. It was a bit of a pfaff to get it to happen, but a good move. From that point on the Toshiba was a delight to use and did everything we wanted of it.

So, when threatened with having to use Vista again, you can understand our trepidation! This time we chose a Dell, ordered it up, and looked forward to its arrival. Out of the box it worked just fine, though it did want to go off and do loads of stuff on its own.

That started a ‘Me vs. Vista’ campaign. I started by turning off all the gadgets it was determined to clutter the screen up with. I don’t understand why anybody wants to fill their screen with clocks, calendars and weather gadgets. If I want to know the time, I look at my watch. If I want to know the date, I look at my watch. If I want to know the weather, I look out of the window. I don’t need a PC for that, thanks.

Next to go were all the Dell add-ons. They seemed to fill the top of the screen. It seemed determined I was going to have an i-Google home page. Don’t want one, thanks. Fortunately I’m a reasonably savvy PC user, so knew what I had to hack out of the Start Up list to stop all this behaviour. I was getting somewhere, but it was taking quite an effort to stop all this superfluous stuff happening.

An interesting side note is that as soon as it connected itself to the internet, it downloaded 300MB of updates. 300MB!! Most of an hour to download, and then most of an hour (and two restarts) to get the updates installed. Interestingly, this is something I haven’t managed to stop. It seems every day there’s more Vista downloads from Microsoft that it insists on downloading.

Pam was now laughing at my misfortune as I wrestled to get control of the laptop from Vista. Call me old fashioned, but I reckon a laptop is a tool to work with, not some self-sustaining entity just there to look after its own operating system.

Next step was to try to get rid of all the superfluous sounds and visual effects. OK it’s very pretty to have drop shadows on everything, jelly buttons, pinging sounds, etc - but they all use the laptop’s power. They all went by changing the settings to ‘Performance’ - and a few more tickles got me back a Windows Explorer that actually showed the files on the machine, and an XP-alike Start menu.

I also managed to stop all the ridiculous questions. I’m reminded of the joke about if Microsoft made cars and GM made computers. If I’m skidding towards a major crash, no, I don’t really want questions along the lines of ‘Are you sure’ before deploying the airbags.

The result? A laptop that work beautifully. That’s blazingly fast. That’s robust and stands up to usage without falling over. It looks like an XP machine, but I’ve retained some of the Vista goodies, particularly the search feature.

The conclusion? Vista is now a stable platform that can deliver performance, but you do need to know a bit about PCs to stop all the ridiculous stuff it wants to do all of its own.

Ah yes, and Microsoft have just announced Windows 7 to drop the whole Vista name and move on. I think I’ll stick with what I’ve got thanks - doubtless Windows 7 will also take two years to make work, will need 20GB of RAM to run, a water-cooled Cray processor to drive the gadgets, …

PS: Pam may have a Toshiba with XP, but she wants a MacBook. She keeps playing me the ‘I’m a PC and I’m a Mac’ videos on the Apple website, while she laughs at me wrestling with Vista. She may be right. Is the conclusion Microsoft and Apple are as bad as each other? Microsoft hype the hell out of stuff that frankly just doesn’t work. And Apple hype the hell out of stuff that probably does work, but costs twice the price of everything comparable.

Like a scene from the inferno, Tangshan Iron & Steel Company, China, 14 March 2005

Tangshan is a heavily industrialised mining city in the east of China that had been known as one of the real hotspots for Chinese steam.

Unfortunately I visited almost too late. By the time I got there, Tangshan coal mine had just switched to diesels, the remaining SY no. 0955 remaining in steam only as a means of heating water.

Tangshan Iron & Steel Company was operating a mix of SY 2-8-2 and the dreaded orange diesels, but access was very difficult.

Kailuan Coal Mining Administration was operating SYs, but with a very infrequent service. It was however, the dustiest place I’ve ever visited in China. Whilst we were there, shift change at the mine took place. Chinese coal mines have an appalling safety record, so watch the dirty tired faces emerging from the mine touched you inside.

Despite all that, a good day. Click here to see the pictures!