OK, bad pun, I know. What do you want? I'm a photographer, not a comedian.
The 261 Steam Locomotive www.261.com was out again this weekend for their annual fall color trip. I was able to actually ride it this year! A very nice time for any train aficionado. There's nothing like a ride on a train being pulled by a coal burning locomotive.
Of course there were dozens of photographers and general train buffs with their cameras all over the place.
I have many, many photographs of the 261 so now when I go to photograph it I am looking for the "perfect" shot. It's a very difficult object to photograph because it is all black. The light has to be just right in order to make it really sing. And there are all the people hanging around when it's not in motion.
To me, a photograph of a train not in motion is pretty boring. These steam giants really show their stuff as they get going. Oh, I asked how often the slip the drive wheels and for the record, the engineer said that's just for Hollywood. No real engineer would ever do that, he said.
Click on the photo to see a larger version.
