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The Carol Train prepares to leave Bishops Lydeard Station on 13 December 2011
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Getting the picture...
Adrian Harris describes his evening...
They say that when the weather turns foul and the sky starts to look thundery, most
sensible people head for home. But for the keen photographer who wants to capture
dramatic atmospheric scenes, that's the time when you grab your camera gear and
head outside!
This was certainly the case on the evening of 13th December 2011 as I headed
out on the long drive towards Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway.
The purpose of my visit being the opportunity to try and capture ‘night steam’ images
of the Carol Train.
Arriving early to suss the scene potential and hopefully to try and get a few shots in
before that evening's carol singers and friends crowded around the steam engine
taking endless posteric snaps with their iPhones. This time I was duly rewarded ...
but probably only because the skies had opened up and a downpour now
accompanied the biting cold wind which swept across the top end of the platform.
Already bedraggled as I walked along platform two with sturdy tripod and weighty
camera bag, I was beginning to wonder what on earth was I doing here myself.
However when I stopped, turned, wiped the rain from my glasses and saw the
magnificent scene of specular light reflections on the wet platform, the glow from the
engines fire and steam swirling from the chimney, I felt all was worth it.
But although I was totally unaware, the difficulties were about to commence…
I had left home hurriedly and with no checklist had forgotten my gloves and head
mounted light and as anyone who has done night photography will tell you, trying to
set up and operate a camera manually in the dark is not an easy task at the best of
times!
I had fitted a rain canopy to the camera but the wind kept driving raindrops under it
and onto the lens – which unfortunately I did not notice at first, due to the viewfinder
and rear screen also being so wet and with even more rain on my glasses there was
no way I could easily tell.
Trying to operate the new camera became very difficult indeed. Fortunately I could
just about focus it using Sony’s fabulous ‘focus peaking’ system – which seems to
operate really well even in almost total darkness. I kept fumbling with my little pocket
torch to try and see what I was doing, but it was proving more and more difficult and
then after half an hour noticed the cold had really got to my fingers and could no
longer tell when fumbling if I was pressing the shutter button (which I still could not
see) or the camera body!
Then hearing the tannoy announce ‘the station canteen is now taking last orders’,
decided that discretion was the better part of valour and quickly gathered my gear
then rushed to order hot chocolate and flapjack in a desperate bid to revive.
After quickly reviewing the images and then seeing raindrops all over the lens had
ruined most, plus a myriad of other basic faults such as tilted and poorly composed
images, I felt quite downhearted. Then sat sodden and with camera gear dripping on
the floor of the relatively warm canteen, I noticed the rain had eased. …Amazing how
quickly one perks up with even the slightest chance of getting a respectable photo!
So with five minutes to departure I crossed to platform one and managed to find an
angle - using portrait mode, that for me captured that wonderful atmospheric quality
that only night steam can provide.
…and the carol singing was wonderful. Next year though I have decided, I will be sat
in the warm - on the train!
Late that night, an email to a friend…
"Well I got bloody wet through and freezing cold trying to take this one tonight - so I
thought I would share it with you. I got so cold at one point I could not tell if I had
pressed the shutter. Luckily managed to grab a hot chocolate just as they were
shutting the canteen. Shoes, coats, gloves, trousers and jumpers are drying off in front of fire - and I am off
to wrap up in a nice electric blanket.
Hopefully no power cuts :o) "
Adrian Harris
December 2011
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