Gold and Grey

Sometimes the image comes together with the right lighting angle and the right time of day, to make the most of a simple subject. This was taken through a train window (note the faint reflection of a vertical surface at the top of the frame) in November, 2007, on my second UK trip, in the Esk Valley, Yorkshire, as I was relocating from Whitby to Sunderland for the NEICN conference at the university. The hour was not late but the sun angle at that time of year certainly is, creating an evening feel, though there would be several hours of daylight remaining. The sun angle created a “golden hour” effect early in the day, and with the light falling on the autumn hillside the grey clouds beyond make for the perfect contrast. There seems little way to plan for such scenes when on the move—the opportunistic photographer just grabs them when they happen. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Magic Hour in Yorkshire

I took this frame in the late afternoon/early evening of a day in November, 2007, from the window of a moving train on the Esk Valley line between Middlesbrough and Whitby. After many grey skies and soft exposures on my 2007 UK trip, the sun finally—momentarily—came out, and I shot as much as I could, The train windows were not the cleanest, and the internal lights reflected in the glass, so I was constantly trying to find an angle to both catch the scene and exclude reflections. This one has an almost painting-like feel: the softness of even the direct light as “golden hour” progresses—note the length of the tree shadow—and the inherent autumn sombreness combining to create an emotionally evocative image. I left Whitby the next morning, going up the coast to Sunderland, and the light and feel of the next batch of shots is completely different. “Magic hour” indeed! (Just a little contrast work, and one click sharp.) Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

19th Century Landscape

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This image is an excellent contrast to my last photo from the Esk Valley Railway. That time the lighting, the cleanliness of the window and the angle on the subject were wagering against the shot, but this time everything was going for it: a clean window, lighting favouring the subject matter, and a lower telephoto factor providing for less inherent grain. This is a classic old farmhouse in the Esk Valley of Yorkshire, between Middlesbrough and Whitby, snapped on a sunny afternoon in November, 2007, from the passing train. But for the visible motion on the foreground tree, you would almost think you were standing on the far side of the valley from the clarity. The frame was sharpened and colour- and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Landscape by Constable

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I've always said the quality of the light in England is unique (it's certainly different from Australia, probably something to do with latitude), and the available subject matter has a very characteristic feel as well. The famous paintings of Constable, those brooding skies over scenes of rural life, were his synthesis, not his invention, because England actually looks like that. I took this shot in the Esk Valley, Yorkshire, in November 2006, from the window of the morning train on its way from Whitby to Middlesborough, and the texture, colour gradients and composition really seemed to gel. There is always an element of reflex shooting when on the move, but the train was slow enough and the subject matter far enough away to have extra seconds for a pleasing frame-up, with plenty of zoom. Note the time by the clock tower is 8.55 -- the train left Whitby three minutes earlier. I'm not sure which village this is (Ruswarp, on reflection). The lushness of the temperate woods and the landscape-marker of the church, an artificial structure rising out of nature, made as wonderful a visual icon photographically as they did as painted art in the 19th century. The verticals were squared up with a fractional fine rotation, then the softening effect of shooting through the train window was cleaned up with contrast and sharpness, and colour was slightly re-saturated. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Calm Hills in the Sun

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This tranquil hillside suggests a simple settup shot, perhaps over the hood of a parked car on a country road. It was actually shot from the window of a train, so the tranquility was in perpetual motion. The remarkable thing about this frame is that not a single reflection in the window glass has intruded on the image, nor an area of dirt on that glass registered. Capturing an image through glass is dependent on the qualities of that glass, and in this case it paid off well. This is the Esk Valley in Yorkshire, through which wends the railway from Middlesbrough to Whitby. The bracken has died back to rich russet; this was early November, 2007, and the winter sun is mild on forests thinning for the cold months, on grazing sheep and pheasants wandering by the tracks. Enhancements include sharpening, and bringing up the colour saturation, as the one inescapable effect of the glass was to leach colour, creating a more pastel-like rendition of what was really a very colourful scene. That's the beauty of digital post-enhancement, restoring what's lost in other parts of the process. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.