Tag Archives: History

Through The Lens 72 – Shay in the Rain

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Taken a couple of years ago during a photo charter at the Cass Scenic Railroad, this shot of Shay #11 at the Bald Knob Wye has long been a favorite of mine.  The fog in the distance and the rain streaking through the shot create a great mood for the shot if it had simply been cloudy.

When the passenger train stopped to drop us off at this location, it was drizzling rain.  By the time we were in position under a dense canopy of spruce trees, the skies opened up and the rain started to pour down, which shows up nicely in this shot taken with a telephoto lens.  As soon as the runby was over the rain stopped again.  Couldn’t have worked out better if we planned it!

Through The Lens 70 – Vehicle Assembly Building

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As a follow up to my previous post about the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit, I thought I’d share another from that trip. The main reason for that particular visit to the Cape was to tour the Vehicle Assembly Building. While the building isn’t fancy architecture, as an architect I still appreciate the technical challenges of creating the largest single story building in the world. Topping out at 525ft 10in, the VAB encloses 129,428,000 cubic feet of space.

Photographing the VAB was a challenge because of the size of the building. To best show it’s vastness, I chose a wide angle lens and placed my camera on a table top tripod on the floor.

Through The Lens 69 – Shuttle Atlantis Visitor Center

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Spacex’s successful launch of a reused vehicle reminded me that I haven’t shared my shots from my last visit to Kennedy Space Center.  The photo above is from the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit. Seeing the shuttles in person is impressive but especially so at the Atlantis exhibit because of the way it is displayed. Instead of parking the shuttle on the ground, it is mounted at an angle at the 2nd floor level of the exhibit giving visitors the opportunity to see it at eye level and also from below.  Next time you’re in Florida, stop by and check it out.

Trip Report – Colorado Fall Color 2016 Part 1

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Last fall I had the opportunity to attend two photo charters in Colorado, so I extended the trip to allow time to visit a couple of national parks.  First up was Mesa Verde National Park. Created on June, 29th, 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt, Mesa Verde National Park was the first of it’s kind. All prior National Parks were created to preserve nature. Mesa Verde was established to preserve the works of man.

I only had one afternoon to visit Mesa Verde this time, but that was more than enough time to capture the two images I had in mind. First was sunset at Square Tower House:

Square Tower House Sunset

Second was the Milky Way over Park Point:

As a bonus I got a post sunset shot of the old Knife Edge Road that served as the entrance to the park for many years.  The went around the rock formation to the left in the image below, literally only one car width wide.  Thankfully they’ve built a wider road to replace it:

After finishing with the milky way shots, I headed north to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  More on that in Part 2.

Through The Lens 66 – Square Tower House

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Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park is the tallest cliff dwelling in the park. It also is a great location to shoot at sunset.  Since the last time I visited was a cloudy day, I made a point to stop at Mesa Verde on my way to Black Canyon of the Gunnison on a trip last fall.  I’ll post the first part of the trip report on Tuesday.

Through The Lens 64 – Tank Creek

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Here’s one of my favorite photos from a private photo charter on the Durango & Silverton back in February 2011. 478 pulls a mixed train along the Animas River at a location called Tank Creek.  In the background just before the tracks curve out of the frame, you can see the water tank that gives this location its name.

Through The Lens 63 – Fairview Farm Sunrise

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Another from the archives. Sunrise at Fairview Farm along the Strasburg Railroad during a Lerro Productions photo charter in February 2013.

Through The Lens 62 – Snow Plow

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Black Horse Cut

A year ago this weekend I stopped to photograph the Strasburg Railroad on my way to a photo charter on the Reading & Northern.  Shortly after I arrived I saw Strasburg’s Russell Snow Plow heading out of the yard. I went straight for a cut hoping for deep enough snow to capture the plow at work.  Fortunately I guessed correctly.

Through The Lens 61 – Mercury Truck

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One from the archives, this time from a Lerro Productions Photo Charter at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in October of 2013.  Shot just after sunset, this scene featured a perfectly restored Mercury pickup truck, Western Maryland 734 and Mr. Helmstetter’s Barn.

Through The Lens 60 – Solari Board

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After hearing that the Solari Board at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is due to be replaced, I took my camera along on a recent site visit to capture the board in motion. The classic clicking sound of the board updating will be missed when it’s digital replacement is installed.