This month’s photography column will be all about the equipment and software for capturing trackside videos using your smartphone.

From a composition standpoint video photography of trains is pretty much the same as regular still photography except of course you capture motion and can put together sequences and titles to help tell the story.

Turning your phone horizontally (to landscape mode) is the best way to record all your smartphone videos. Period! It’s much easier to handle the phone this way and you won’t see those annoying black side bars when watching your video on a large screen. Also, don’t forget that your TV and Computer Monitors sit horizontally and not vertical.

Plus, everything looks much beautiful recorded in horizontal (more room for your subject) vs. an ugly compress square. This format might be okay for Instagram photos, but not for videos.

Depending on which smartphone you have will determine the quality of your video. The newer iPhones come with 4K video resolution (a far cry from the VHS days!), which is about as high a quality you can get these days. However, you need to make sure it’s set to record in the highest quality by paying a visit to the settings on your device. Be aware, the higher the quality of your video the larger your video file is and the more space it will take. Also, it will take longer to upload if you posting it online.

Below are screen grabs where you can set your video quality on the iPhone. Not sure where it is on other smartphones, but should be somewhere under your settings.

One sure sign of an amateur video recording (besides a video done with low lighting) is a shaky video. So, stop holding your iPhone and mount it on a stand. Working with a mounted iPhone will also prevent your shot from going out of focus.

One mount for the iPhone and other smartphones is the GripTight GorillaPod stand made by Joby. This flexible iPhone mount is an ideal accessory for all videographers on-the-go.

The stand is compact, doesn’t take up too much room and holds the phone safely and securely and can also be attached to poles and tree limbs. The GripTight mount can also be attached to most other tripods via a universal ¼” screw.

I personally use a regular tripod for my video work and attach my camera using the device below. It runs $8.99 on Amazon Prime. Click on the photo for a link. There’s many others available however if you just do a search.

If you don’t have a tripod, one stabilization trick is bracing yourself against something such as a light pole or tree. Another is to bring your elbows in tight against your body, which will give you more stability. Holding your breath during shots can also help minimize shakiness if you are hand-holding the phone on a solid surface.

While editing your video on the smartphone can be done, if you’re going to be serious about your video work it’s best to do it on a desktop computer. The controls are much easier to use. There are many programs out there that allow you to do this and one’s probably already installed on your Windows computer called Movie Maker. Many others are available as well on the market. My favorite is Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s a monthly subscription software that runs about $20 a month. I do a lot of video work for my church however and so I go with this heavy-duty software. Do a Goggle search and you’ll find all kinds of software, some free and some paid.

As for editing on the smartphone itself? I use an app called Cameo a lot, but I also use MoviePro, Pinnacle Studio Pro and iMovie. Easiest way to learn to use these programs is to shoot some video and play around with them. You can also search on YouTube for the app and find tutorials there as well. Other apps that get top reviews are, Videoshop, Splice, Quik and Video Crop. There are many others however.

Many of the above apps will also allow you to shoot video instead of using the built-in camera. These apps and others such as Filmic Pro allow you to have much more control over the shooting of your videos.

If you plan on doing a lot of long videos, then I recommend getting a battery pack for whatever kind of smartphone you have. Video recording will eat the battery on your phone quick.

Also, in closing, I recommend that you don’t zoom! Most smartphones use digital zoom and the quality of your video will suffer greatly if it does. If your phone has optical zoom or you have add on lenses for your phone, then they should be fine. Digital zoom only enlarges the pixels on your phone and lowers the quality of the video and photo.

Hope this hasn’t left your head spinning too much. If you have questions, please feel free to drop me an email at jim@jimpearsonphotography.com

Here’s a link to a good video on Best Video Editing Apps for iOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrpHWyBgYW0

This month we’re going to take a look at the free, yes I said free, app for editing your photos on iPhone, Android, Mac and the PC. The app was originally developed by NIK Software, but has since been bought out by Google, which distributes it. You can find it available in the app store or by searching on Google.

This is my go to app for editing pictures that I shoot on my iPhone 6s when I’m out trackside or anywhere else taking photos. It’s super easy to use and there’s tutorials available all over the web. I’ll provide links to some at the end of this column. Also, I’ll provide a brief overview for you in this column.

Click on thumbnail for larger photo

When you first open Snapseed you’ll get the opening screen which prompts you to select and open the image you want to work with. You have several options. You can choose a photo from your camera roll, or whatever your device calls it, take a photo with the camera, open your latest image or paste in a copied image.

Once the image is open you’ll notice several options at the top of your screen which are Open, which opens a new image, Save, which gives you several options which include, save, save a copy and cancel. I use the Save a copy option as it allows you to go back and made changes to what you’ve done to the photo in Snapseed. It also preserves your original photo. Next to the Save feature is a small white square that will contain numbers as you apply different effects to your photos. These edits, called stacks or layers, allow you to revisit something you’ve done to the photo and change or delete the edit.

To the right of the small white square are three white dots. Tap this to access other options including, Undo, Revert, Share, Help and Cancel.

Click on thumbnail for larger photo

After you’ve opened your image you’ll notice a large round dot with a pencil in it in the lower right of the screen. Tap this to bring up your tools for editing. They’re pretty intuitive and easy to figure out. Under TOOLs you’ve find Tune Image, which allows you to adjust everything from brightness to shadows. Once you selected it just press and hold down on the screen to bring up a menu to change between the different options. Once you’ve selected an option slide you finger back and forth across the screen to change the effect. This procedure is the same in all the features you’ll encounter in Snapseed. To apply your changes just click on the checkmark on the bottom of the screen. If you want to see your histogram click on the small icon on the left of the screen.

Click on thumbnail for larger photo

Also under the tools screen you’ll find FILTERS (left). These allow you to apply creative effects to your photos such as Lens Blur, HDR Scape, Black and White along with many more. It also has an option for adding frames to your image as well. Playing around with them is the easiest way to figure out what each one does. If you decide you don’t like an effect just click on the small x on the screen at the bottom left where you’re editing and cancel the edit.

If you want to zoom into your photo during an edit, just pinch in or out and use the navigation box by using the blue box that appears in the lower left corner.

Once you’ve edited your picture to look the way you’d like just click on the save button in the upper right corner and choose the option you wish to use. As I said before, I highly recommend the Save a copy option.

Also, for help, there’s a button at the bottom of the screen that says “Insights.” Click on it to bring up tutorials and videos on how to use Snapseed.

Other good resources are:

¨ Snapseed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqTgGRgp5CRHhUJKeRraQgw/How to use Snapseed

¨ http://www.mobiography.net/apps/how-to-use-snapseed-to-enhance-your-mobile-photography/

¨ Google Support: https://support.google.com/snapseed/

¨ Download in from the App Store for your device or by search for Snapseed Download on Google.com

Welcome to my first installment on this new column! I hope that everyone gets at least something from my ramblings here!

On July 22, 2016 I made a trip to find the South Tunnel on CSX’s Mainline Subdivision. I didn’t catch a train unfortunately, but this shot taken with my iPhone 6s really doesn’t need one! Look for photos that can provide you with good leading lines to help draw your subject into your picture!

The Best Camera
I’m often asked what’s the best camera to use when taking photographs? My short answer is, the one you have with you! It doesn’t really matter what brand you use or like as long as you get out trackside and shoot pictures!

Now, of course some cameras offer better results than perhaps others, but what it all comes down to is that it’s the person behind the camera that “makes” the picture, not the equipment you use! I shoot and have seen others shoot with everything from smartphones to high priced digital cameras, but what it really comes down to a lot is you, the photographer and how you see and capture the scene before you! That’s what I love about photography, the ability to decide when and what I want to photograph. No one else tells me, or you, when to press the shutter.

August 5, 2016 – Southbound CSX loaded coal train N320 (Evansville, IN (EVWR) – Cross, SC) meets W987-30 with a load of windmill motors waiting to go north from the north end of Hanson siding as N320 makes it’s way south on the Henderson Subdivision at Hanson, Ky.

Simple advice to keep in mind when shooting pictures. First and foremost, if something in your picture doesn’t contribute to what you want the final photo to say then eliminate it when your shooting. Do this by getting closer, lower, higher, picking up trash or whatever else it takes. It’s much easier to do it before you shoot than it is to have to do it in the computer. Second, when shooting trains, don’t get hung up on the direction of the light! It is what it is and you can’t always control it. You have to shoot the picture when the train and you are there! Third, don’t shoot everything from eye level! Get low sometime to add drama to your pictures, or high sometimes to give a different perspective. Fourth, don’t shoot just on bright and sunny days. Great pictures are to be made on cloudy, rainy, snowy filled days.

Fifth, don’t put the camera away when it gets dark! Drag out the tripod or fast lens and shoot! There’s great pictures to be made during twilight and after dark. Sixth, Study the pictures of photographers you like! Ask yourself questions such as why did he shoot form this angle, time of day, etc. Seventh, look for things to photograph that are different. Heritage Locomotives, Steam Engines, Unusual paint schemes, obscure out of the way short lines, trains with different types of cargo, etc. I hope some of these help and good luck trackside and always be safe! Keep Clicking!!!