Day 31 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Being Silly

November 30, 2017 – Day 31 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Being Silly – My niece Elaina is one of my little shutterbugkids and today she came and asked me if she could shoot pictures, so I give her my iPhone 7 plus. She wandered around the house and front porch photographing two of her favorite subjects, my cats! Eventually she ended up back in my office wanting to shoot a selfie with me. After she got her shots I asked if I could shoot one and started to shoot it thinking it’d be my picture for the day, when she said, wait, I need glasses like you! Wouldn’t that be funny? So, she got another pair of the Dollar Tree readers that I have all over the house and put them on. Of course, to add to the silliness the tongues came out for the picture! When photographing kids it never hurts to take their direction as it can make for interesting photos! LOL If you’d like to see some of her work or that of her brother and cousins pay a visit to http://www.shutterbugkids.org. There’s links there for their Facebook and Instagram accounts, which have their most current photos.

Day 30 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Boxes

November 29, 2017 – Day 30 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Boxes – What is about kids and boxes? Capturing photos of kids in their everyday environment, doing what kids do, can be a challenge. The key is to shoot, shoot, shoot, until you get that special picture that sings to you. With digital you can really never shoot too much! My nephew Damion had been feeling under the weather for several days and when he asked me if he could build a house out of a box this afternoon I couldn’t refuse! Of course, I knew that in the process there’d be a good picture or two! LOL All my nieces and nephews know me and my obsession with taking pictures!

Western Kentucky Railway pulling a freight north of Providence, Ky


January 25, 2003 – I wish I had shot more of this shortline railway before it disappeared in 2010. Here I caught a set of engines from the Western Kentucky Railway pulling a freight north of Providence, Ky with a light dusting of snow on the ground. The power was 3419 (Ex. Texas and New Orleans Railroad, GP10), 1342 (Ex. Rock Island, GP18) and 1338 (Ex. Rock Island, GP18).

According to Wikipedia, the Western Kentucky Railway (reporting mark WKRL) was a shortline railroad in Kentucky, that connected coal mines with CSX Transportation at Providence. The lines were part of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad until March 1982, when Costain Coal, Inc. bought the trackage and set up the Tradewater Railway (reporting mark TWRY) to operate it. In January 1995, the Rail Management and Consulting Corporation acquired the property and transferred it to the new Western Kentucky Railway. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. acquired it from the Rail Management Corporation in 2005. In 2010, WKRL abandoned all of its remaining lines north of Providence, and the rails were removed shortly after. The only remaining tracks that were originally owned by WKRL are operated by Martin Marrieta Aggregates’ Fredonia Valley Railroad from Princeton to Fredonia.

When created in 1995, the Western Kentucky Railway owned lines from Providence to a junction at Blackford, and from Blackford north to Waverly and south to the Paducah and Louisville Railway at Princeton. Most of the north-south line, once the main line of the Ohio Valley Railway (an Illinois Central Railroad predecessor) was abandoned in 1995 and 1996, leaving only the piece between Blackford and Dekoven. (The Fredonia Valley Railroad later acquired the section from Princeton to Fredonia. The rest of the line was then abandoned in 2010 and removed from Providence to Wheatcroft and the surrounding mines.

Southern Railroad tied down on the Duke Energy track outside of Edwardsport, Indiana

November 24, 2017 – Fellow Railfan Ryan Scott and I were out searching for a High and Wide movement of a transformer when we ran across this string of Indiana Southern Railroad tied down on the Duke Energy track outside of Edwardsport, Indiana. Wasn’t exactly what we were looking for but they made for a nice picture!!! We did find the high and wide at Elnora, IN.

Norfolk Southern 375 Westbound drops helpers at Georgetown, IN

November 24, 2017 – Westbound Norfolk Southern 375 stops briefly on the main at Georgetown, IN so the units that helped push it up the grade from Louisville, Ky to be dropped off from the rear of its train, giving me just long enough to get off one exposure before it started moving again!

Indiana Southern High and Wide Movement, Elnora, IN

November 25, 2017 – Indiana Southern Railroad 3384 and 3386 pull off the Indiana Southern onto the Indiana Railroad at Elnora, Indiana as they move a high and wide transformer load. The transformer was moving to Worthington, Indiana where it will be off loading for the co-op between Worthington and Switz City, In.ndiana Soutern High and Wide Movement, Elnora, IN

Louisville & Indiana Railroad Shops at Dusk, Jeffersonville, IN

November 23, 2017 – I spent the day railfanning Indiana with fellow photographer Ryan Scott today. Part of the trip was from Seymour to to Jeffersonville, Indiana on the Louisville and Indiana Railroad. We didn’t catch anything moving on this day after Thanksgiving running, but arrived at the engine facility just after sunset and found this great glow on the power sitting there! Rather made up for the lack of movement in my opinion!
We actually had a good day also catching short line action on the Indiana Southern with a high and wide movement which you’ll see in the next few days. In addition we caught the Norfolk Southern’s “Bar” unit! I’ll leave the details on these and other units to a later post!

Day 29 BW iPhone Challenge-Shadows and patterns

November 28, 2017 – Day 29 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Patterns – Always keep an eye out for interesting patterns and shadows when shooting photos. Here this simple wall and rafters in an alleyway caught my eye today after I had lunch with some members of our local photography club.

Day 28 BW iPhone Challenge-Not feeling well

November 27, 2017 – Day 28 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Damion Asleep – My nephew Damion hasn’t been feeling well for several days now and fell asleep after I picked him up from school. When photographing the life that surrounds you don’t forget to photograph the quiet moments!

Day 27 BW iPhone Challenge-Ballet

November 26, 2017 – Day 27 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Ballet – A sneaky way to get your little ones to pose for your camera is to tell them that you want to shoot a picture of something else. Here my niece Elaina got a new Tutu for her ballet class, so I asked if I could shoot a picture of it, resulting in a nice photo of her doing a plie in her new Tutu! Could I have gotten the photo if I had asked to take her picture? Perhaps, perhaps not.Day 27 BW iPhone Challenge-Ballet

Day 26 BW iPhone Challenge-On the edge of the frame

November 25, 2017 – Day 26 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Edge of the Frame – Sometimes putting your subjects on the extreme edges of the photo can make for an interesting photo. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your compositions!

Day 25 BW iPhone Challenge-Shadows

November 24, 2017 – Day 25 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Shadows – Sometimes when you’re out photographing with a low sun you’re going to find your own shadow gets in the photo when you frame the shot the way you want it. That’s OK! Use it as a part of the photograph!

Day 24 BW iPhone Challenge-Tracy and Jayden

November 23, 2017 – Day 24 – iPhone Daily B&W Photo Challenge: Tracy and Jayden – My niece Tracy and her son Jayden on Thanksgiving Day. When shooting kids with adults you’ll have a better photograph if you can get them both on the same level!

Day 23 BW iPhone Challenge-Phone Booth

 

November 22, 2017 – Day 23 – iPhone Daily B&W White Photo Challenge: The Phone Booth. Today I stopped in a convenience store at Nortonville, Ky and noticed this phone booth! It’s something you don’t see too much these days what with the iPhone and other smart photos that everyone seems to be using. When out shooting photographs keep your eye open for things that are interesting visually to the eye, but also don’t overlook the things that are beginning to disappear from our way of life, such as a corded phone!

Norfolk Southern 9943 at Tehachapi Mountains, Bealville, CA

June 24, 2006 – It’s a hot, dry day as Norfolk Southern 9943, in gray primer paint, heads up a Union Pacific freight train as it makes it’s way through the Tehachapi Mountains at Bealville, California as it heads toward the famous Tehachapi Loop.NS 9943 at Tehachapi Mountains, Bealville, CA

Day 22 – iPhone Daily B&W White Photo Challenge: Journey

November 21, 2017 – Day 22 – iPhone Daily B&W White Photo Challenge: Journey. This is a portrait of my niece Journey after her preschool’s Thanksgiving program today. Photographing kids with the iPhone indoors can be a challenge (they’re fast!!), with or without flash. I prefer not to use flash myself. I feel that as soon as the flash goes off you announce to the world, I’m taking a picture and it’s harder to get good candid shot. Plus, the iPhone camera doesn’t take the picture right away when using the flash, there’s always a slight delay. Another tip for photographing kids is to use the camera’s “burst” mode (we used to call it motor drive) and then select your favorite, sharp photo from the burst.

CSX G438 SB meets Q586-01 NB at Kelly, Ky

November 1, 2017 – Southbound CSXT 86 heads up loaded grain train, G438 as it sits on the main at the south end of the siding at Kelly, Ky, while Q586-01 pulls around it through the siding as it heads north on the Henderson Subdivision. To help add variety and impact to your photos try shooting from higher angles such at bridges that pass over the tracks, always remembering to be safe when doing so.

Union Pacific 5377 northbound in Cajon Pass, Ca…

June 19, 2006 – IN reworking my drive storage system this weekend I stumbled across this shot of Union Pacific 5377 leading a autorack train up the grade at Cajon Pass, California that I shot with my then state-of-the-art Nikon D200!! I’ve been shooting RAW with my cameras since it was available and I’m glad I did! I was able to apply my style to this photograph that I shot over 11 years ago because of it! I think it turned out nicely myself!! #jimstrainphotos #californiarailroads #trains #nikond200 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #unionpacificrailroad