Apr

7

Photo of the Week 59 – Last Train from Galway

Filed Under Photography on April 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Following on from last week I’ve chosen another image generated by tonemapping a single RAW file. This is an example of a shot that’s not possible with traditional HDR techniques because the train is moving. Normally HDRs are built by combining multiple separate exposures, but since the train is moving, it would appear in a different place in each exposure, resulting in a great big mess!

I took this shot while I was in Galway for a few days for a conference. The weather was mostly terrible, and there were very few trains per day, but I managed to find a moment when the weather was good, I was free from conference duties, and there was a train due none-the-less. The sky also really co-operated, putting on a spectacular show.

The train is the last InterCity service of the day from Galway to Dublin-Heuston. In this case it was made up of a single six-car Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) set. Irish Rail only have a few of these Class 22031 DMUs, which are the big brothers of the much more common Class 22001 three-car DMUs that run many InterCity services. I quite like these modern looking trains, though I do miss the old days when InterCity services were made of up regular railway coaches pulled by locomotives. I prefer the sound of the big powerful locomotives, though I think the locals prefer these near-silent DMUs 🙂

Last Train from Galway
on Flickr – Full-Size

  • Camera: Nikon D40
  • Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
  • Exposure: 1/160 sec
  • Focal Length: 48mm
  • Focal Ratio: F8
  • ISO: 400
  • Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Post Processing: Single RAW file tonemapped with Photomatix Pro

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Feb

18

Photo of the Week 52 – Fire & Ice

Filed Under Photography on February 18, 2009 | 5 Comments

It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing these weekly posts for a year now! I’m so glad this idea worked out, it’s really helped my keep blogging and keep taking photos.

This shot was taken in St. Joseph’s Square on the St. Patrick’s College Campus (AKA NUI Maynooth South Campus) in Maynooth, Ireland. It was taken later the same day as the photo I used for Photo of the Week 50. After it stopped snowing we got a really dramatic sunset over the freshly whitened landscape. It was an amazing sight to behold. The shot was taken from the middle of St. Joseph’s Square looking west towards St. Patrick’s House, and shows two of the campus’s best known landmarks, the President’s Arch (the door between the two towers), and the Gunne Chapel (AKA the College Chapel).

Fire & Ice
on Flickr – Full-Size

  • Camera: Nikon D40
  • Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
  • Exposure: 1/160 sec
  • Focal Length: 18mm
  • Focal Ratio: F8
  • ISO: 800
  • Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Processing: This image was generated from a single RAW file converted to a pseudo-HDR image and then tone-mapped with Photomatix Pro. You can see the un-tone-mapped version here.

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