Rusty Train – Snoqualmie

27. June 2012 · Comments Off on Rusty Train – Snoqualmie · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

I was looking for something to post tonight and went through my “Unposted” directory and nothing really grabbed me.  And as it was 10pm I started to worry a little.  So I went through my 6,198 picture library (that’s how many pictures I’ve taken this year) and I came across this train.

The image was taken in Snoqualmie at the railway museum.  When you drive towards Snoqualmie for about a mile on the right hand side you pass all these old trains.  There are loads of them and they are all rusting and falling apart.  Unfortunately there is this six foot high wire fence between the path that runs next to the trains and the exhibits, so it’s quite hard to get a good shot.  You don’t want a dirty big fence in the way.

So I found a part of the path that was a little higher than the rest, pushed the tripod up to it’s nine foot maximum height, lifted the camera over the fence and took the shot.  Considering I couldn’t properly compose the picture, I think it came out OK.

What makes the train and picture interesting (to me anyway) is the terrible state it’s in and the autumn colors of the metal.  It’s all red, brown, yellow and orange and I think looks cool.  My only regret is that I don’t have a nice blue sky above, that would have looked really good.  But you can’t have everything.

This weekend I’m going to try some light painting with some flashlights.  The Halo guys grabbed one each but I think Carter has flashlight envy.

Mallet Locomotive – Snoqualmie

24. May 2012 · Comments Off on Mallet Locomotive – Snoqualmie · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: ,

A couple of weeks ago I visited Snoqualmie Northwest Railway Museum to shoot some trains.  They have a few steam and diesel trains there and most are in a pretty poor state of repair.  Some of the trains are literally falling apart, covered in rust, but there are a couple that have kind of been looked after.

They have this museum building that looks like an old railway station and behind the building are a couple of trains that look great.  One of them is the subject for today’s posting, and is a Mallet Locomotive.  This train was invented by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet and actually has two engines.

Even though it was a nice day there weren’t too many people there so I was able to get a good shot without loads of people in the way.  Ironically just after I took this picture, a couple of families turned up and their kids started climbing all over the engines.  When this happened I figured it was my time to leave so I legged it.

Carter felt the call of the stage today – well the video camera at least, and performed Hamlet for the family.

Cascade Train – Stevens Pass

20. May 2012 · Comments Off on Cascade Train – Stevens Pass · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

I posted a bit of an opus last night and still have typist cramp, so tonight’s posting is much shorter – to balance out.  If you read last nights blog posting you will have noted that a large train was parked up when Chris and I walked back to the car.  Well, this is that train.

It’s engine was running when we drove up, and it was still running when we got back from the waterfall – about a hour later.  I don’t know why they stopped there, but was glad they did because if they were 20 feet further forward we would probably still be there now, as they would have blocked our exit over the tracks, also I wouldn’t have got this picture.

I liked the orange and yellow colors against the green background, kind of looked cool there and I was pleased with the picture when I got home.  I chose a relatively big aperture and was pretty close as I wanted the end of the train to fall out of focus and got exactly what I wanted.

There, told you tonight would be shorter.

Imagine my excitement this week when I heard that Adorama had finally shipped my purchase!  Unfortunately though it wasn’t my D4, it was a D4 battery 🙁   However the Halo dudes were still excited and decided to do an un-boxing video.  Not that exciting I know, but they try.

Train Decay – Snoqualmie

13. May 2012 · Comments Off on Train Decay – Snoqualmie · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

Today’s image is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but I like it (and so does Lisa) so up it goes.  This shot was taken in the Train Museum in Snoqualmie.  There were loads of trains there – all shapes and sizes and I took lot of pictures.  But there was this one wagon that was really in bad shape.  It was obviously very old and weathered.  The sun, rain and every other element had hit this wagon hard.

So I took loads of pictures including the close up one below.  Some of the things you should look for in “interesting pictures” is texture and this train had plenty of it (in fact it was falling off the thing and all over the floor).  I really liked the peeling paint and rotten wood (keep with me here I’m being sincere) and the orange and blacks looked great (I thought) so this was one I was pretty pleased with.

But I’ve been holding off posting it as it’s not what you normally see from me – and I appreciate that most people wont “get it”.  Lisa asked me if I liked it and I said yes, I love it!  So she said them post it, the site is for you not for readers.  (She clearly had a bad day).

So here you are, a close up of rust and rotten wood on a decaying old train that literally is falling to bits.  Enjoy…

What with the nice warm weather outside Cater decided to play ball in the yard.

Train – Snoqualmie

05. May 2012 · Comments Off on Train – Snoqualmie · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

During in the week a work colleague (Jan) suggested I check out the trains in Snoqualmie, he told me there was a flatbed trolly cart with a single tree growing on it. (At least I think that’s what he said).  So today I drove to Snoqualmie to see what I could find.

I’ve actually visited Snoqualmie before to take pictures but that was at the beginning of the year and it was a lot colder.  So it was nice to go back and walk around the trains in a t-shirt and enjoy the sunshine.

I parked in the town center and walked all the way back to the bridge and didn’t see Jan’s flatbed.  But in the process I got some great shots of the trains so it was a good day out.

Some of the trains have signs near them telling you all about them but for the yellow train in today’s picture I couldn’t find anything.  Now I should say here I’m definitely no train enthusiast but it was fun to photograph them.  Most of them are rusty and falling apart and I got some great shots of decaying metal (sounds odd I know but you’ll see what I mean when I post those images).  But today I thought I’d start with something that looks like a working train – even though I think it’s been a while since this train rode the rails.

Even though it was a nice day there weren’t too many people around so I got some cool shots without unwanted distractions.  Jan, I hope you like this picture, sorry it’s not what you wanted but hopefully you think it’s cool.

Carter decided tonight to give his friend a makeover, they started by painting nails.

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