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Fun with MF images - ARCHIVED - FOR VIEWING ONLY

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Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
I was back in my home country of England for Christmas and took the opportunity to reignite an old passion - British steam railways. The Foxfield Railway, in Staffordshire, used to operate from a coal mine up gradients of 1:19 to connect with a nearby main line. These days the mine is closed and the railway is run by volunteers for the sheer pleasure of it.

Pictures taken with Pentax 645D and variety of lenses.

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_IGP5705Step8CropSMALL by Ed Hurst, Spiffing Pics (110k+ views - thanks!), on Flickr[/IMG]
I too grew up with British steam - the Great Western Railway Kings and Castles (yes, I'm that old!) - but your picture blows any of mine away!

Fantastic!

Bill
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Will & Jim, many thanks for this information! It's so much more than a mere photography forum :)

It wouldn't be the first time an ancient and innocuous nature symbol was adopted by an evil right-wing movement. The sturdy elephant/mammoth, for example, appears in cave paintings...and was adopted by a certain political party in the US...:poke:

Ray
so was the jackass....

a damn fine animal by the way.

LOL. Good thing we don't discuss politics on this forum :D

When I was passing through Wyoming in 1969, I stopped to visit my maternal grandfather in Casper. He was living in a small apartment and so felt compelled to get me a room in a hotel. The floor of the lobby was a mosaic of repeating swastikas. It dated from well before WWII; I wonder if it's still there.

Tom
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Very impressive shots Ed. It must be really neat to stand there as these steam locomotives go by. I've always wanted to take a ride on the White Pass & Yukon steam locomotive railway (out of Skagway, Alaska). Someday....

Gary

Thanks Gary. I love photographing steam locos.. They have such drama, personality, movement, history and just plain steaminess :). This industrial line uses little tank engines, but Britain is covered with steam railways using everything from little shunters (aka switchers) to large express locos.. And they operate specials on the main line as well. I miss it all! Alaska sounds like an epic location for steam as well :)
 

ondebanks

Member
Just got one of the 1990s Mamiya 120/4 A macro lenses.

There's been a lot of debate down the years as to whether this lens is APO, or at least has special ULD glass. There's nothing marked on the lens itself to suggest so. But I did find this online: scan of brochure for the 120 macro at KEH
It states: "...using Mamiya's own formulation of high density/low and ultra-low dispersion glass". So that implies at least two special glass elements. I therefore had high hopes for the optics.

Well, in testing, both on the camera and with an eyepiece, I'm happy to report that it behaves very like my 200/2.8 APO. Intrafocal and extrafocal images are similar, with no discernable colour fringing. It seems to basically be an APO, although not marked as such. Sharpness rolloff and bokeh are very pleasing too.

First image is from 2010, with the 200/2.8:


Second image is from now, nearly 4 years later, with the 120/4:


Same camera and back, same subject, same cold winter beaches!

I think I'll get a lot of use from the 120/4. I also have the 110/2.8 N, a fine lens but not in quite the same category for aberration control. It may be relegated to times when I need the extra stop of aperture, e.g. astrophotography.

Ray
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Thanks Gary. I love photographing steam locos.. They have such drama, personality, movement, history and just plain steaminess :). This industrial line uses little tank engines, but Britain is covered with steam railways using everything from little shunters (aka switchers) to large express locos.. And they operate specials on the main line as well. I miss it all! Alaska sounds like an epic location for steam as well :)
I agree - whenever I get back to my home in the UK I try to make a point of visiting the Great Central Railway in Loughborough and ride & shoot it. Steam engines seem to possess and exude soul that modern diesel electrics just don't. Ditto the characteristic wooden carriages and face fulls of smoke and steam as you pass under bridges. :thumbs:

However, when it comes to rich men's toys there are few more expensive!
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I too grew up with British steam - the Great Western Railway Kings and Castles (yes, I'm that old!) - but your picture blows any of mine away!

Fantastic!

Bill

Bill - you are very kind. Coming from you, that means a lot to me :)

Photographing steam railways has always been 'my thing' - it's what got me into photography at the age of about 11. Landscape photography, on the other hand, I have only been doing seriously for a much shorter time - inspired by many people on here, yourself included.

I am very envious of your early experiences with Castles and Kings. I would love to see any of those shots!

All the best,

Ed
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I agree - whenever I get back to my home in the UK I try to make a point of visiting the Great Central Railway in Loughborough and ride & shoot it. Steam engines seem to possess and exude soul that modern diesel electrics just don't. Ditto the characteristic wooden carriages and face fulls of smoke and steam as you pass under bridges. :thumbs:

However, when it comes to rich men's toys there are few more expensive!

The GCR is a great line. There are quite a few others I like just as much. But it's hard to beat steam on the Settle-Carlisle line and in the Scottish highlands!
 

Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
Bill - you are very kind. Coming from you, that means a lot to me :)

Photographing steam railways has always been 'my thing' - it's what got me into photography at the age of about 11. Landscape photography, on the other hand, I have only been doing seriously for a much shorter time - inspired by many people on here, yourself included.

I am very envious of your early experiences with Castles and Kings. I would love to see any of those shots!

All the best,

Ed
I'll post some of my oldies in the next few days. Most of them will be Rollei TLR shots from the early 60's. This thread is going to get very steamy!
Bill
 

Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
So here's one from 1960 - a Southern Region West Country class steaming up Honiton Bank in Devon. Agfachrome rather faded!



This is one from the same era, Western Region on the Dainton Bank in Devon. Considering the transparencies are over 50 years old they're not too bad. This was long before Kodachrome became available in 120 size. It of course was much more archival.

 

Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
Very impressive shots Ed. It must be really neat to stand there as these steam locomotives go by. I've always wanted to take a ride on the White Pass & Yukon steam locomotive railway (out of Skagway, Alaska). Someday....

Gary
This must be what you mean! Unfortunately they only run the steam engine for the first few miles up the track then the diesel you can see behind (blue) takes over for the bulk of the trip. This is a Rollei shot from the 1980's.

 

Landscapelover

Senior Subscriber Member
This final shot is a slight cheat on this forum, because it's taken with a D800E (I didn't want the steam to blur too much, so needed a shorter exposure, which needed a higher ISO). All shots above are 645D though...

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_DSC8363Step9sRGBSMALL by Ed Hurst, Spiffing Pics (110k+ views - thanks!), on Flickr[/IMG]
Ed...I love this picture!
It doesn't matter which camera or lens you used. I've found the 800E is great for B&W due to its DR.
Great series!

Pramote
 
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Bill Caulfeild-Browne

Well-known member
In keeping with the recent theme though not up to the same standard as the ones above!

The road to nowhere, it seems. Southern Saskatchewan, proving the Prairies are not really flat!

 
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