Bit of an interesting mish-mash here!
Back in 2020, the most famous Australian steam locomotive, no. 3801, re-entered service and ran a series of test trips. I headed down to the viaduct over the Bargo River to capture her. Conditions were lovely, but there were one or two things awry with the image. Firstly, there was a water 'gin' between the locomotive and the carriages (often required these days because the watering facilities that used to be scattered all over the railway network in steam days are no longer there - but it looks historically wrong); secondly, due to the line being level at this point, there was no visible steam/smoke from the loco., which makes for a lifeless image, lacking in energy.
I was able to get rid of the water gin using frames taken moments later than the main one, but the lack of exhaust remained.
Last year, a different locomotive made a run over the same line and made plentiful back smoke. I promised myself that I'd blend the two images together (including the reflection of the smoke!) to create this image. I'd rather have it one day 'for real' and I think a pretty trail of fluffy white steam would look better than this black smoke. But it will do me for now!
Original shot:
Pentax 645Z with 25mm f4 DA lens
Later shot (to donate smoke):
Fuji GFX100S with Laowa 20mm shift lens
Crossing the Bargo River by
Ed Hurst, on Flickr
StarTrails by Ed Hurst, on Flickr
Strawberry Moon 2025
