Steve Cole
August 2026 - Steve Cole - Heading West
Original
About the Image(s)
On this day I was just driving about the county roads near my home looking for “whatever” and came upon this west bound freight train. Hence quickly pull off the road a bit to capture it. Used this photo as a submission in a B/W online course by Athena Carey in 2022.
Fujifilm XT2, 100-400 at 176 (265mmFF), f5.6,1/640, ISO 800
Processed Lightroom Classic, Topaz Denoise, Nik Silver Pro
5 comments posted
My dad was a huge train buff - I have so many memories of that move to quickly pull off the road and grab a camera to capture a train. The monochrome story is much different than the cold winter half-light of the original. Your crop also adds some emphasis to the exhaust and the light beams Posted: 08/09/2026 19:24:25
It's an amazing photo for one that was spontaneous. I like to tonal range, especially the whites. I particularly like the grill of the train, notably the lights.
The center trees and the pole on the left help balance out the photo real nicely.
Rob Posted: 08/13/2026 17:18:09
The center trees and the pole on the left help balance out the photo real nicely.
Rob Posted: 08/13/2026 17:18:09
HI Steve,
What is it about trains that draws us to them? That fascinates us so much? I like this image. I like the focus and your post processing to B&W. And definitely like the subject.
The sad part, as I see it, is that the headlights, already very bright, appear to my eye very distracting feeling out of place with the overall tone of the image, more like strobe lights. The upper two are not really an issue to my eye. However the bottom two, particularly the one on the left, as I see it, detract from the overall mood of the image.
I tried playing with the original in Photoshop and was not able to tone down the effect of the lights without any real success.
Having said that it was a great in the moment catch on your part and I appreciate your sharing it with us. Makes me want to go out find a train to photograph - perhaps up at the PA Train Museum in Lancaster, PA. Posted: 08/13/2026 18:12:50
What is it about trains that draws us to them? That fascinates us so much? I like this image. I like the focus and your post processing to B&W. And definitely like the subject.
The sad part, as I see it, is that the headlights, already very bright, appear to my eye very distracting feeling out of place with the overall tone of the image, more like strobe lights. The upper two are not really an issue to my eye. However the bottom two, particularly the one on the left, as I see it, detract from the overall mood of the image.
I tried playing with the original in Photoshop and was not able to tone down the effect of the lights without any real success.
Having said that it was a great in the moment catch on your part and I appreciate your sharing it with us. Makes me want to go out find a train to photograph - perhaps up at the PA Train Museum in Lancaster, PA. Posted: 08/13/2026 18:12:50
Hi Steve, I really like the way the train fills the frame, it seems to be moving towards the viewer. The exhaust fumes add to the sense of motion. I join in Robert's admiration of the tones; I find snow awfully difficult to make look natural. Posted: 08/15/2026 08:17:43
Hi Steve. Kudos for stopping to capture this image. I love its tonality. The snow looks natural, the image is sharp, and the visible fumes in the sky add a nice sense of movement. I agree with Ed about the clipped headlights. Perhaps they could be reconstructed in PS. Compositionally, the frame is nicely filled, though I wish there was a little more space on the right to give the train room to move into. Nicely done! Posted: 08/15/2026 14:27:48