Nice work Tom.Always like the "railfan" shots.
Must've been a little bit after the merger. Penn Central paint shop hadn't quite gotten to that New York Central car yet....
So when you take railfan pictures of your own railroads do you stage everything or, using this group of pictures as an example, is the train actually rolling by and you're snapping a bunch of pictures?
I've found that it's best to stage the shots. Those working on small, photo dioramas probably have no choice in this regard, as there might not be room for the entire train. Staging allows you to check composition, compare exposures and generally, show more detail. Here's a "pan" shot that I did in order to impart the feeling of speed. I can assure you, the loco wasn't really moving all that fast: perhaps 10 or 15 smph at most. I always shoot with the camera either on a tripod, or sitting directly on the layout.
So when you take railfan pictures of your own railroads do you stage everything or, using this group of pictures as an example, is the train actually rolling by and you're snapping a bunch of pictures?
They are staged. Due to the speed of the trains it would be impossible to do a run-by as Doctorwayne showed in his post. Many times I do use the locomotives to position the shot. I basically have a mark that I have to pull the car to get it in the shot. It can become a mini-specialized operating session.