Images of the Night

 Guardian of the Night
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i
Exposure Program: Manual

Shutter Speed: 30 sec.
Aperature: f/5
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 18 mm
Lens: EF-18-55mm f 3.5-5.6 IS
Flash: No
Tripod: Yes


For this photo, the goal was to capture the lights and the motion of the moving train at night.  The signal, displaying a stop indication, is protecting the movements of the trains on the track, hence the title Guardian of the Night.  A friend and I camped out at this location, just west of Malta, MT, on a cold October evening, counting the trains passing throughout the night, with this signal protecting the movements of every train passing.  The process that I went through was waiting for a train to pass to capture it, the signal, and the night stars lighting the sky.  I set up the tripod, set the camera to the settings above, and waited for the distant sound of a horn or the hollow rumble that only a General Electric locomotive can make.  Having a radio scanner didn't hurt either.  I aimed the lens of the camera up toward the signal (the track was slightly elevated) and opened the shutter as the glow of light to the west grew brighter.  The train carrying containers from China and the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to the interior of the U.S. passed us at 35 mph.  The lights illuminated the signal, the adjacent signal relay tower, and propane switch heater tank, giving this result.

All Clear Ahead
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i
Exposure Program: Manual

Shutter Speed: 15 sec.
Aperature: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 55 mm
Lens: EF-18-55mm f 3.5-5.6 IS
Flash: No
Tripod: No


This was more a photo of opportunity than planned out.  The goal on this night was to capture the motion of the crossing arms with all the lights coming down for the approaching train.  However, waiting for the impending arrival of a train, the sun was setting over the Montana landscape just west of Laurel on this Friday November evening.  The clouds gave places for the last rays of sunlight to poke through, the signal for the approaching train was already lined clear well ahead of time (the green dot in the middle of the photo), and the traffic passing on the adjacent I-90 lit the tops of the rails as the trucks and cars streaked past.  And no, I didn't get the crossing shot I had set out to capture on this night.  But captured this photo instead.