…or The Last Six Months of My Life
At the beginning of the year I came across this press release disclosing the fact that the Union Pacific Railroad would be holding a contest to launch the celebrations for their 150th year. It sounded like a perfect opportunity for me to expand my foray into railroad graphic arts so I eargerly set about to create a submission for the contest…
Cajon Pass Chase Map
I have always had a huge interest in maps for as far back as I can remember. In all of my pursuits over the years, maps were either a necessary tool to accomplish the task at hand or an adjunct to augment the experience. As a child I had a massive aeronautical chart of Los Angeles hanging on my wall and I would study it for hours. Through that exercise I garnered an appreciation for distance and topography, as well as infrastructure and the historical aspects of the places listed before me. Soon maps became part of me and I would seek out and go to map stores like some kids would go to record stores or arcades…
"UP" for a Chase? 844 Comes to California
Today marks the beginning of the “return-trip” for Union Pacific’s “Living Legend,” No. 844, after participating in what Union Pacific dubbed the Centennial Tour to help New Mexico and Arizona celebrate their one-hundred years of statehood.
Union Pacific’s No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union Pacific, delivered in 1944, and will travel more than 2,900 miles from its base in Cheyenne, Wyoming during the 32-day, nine-state tour that will honor the rich railroad heritage of the scenic Southwest…
Union Pacific Leads the Way
Last night I settled in to my usual haunt, the easy chair in the front room, and perched upon my lap was my trusty Apple MacBook Pro. I had plans to research and craft a blog post that was long overdue. You see, the Union Pacific Railroad is embarking on a grand tour of the Southwest with one of their treasured and glorious steam engines replete with appropriate carriages of old in tow. The purpose of the event is best left described by a few passages from their press release…
Changing the World
I was stunned and shocked. I was seated on the floor of the trains “quiet car”, I boarded too late to get a seat, and I took a look around to see if other’s had received a similar message. Most of my fellow passengers were reading a book or already fast asleep, although there were a few others busily burying their faces in their mobile devices. I surfed the web for confirmation and quickly received it. I was devastated. I sent a text to my closest friends and a “tweet” as tears filled my eyes…
HDR Photography Visually Explained
I am often asked how I captured the details when I show someone my photography. The comment that their “photos don’t look like that.” I then explain the process of capturing the details, through proper exposure, and the benefits of High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. I though it might help to produce a post that visually details how to capture a scene in HDR an show that everyone can do it…
Pseudo-HDR Images from Cajon Pass
During my deep-dive into the realm of High Dynamic Range photography I have been forced to test with pseudo-HDR images which are the byproduct of a single RAW image file. (See my previous blog post, “Going to the Next Level: Learning HDR,” for a detailed explanation.) I am learning the nuances and challenges of the process, the various techniques and softwares packages available, and developing a maintainable workflow process. Above all else though, I am becoming inspired…
Going to the Next Level: Learning HDR
I recently started to explore the photographic technique called High Dynamic Range photography or simply HDR. This technique is centered around the post-processing task of combining a series of images, taken at different exposure settings, to create a scene that is, arguably, more realistic, which is not possible with a single camera photo…
One of My Recent Projects - The "PerryScope"
Despite the long weekend, we opted to stay home and keep the pets company during this year’s 4th of July. The downtime gave us an opportunity to do some maintenance and modifications to our vehicles. One project that I am proud of in particular, that we did this last weekend, was to finally install a remote searchlight and night vision gear on our “rig…”
BNSF's New Look
Yesterday, BNSF Railway Company unveiled their new look - a redesigned and extensively upgraded corporate web site at bnsf.com. BNSF describes their recent effort as the culmination of months of work to review all content, photos, and graphics and “lays the foundation for continued improvement.”
Despite not being a “rail shipper” myself nor a BNSF customer directly, I have been to their web site countless times for information that I need in my work as a rail journalist/photographer. In my opinion, the new site has a much “lighter” look and feel, yet the content seems more …
SECOND CHANCE - See the Santa Fe 3751 Run This Weekend in Southern California
Per the Santa Fe 3751 Facebook page,
Santa Fe 3751 will haul 4 private cars and a Metrolink diesel from San Bernardino to Los Angeles as part of the Railroad Days event in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the city of San Bernardino. For tickets and information call: 909-792-3827.
Here is a map of the route that I put together to assist you in planning your chase:…
Trails & Rails ... & Podcasts?
According to the National Park Service’s web site, the Trails & Rails program “is an innovative partnership program between the National Park Service and Amtrak. This program provides rail passengers with educational opportunities that foster an appreciation of a selected region’s natural and cultural heritage; it promotes National Park Service areas and provides a value-added service to encourage train ridership. It also renews the long tradition of associating railroads with National Parks…
You've Seen Yesterday, Now See the Future
You may have seen the numerous videos and coverage of Union Pacific’s legendary steam locomotive, UP No. 844 which is currently on duty leading the Valley Eagle Heritage Tour train or perhaps you are one of the lucky ones who saw her firsthand, either track side or on display during the tour. Maybe even you have fond childhood memories of the steam behemoths roaming the country during the days of yesteryear. If you have then you will agree that it is truly a sight to behold. What amazing machines steam engines are.
Now On May 8, 2010, you can see the newest in railroad motive-power technology, the Generator-Set (or Genset) switcher which is Union Pacific’s latest environmentally friendly design to join its fleet…
Tracking a Legend on Her Journey and Kudos to UP!
Now that the Union Pacific’s Valley Heritage Tour is underway, you can follow the train’s progress and current location on a map that is updated every 5 minutes thanks to the generosity and talents of the Union Pacific Railroad! Here is what the application looks like with an overview of the route highlighted…
And You Thought I Was Smart!
As I reported on my Facebook page yesterday, I received an email shipping notification from Apple stating that my iPad had shipped. As is typically the case with a shipping notification, based on the tracking number, UPS stated it had no notion of the packages location initially but did state it was aware of the shipment. So this morning I checked again…
Union Pacific's Valley Eagle Tour Update
ChasingSteel.com is Now Optimized For the iPhone and the Web
Show Us Your Best Train Shots!
Thanks to the social media site Facebook, you can now upload your photos for all of ChasingSteel.com’s fans to see and comment on. To upload your photos, first you need to become a fan of ChasingSteel.com on Facebook. You can easily do that by clicking on the “Become a Fan” button on the Facebook graphic in the right column if you are not a fan already…
A Union Pacific Living Legend Stretches Her Legs On an Eight State Tour
Union Pacific’s famed and historic steam locomotive, No. 844, will make an eight state, 28-day tour to south Texas in celebration of the Union Pacific Railroad’s heritage. The entire trip will encompass more than 3,500 miles. The tour is known as the “Valley Eagle Heritage Tour” and takes it name from…