Along the same vein as Travis Dewitz, John Benner captures truly compelling and inspiring photographs of modern railroads in action, complete with a sense of drama which “puts you there.” Here is John’s description of his passion from his web site at JohnBenner.com…
BNSF Unveils a New Site for "Friends"
A few days ago BNSF unveiled a new web offering called “Friends of BNSF.”
According to John Ambler, BNSF vice president, Corporate Relations,
“Friends of BNSF will allow us to keep the community informed about issues that are important to freight rail transportation and its role in the U.S. economy. Rail fans, freight rail advocates, members of communities in which BNSF operates, and of course our employees and retirees are all welcome at Friends of BNSF.”
An Idea Fueled With Passion Comes to Fruition in Stunning Fashion
Ah, rail-related daydreams, if you will, are part of the railfanning process I suspect. For me it was winning the lottery and buying the Loop Ranch, at the heart of the famed Tehachapi Loop near Keene, California, and opening a bed-and-breakfast for railfans from all over the world to enjoy. To date, that dream has not been realized. Perhaps it might, someday, if I play the lottery. (NOTE TO SELF: Buy a lottery ticket…)
BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: Provincial Supertramp
PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: Travis Dewitz
Although I have never met fellow railroad photographer and blogger, Travis Dewitz, I feel like I know him because we share the same passion - railroad photography. I have read his blog and reviewed his work for some time now and I have come away feeling inspired and astounded with his ability to capture the beauty and drama of railroads…
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…
Changing the Paint Scheme
I recently began to make better use of my commute time by bringing along my MacBook Pro. I now have a few hours each day when I can focus on post processing my photos and enhancing my graphics abilities. As an example of this effort, I decided to create a new landing page for ChasingSteel.com as a means to learn some new packages that I have purchased. Consequently, yesterday I updated the main page of the site, which has traditionally been a place to showcase one of my specific photographs, with new graphics as seen below on an iPad…
Much More Than Just a New Pretty Face
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 …
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…
Become a Web "Rail" Ranger
Train, Talent, Tangent, and Tribute
I just took a trip. It wasn’t a trip I intended to take but sometimes you just go there.
It started with an innocent email from a fellow train enthusiast named Linda Leinen. I frequently get emails from visitors to ChasingSteel.com, which I love by the way, commenting on the site or seeking train or railfanning information. I had read Linda’s email and it seem typical in all respects. It should have had the words “TICKET” printed across the top…
The Perils of Railfanning and Home Decor
Being a fan of railroads these days has many challenges, to say the least. First there are the elementsto contend with while on location at your favorite train viewing location. And then there are the snakes and critters (mis-informed or ill-intended railroad cops and the foremen) and animals to deal with.
Trust me, the last thing we need is challenges on the home front. Well, sometimes it can be difficult to be dedicated to the cause, so to speak…
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…
ChasingSteel.com is Now Optimized For the iPhone and the Web
Some of My Recent iPhone Art
Northwest Railfans Do Well in Southern California
I enjoy viewing the railfan and rail photographers’ sites that abound on the internet. I enjoy seeing other parts of the country that I rarely, if at all, get to visit and to “see” the style that each photographer has. It is also a tremendous source of inspiration and education for me which is one of the reasons why I created ChasingSteel.com myself in hopes of doing the same for others…
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…