I continue to be amazed at the possibilities of digital photography! The Deschutes Steam Special is running HOT toward Portland, OR with a scheduled arrival time of 1800. This feat will be difficult to attain based on run time alone, notwithstanding any meets that may occur along the way. Based on the current weather conditions looking toward the western sky, added with it will only get darker the further west the train travels, I set up in a rather nondescript location along Hwy 14, passing on the more traditional scenic views further west. When I first arrived here the lighting was marginal at best and I picked this spot account several trees in the background were showing a little fall color plus I had some elevation to utilize. The lighting conditions worsened as the cloud cover increased and what little sun there was grew lower in the sky in relation to the tall horizons of the mountainous Columbia River George. Time to see what the limits of digital photography can handle, I think to myself. I crank the knobs on my camera as far as I need to allow a 1/800th shutter speed to avoid motion blur, and yes I was using a tripod. Having used Kodachrome 25 for twenty plus years I felt very comfortable knowing its limitations of what it could and could not handle. I would have never attempted this shot with Kodachrome 25. I'm glad I stuck around to take this photo and watch the GS-4 fly by! For the record, 1/800th of a second, ISO 1250, f4.5 at 70mm and a little rudimentary darkroom magic added by yours truly. While this scene lacks the dramatic lighting witnessed elsewhere during this trip, I'm quite pleased with the results and hope you are too!
