I firmly believe that there is no better time to visit Stevens Pass for railroad photography than on winter nights. A line that can be tough to work in daylight suddenly opens up with infinite new possibilities, few of which feature the train so much as the atmosphere surrounding the railroad environment.
Opportunities range from capturing the surreal, to portraying the ethereal, to lighting up the boundaries between two worlds, to finding different ways of portraying the same scene…
The lesson here: Don’t be afraid of the elements. Prepare yourself to handle the likely challenges, then get out there and let your imagination run free.
Wow! The 7246 & the 733 pictures are amazing!! How long do you typically have to wait before you can shoot a passing train. Also – how accessable are the sites you shoot at? I imagine there is a lot of hiking with equipment – in the dark!
Thanks for these wonderful pictures.
Jeff, thanks for the kind comments! Wait times depend entirely on train traffic; Stevens Pass can have long periods of inactivity, or you can get a cluster of trains in a short duration. All of the photos presented here were more or less at drive-up locations, with very little extra hiking necessary to get into position; that said, 4WD is highly recommended and snow/traction tires are absolutely essential.
Dave, this “Galaxy point and click” “photographer”, met your friend, Sam Martland, yesterday.
I’m a one-time “railfan”, but have largely moved away over the past thirty years. From “back in my day”, I knew many of the accomplished and published rail photographers such as Tom Hoffmann, Mel Patrick, Mike Schaffer, and Bob Schmidt. The dedication they would go to “get the shot” braving weather, personal comfort and even safety, and even harassment from possibly trespass, was on a par with yours and simply astounded me.
GBN
Thanks for the kind words, Gilbert! Of the names you mentioned, Mel in particular is one of my inspirations, and I’m a bit floored to be compared in any way with his work. Cheers!
-Dave