Arthurs Pass Railway Station. Arthurs Pass is named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson and is now contained within the Arthurs Pass National Park. After the Arthurs Pass Station, the train enters the 8500 metre Otira Tunnel descending 250 metres over the length of the tunnel (the area traversed can bee seen on here on map.google.com). After the train enters the tunnel, a large door closes over the entrance and large fans begin extracting the exhaust gasses. The viewing carriage is off limits until we reach breathable air on the other side.
I should have tried fill-in-flash here. In haste I used ISO200 - which was far too noisy, but Noise Ninja has fixed some of this.
Monday, August 28, 2006
The works: tussock, shingle, rock, trees, snow
Here are all the elements of upper Waimakariri scenery in one image.
This was taken by my partner using a Canon A80 - underexposed to keep the snow detail - I used Noise Ninja to reduce the noise in the sky. Boosted the saturation a tiny bit. Rotated a bit (the moving train makes keeping things level a bit tricky).
This was taken by my partner using a Canon A80 - underexposed to keep the snow detail - I used Noise Ninja to reduce the noise in the sky. Boosted the saturation a tiny bit. Rotated a bit (the moving train makes keeping things level a bit tricky).
Tussock land
As well as shingle, there's quite a bit of flat tussock land. Gives the impression of being a hard life for a plant.
Because we did the trip in late winter, the sun angle is still quite low. As a result, lens flair is a bit of an issue - a lens hood would have been a good idea. I used a Lensmate Adaptor so I could fit a UV filter to protects the camera lens and zoom-mechanism from dust etc. A UV filter is probably a good idea if you're going to spend a lot of time in the open air viewing carriage. In this case the UV filter may be increasing the likely hood of visible flair.
Because we did the trip in late winter, the sun angle is still quite low. As a result, lens flair is a bit of an issue - a lens hood would have been a good idea. I used a Lensmate Adaptor so I could fit a UV filter to protects the camera lens and zoom-mechanism from dust etc. A UV filter is probably a good idea if you're going to spend a lot of time in the open air viewing carriage. In this case the UV filter may be increasing the likely hood of visible flair.
The vast shingle beds of the Waimakariri
Headed toward Aurthers Pass. Still with the Waimakariri in this region: maps.google.com
This image was underexposed at ISO100 to try and retain detail in the snow - as a result it was a bit noisy - so I processed it with Noise Ninja, then adjusted the levels and saturation in The Gimp. Original settings:
This image was underexposed at ISO100 to try and retain detail in the snow - as a result it was a bit noisy - so I processed it with Noise Ninja, then adjusted the levels and saturation in The Gimp. Original settings:
Upper reaches of the Waimakariri
At this point the river is braided with wide shingle beds, snow capped hills rise around it (maps.google.com).
img_6497-1024x768-usm2
img_6497-1024x768-usm2
Viaduct after crossing it.
One of the first viaducts. The viaducts have high railings that defeat any attempt to use them to get good photos - make the most of the approaches.
Could possibly be this one: maps.google.com. But there is a low resolution region south of this location that may also contain viaducts.
Could possibly be this one: maps.google.com. But there is a low resolution region south of this location that may also contain viaducts.
Waimakariri Gorge
Waimakariri River and Waimakariri Gorge. Lots of tunnels and viaducts around here. The tunnels can make photography a bit frustrating - shoot on high speed at any opportunity.
Satellite view of the approximate location: maps.google.com
Satellite view of the approximate location: maps.google.com
Exposed to the elements.
Here is a shot of me on the TranzAlpine viewing platform. This is the kind of garb that kept me reasonably warm while the train zipped along at the end of our winter. Under the light breathable coat I wore a polar-fleece jacket, polar-fleece top, and a thermal t-shirt. Note fingerless gloves and warm hat. A scarf to fend off Diesel soot and other dust would have also been a good idea. The airconditioned carriages can be quite warm, so a layered approach is probably the best way to go.
This shot was taken by my partner with a Canon A80 (my shots were taken with an S2 IS).
This shot was taken by my partner with a Canon A80 (my shots were taken with an S2 IS).
Springfield
The TranzAlpine standing at the platform at Spingfield - where everyone was allowed to jump off and stretch their legs or take snaps. I managed to get this picture clear of any other tourists. Trainspotters - note the loco number is visible. Also note the large windows on the carriages.
The road and rail depart company for a while around here. This can be clearly seen here on the maps.google.com satellite view of the area.
I've replaced the original image with one where a contrast-mask has been applied to the train only and an unsharp mask has been applied to the non-train only. This brings out the train a little more (tool used was The Gimp).
img_6459-cm-g-1-1024x768-usm2
The road and rail depart company for a while around here. This can be clearly seen here on the maps.google.com satellite view of the area.
I've replaced the original image with one where a contrast-mask has been applied to the train only and an unsharp mask has been applied to the non-train only. This brings out the train a little more (tool used was The Gimp).
img_6459-cm-g-1-1024x768-usm2
Zooming in on the Southern Alps
This image used about half the zoom range at an optimal aperture at quite a slow shutter speed - I think I was gaining some confidence at this point and decided to risk some slower shots.
Horticulture on the Canterbury Planes
Another image while headed toward Springfield along side highway 73. The train was moving quite fast at this point - so I kept the shutter speed high.
We were somewhere in flat of the Cantebury Plains - zoom in on this maps.google.com to see the track (no idea where we were exactly).
img_6454-bc-1024x758-usm2
We were somewhere in flat of the Cantebury Plains - zoom in on this maps.google.com to see the track (no idea where we were exactly).
img_6454-bc-1024x758-usm2
TranzAlpine - along side highway 73
From the open air viewing carriage of the TranzAlpine. I've never before shot from a moving train while standing - so it was pleasing to find that many images turned out just fine. This part of the journey tracks state highway 73.
Christchurch - looking toward the Southern Alps
Looking west from floor 13 of the Rydges Hotel on Oxford Street toward the tree lined banks of the Avon and the trees of the Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens, and in the far west, New Zealand's Southern Alps. This is the morning that greeted me for my journey on the TranzAlpine express to Greymouth on the West Coast. Here is the hotel on maps.google.com (scroll west some blocks to see the park and gardens).
This image was quite underexposed. I used Gimp to post process it with a neutral density filter and to bring back the colours. I then used NoiseNinja to remove much of the noise. Gimp was then used to resize it to 1024x768 with a little unsharp mask to restore the detail lost from the resize.
This image was quite underexposed. I used Gimp to post process it with a neutral density filter and to bring back the colours. I then used NoiseNinja to remove much of the noise. Gimp was then used to resize it to 1024x768 with a little unsharp mask to restore the detail lost from the resize.
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