The Emerald Isle Explorer – 18/06/2016

Emerald Isle Explorer FOShea-2

sd_posterIt was with a sense of excitement that we heard during the week that a Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, steam-hauled train would visit Cork City on Friday and Saturday as part of a six-day private charter tour, The Emerald Isle Explorer.

Saturday 18th June promised be the best day to view and photograph the train in the Cork area as the locomotive, WT Class 2-6-4T No.4 Tank Engine, would haul the 09.35hrs train from Kent station to Killarney. She would run, boiler first, to Mallow where, after taking on water, would proceed bunker first to Killarney. A recce of prospective vantage points was hurriedly done on Friday in preparation for the run for which the weather forecast was looking very favourable.

Emerald Isle Explorer DB-2By 8.30am on Saturday, the locomotive was already well in preparation for the run as it sat, puffing silently, alongside two modern siblings in the sidings of Kent station. The coaches were also in preparation with staff attending to the final details.

Shortly after 9am, a diesel shunted the coaches into position alongside the mainline platform in the station while the locomotive ran around the outside of the station building, into the tunnel and reversed back to be coupled to them. Right on time and to the accompaniment of huge volumes of steam, smoke and a loud whistle, the train departed into the tunnel leaving many wide eyed children (and adults) behind who were only too glad to have caught a glimpse of times gone by.

Emerald Isle Explorer DB-20

See a gallery of images from the shoot here. Enjoy!

 

How I Took that Shot – Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson came first in Grade B in our recent ‘Transport’ competition with the image of the Sunbeam shipwreck below. This is how he made it:

15 keith johnson - Transport - Sunbeam

This was a shot I took in early 2013, some of you will know where it was taken but for those who do not it is a picture of the schooner, Sunbeam, which was wrecked on Rossbeigh Beach, Glenbeigh, Co. Kerry, I think in January 1904 when it was driven ashore in a gale off the Kerry Coast while on its way from Kinvara to Cork. Luckily no lives were lost, and it has lain on the beach ever since .

Anybody who walked the beach would have taken a picture of it in all conditions, sometimes covered with sand it would disappear for weeks at a time and the next high tide it would reappear, another time it would be completely empty of sand and you could get pictures of it at all times with the tide in or out .

I guess it is sadly missed by most people who walked the beach regularly, because in a January 2014 storm it was broken up and displaced from its resting place although it lay on the beach after the storm and the powers that be had the opportunity to salvage most of the Oak timbers and preserve them but unfortunately did not think it was worth it.

For a schooner built in 1860 in Exmouth Devon UK by John Walters from local oak timbers as a sailing coaster, it would have carried around 80 tonnes.It was sold and reregistered in Dublin in 1874.

It is a sad ending as it had always been a photogenic attraction for many photographers over the years.

– Keith Johnson

See also:
How I took that Shot – Finbarr O’Shea
How I took that Shot – Karina Leeson
Competition Gallery
Competition Results and 2016 League Table

How I Took that Shot – Finbarr O’Shea

Recording his second win in a row, recent LIPF awardee, Finbarr O’Shea took first place in Grade A in our recent ‘Transport’ competition. This is how he did it:

I recently took a spin to Cobh train station with this picture in mind for our transport compitition.

After setting up the camera I took a few test shots and decided a 3 second exposure would do the job. The train was an important part of the competition but I also wanted to feature the nice ironwork on the stations canopy.

With the camera locked in position, I just had to wait a few minutes for the train to arrive to take the shot.

Later in Lightroom I had to do a bit of work on the image that I picked, this was mainly to balance the light which I ddid with the dodge & burn tool.

I used a Canon 5DII 16-35L canon lens ISO100, F10, 3 Seconds.

– Finbarr O’Shea

See also:
How I took that Shot – Keith Johnson
How I took that Shot – Karina Leeson
Competition Gallery
Competition Results and 2016 League Table

Innishannon Steam and Vintage Rally – 05/06/2016

Innishannon NLowney-22

The annual Innishannon steam and vintage rally took place on the June Bank holiday weekend at the 38 acre venue outside Innishannon village. This annual event has been built up over the last 45 years. The rally has been running successfully since 1998 with all proceeds from the event going to the Irish Cancer Society. The rally was originally created to promote heritage machinery of all classes at work and to provide a suitable venue for vintage enthusiasts to display their machines as well as allowing the general public to view. The exhibits included huge tractors, threshers, unique cars, oil and steam engines.

Innishannon EUpton-7The event commenced with a parade of various vintage steam engines and old harvest machinery. At the end of the parade, 6 of the engines who participated in the event 46 years ago lined up for the public and photographers to take shots of these masterful machines from yesteryear. In addition to the various vintage club displays, there was also a slow Steam engine and slow tractor race as well as a motor cycle display.

With the weather staying dry and sunny, this was a fun event for collectors, enthusiasts, visitors and of course ECCG to view and photograph rare agricultural and mechanical treasures from the past.

Click here to see a gallery of images from this shoot. Enjoy!

 –  Noelle Lowney

How I Took that Shot – Karina Leeson

Newcomer to East Cork Camera Group, Karina Leeson, had a fantastic run in her first competition with the shot below which won her not only first place in Grade C but also third place in the overall scores across all three Grades in our recent ‘Transport’ competition. Well done Karina! This is how she did it:

06 Karina Leeson - Transport

This image was definitely a lesson in patience as it took quite a few tries to get right. I set up the tripod in the back seat of the car with 2 legs on the floor and one leg on the back seat. I used a remote trigger and set a 10 second delay with the self timer in order to give myself time to start driving and get positioned steady before the shot. Each time I pulled the car in and hopped into the back seat to see the results.

I did this a few times as the exposure was turning out either too bright or too dark. I adjusted the settings until eventually I got an image that I was happy with. In Lightroom I adjusted the exposure a little bit as it was slightly overexposed. I also sharpened the image and increased the clarity.

Taken on Canon EOS 60D, Canon 18-135mm at 18mm. Aperture 5.0, ISO 100, 5 second shutter exposure.

 – Karina Leeson

See also:
How I took that Shot – Finbarr O’Shea
How I took that Shot – Keith Johnson
Competition Gallery
Competition Results and 2016 League Table