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.

One site I have followed regularly, is Dogcaught.com and it has recently undergone a face-lift and it looks great. The site’s creator and designer is Aaron Hockley while Steve Eshom and Adron Hall complete the list of contributors.  These bloggers and photographers are based in the northwest and are talented photographers.  

In particular, Steve Eshom recently  posted 2 blog entries about a recent trip the guys took along BNSF’s Needles Subdivision, one of my favorite haunts.  Their trip was cursed, or blessed, with stormy weather at various times which presented some challenging photo requirements.  As you can see from his posts, the result is spectacular.  The guys made the best of it and captured some real gems.

The site is definitely worth a bookmark and Steve’s recap of their Needles trip is relevant to many of us Socal fans and photographers.  Stop by and give them a shout.

dogcaught: a railroad blog

Show Us Your Best Train Shots!

Look for this box on our Facebook page.

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.

Once you have become a fan you need to go to our Facebook page. On our Facebook page look in the left column of the page for the box with the text “TO UPLOAD FAN PHOTOS:” in it.  Simply click on the link listed below the text and follow the prompts.

I look forward to seeing some shots from all over the world and I would like to extend my thanks, in advance, for contributing and being part of the process!

Two Days at Lavic, Trains Galore

Over the Valentine’s Day weekend last February, Deb and I spent our time out on BNSF’s Needles Subdivision. Yes, Deb was up for it, mostly because it was also a new moon weekend which is ideal for her favorite endeavor of star gazing, but partly because she wants me to be happy! ;-)

We chose the BLM land near the railroad’s curve at Lavic, California as our campground.  We were blessed with great weather and little to no wind.  The trains were plentiful, as is typical along the “BNSF transcon.” Consequently, collectively we shot over 800 photos and 32 videos.

I have done the post processing of the better photos and some of the video footage has been edited as well.  I have added about 80 more photos to my portfolio.  For those of you not familiar with the Needles Sub, here is a sample of the scenery surrounding Lavic:

The rest of the photos from the Lavic trip and all my other photos can be viewed by clicking on my “portfolio” link in the menu bar at the top.  Once there you can view the photos in a slideshow format, rate the photos, and even purchase prints or downloads.  Here is what the portfolio page looks like:

My “Portfolio” page

Six videos have been created so far.  I created the “Trackside” series which can be viewed on Chasing Steel’s YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/chasingsteel.  I am pleased with how the videos are coming along so far.  Here is what my channel looks like on YouTube:

Chasing Steel’s YouTube Channel

As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts or comments. ;-)