Holiday Leftovers from LAUPT

As the lack of recents posts atest to, I have been crazy busy lately. Not only have I been working a ton to finish a large project by year’s end at the office, but the holidays are upon us and we are entertaining out-of-state guests for a few weeks. As if that wasn’t enough, I have also spent all of my spare time learning a unique subject that has always interested me. Soon I will prepare a post on the topic and the byproduct of all my research and learning…

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Our Best Trip Ever - Part 5 - Chasing at the La Posada Hotel

From a railfan’s perspective, the La Posada Hotel is blessed with a plethora of both, mainline trackage and plenty of traffic, that form the southern border of the property. Considering the hotel’s history, a place for weary travelers of the Santa Fe Railway Company to get some rest and good eats, this is by design. As such, the grounds provide a welcome sign of sorts admist the parch and arid landscape in this part of northern Arizona. Butted up against the platforms of the Winslow Amtrak station, a semi-circular brick plaza morphs into a walkway that leads directly to a portico and the lobby of the hotel. Today, as it was then, this area serves as fantastic train watching vantage point complete with wood rocking chairs for the guests to rock their cares away as they watch the parade of trains, from all points east and west, go by…

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Amtrak Dual - Variations of a Photo

As I stated in my previous post, HDR Photography Visually Explained, here is a post showcasing an HDR photo which has been processed with different effects. I was trying out different techniques to sharpen my skills and different styles to see what appeals to me…

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Trains at Los Angeles Union Station in HDR: Part 2

Continuing from my previous post, here are four more photos from Los Angeles Union Station…

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Trains at Los Angeles Union Station in HDR: Part 1

To help alleviate our financial woe I have begun take on some web and design consulting work leaving me with less time than I would like to create postings for ChasingSteel.com, let alone go out the far reaches of the California to take photographs. Hopefully the new year will bring better opportunities! Over the course of the past week I filled the small holes of opportunity during my daily commutes with post-processing some photos from Los Angeles Union Station…

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Poster Art: Travelers

As I exited the tunnel from Track 3 at Los Angeles Union Station and joined the tide of humanity, the hundreds of recently freed commuters that were rushing to the find their exits, I felt the pressure and the urgency that seems to be part of the daily commuting process. Making my way through the main waiting area of the terminal I passed several lines of people that seemed to consist of business travelers, family vacationers, and many others seeking to be elsewhere…

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BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: Provincial Supertramp

I was contacted by “Provincial Supertramp” due to my work as a rail advocate and a rail-centric blogger. In her email she detailed her intention of traversing America by train and disclosed her desire to blog about her travels, trials, and tribulations - but that’s not all…

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Amtrak's Pomona Station

On Labor Day this year I found myself out and about in the local area looking for trains to shoot. I was following the Union Pacific’s Alhambra and Los Angeles subdivisions, which parallel each other closely in this portion of Southern California. Eventually I reached the Amtrak station at Pomona….

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Inspired by a Book to Try Something New

I found myself needing to drive to work in downtown Los Angeles on a Friday a couple of weeks ago. I mistakenly thought that, since it was Friday, the traffic would be “Friday-Lite,” which is how the traffic reporters tend to describe it. It wasn’t…

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Poster Art: Passenger Service

I have been sick for two weeks now and I haven’t been able to go out and shoot photos lately. As I lounge on the sofa or bed, trying my best to recover, I have been playing around with some of my older photos. One technique I have been toying with is making poster art. I like these posters and thought that others might like to see them as well. Let me know what you think. Today’s theme is “Passenger Service…”

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