Sunrise East of Cadiz, CA

When out chasing along BNSF’s Needles Subdivision, as a matter of survival, well at least comfort, I prefer to shoot photos when the sun in lower in the sky, say about within 15 degrees of the horizon or so, that occurs at sunrise and sunset. In part to overcome the harsher summer light but also because it is much cooler!

Here are a four photos from a recent outing to the Needles Subdivision near East Cadiz, California:

Cadiz Sunrise 1 [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

Ship Mountains Sunrise [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

A New Day [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

BNSF 7538 East 3 BNSF 7538 (GE ESS44DC), BNSF 5213 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and BNSF 7423 (GE ES44DC), hold the point assignment on this eastbound intermodal consist flying towards West Danby, CA. [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

Sepia is for Summer

Along with the intense heat, the summer season along the BNSF’s Needles Subdivision, deep in the heart of the Mojave Desert, brings harsh lighting conditions due to the sun’s higher trajectory through the sky. The higher sun tends to wash out color and creates photos with harsh tonal qualities.

Sometimes a sepia treatment of a photo keeps it from going to bit bucket or the discard pile and gives the photos an “old school, summer” look all its own:

[6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

Dawn Rails [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry

BNSF 4979 East 2 BNSF 4979 (GE DASH 9-44CW), BNSF 4968 (GE DASH 9-44CW), and BNSF 4164 (GE DASH 9-44CW), have the road power duties for this mixed manifest train approaching old Siam, CA. [6/13/2010 - Needles Subdivision] © Copyright 2010, Joe Perry