Thanks to the hard work of Chapter Member Steve Miller and a lot of other folks our chapters photography archive and Pennyrail newsletters are now online and available to the general public! If you have historic images that you think fit into one of our sections please contact Steve by clicking on this LINK Here. You may visit the Archive by following the link above on the menu or click on the graphic.
Greetings.
The February meeting was somewhat fast and furious, a lot of information was presented to the membership. We discussed the NRHS National’s position on membership renewals, the Amelia software in use by National, “policing” National dues on the local level, our local dues and what stance we will take on Chapter members being or not being members of National. The latter being, Chapter Officers will not question Chapter dues paying members as to their affiliation with National. The Chapter will simply assume local members are dues paying National members.
Also discussed in February was the upcoming NRHS National Convention in Nashville TN. Will Kling, is heading a committee to see if our Chapter can “pitch in” and help. At this meeting I would like to get a feel for the Members desire to “help” or simply “attend”. Be thinking along those lines between now and meeting night.
One way to grow our Chapter is with member functions. In years past we have had track side events in Crofton, Sebree, Mortons Gap, Henderson and other places. These are so enjoyable. Please give thought to a day “Track side” and host same.
I would like for our Modular Layout Committee to think up some way to use the Modular Layout other than just for the Christmas show.
I hope to have a report from Steve and Jim regarding the Photo Archive project. If you have skills these two could use speak up, I am sure they will entertain ideas. As well as ideas, articles and photo’s for the newsletter.
Remember to bring something for Show-N-Tell as well as a raffle item. If a mystery photo is provided, the first correct answer drawn gets first pick from the Raffle.
I hope to see you Monday, March 20, 2017 at 7:00 PM. We will once again meet in the Hopkins County Government Center on north Main Street right across from City Hall, Madisonville KY. Bring a friend. Bill Thomas will provide a program featuring Logging Railroads and Blair Terry will provide refreshments.
Ricky Bivins, President
From Don Clayton…
Due to some conflicting schedules with the 611 excursions, we are revising our Kanawha River trip schedule. This update is shown in the attached. The BNSF trip has been removed for rescheduling. Information on ticketing for the Piedmont & Northern trips will be available shortly. Sorry for any confusion!
March 25, 2017. STREATOR CIRCLE TRIP. A day trip from Chicago to Streator, IL on ex-AT&SF; then east on ex-NYC (now NS) back Chicago via Schneider, IN (connection with ex-NYC Cairo, IL line to Indiana Harbor). Lv. Union station 8AM; return around 5PM. Fares: Dome $495; Caritas (open platform obs. car) $595; coach seat $295. Lunch included.
June 3-12, 2017:. KANAWHA RIVER RAILROAD BEHIND ex-NKP 765. (Note: Kanawha River Railroad is a former NYC line, now operated by WATCO).
June 3: Deadhead to Pickerington, Ohio (near Columbus), load passengers, run to the village of Eclipse (near Athens) or as far as practical. Use Kanawha River Railroad unit to pull train back to Pickerington/Watkins Yard. Total is about 150 miles.
June 4: Deadhead to Pickerington, Ohio to load passengers, then run two short trips, Pickerington to Glouster and return, about 114 miles per trip. Use Kanawha River Railroad unit to pull train on all westbound moves.
June 5: Deadhead train to either Nitro or Dickinson Yard for storage during week.
June 9: Diesel trip, Charleston as far as we can go toward Enon, MP WV253 and return. Total of about 140 miles.
June 10: Load passengers at the University of Charleston stadium in downtown Charleston and run to Maben. Bus passengers to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, deadhead train to Mullens/Elmore to wye. Deadhead move may be occupied. Total is about 170 miles.
June 11: Repeat of Saturday’s trip.
June 12: One way move from Charleston to Pickerington, Ohio, Then deadhead into
Watkins yard. Equipment will be 611 Steam Train consist plus Caritas and Cimarron
River. Pricing to be determined.
September 14-22, 2017: AAPRCO Convention in Burlington, VT
The Special Train will start in Albany/Renssalaer, NY on a route not yet finalized but
including major portions of the Vermont Rail System. The actual convention dates are
September 19-22. We will be participating with the Caritas and Cimarron River.
Clark Johnson Today, 9:07 AM
This month’s photography column will be all about the equipment and software for capturing trackside videos using your smartphone.
From a composition standpoint video photography of trains is pretty much the same as regular still photography except of course you capture motion and can put together sequences and titles to help tell the story.
Turning your phone horizontally (to landscape mode) is the best way to record all your smartphone videos. Period! It’s much easier to handle the phone this way and you won’t see those annoying black side bars when watching your video on a large screen. Also, don’t forget that your TV and Computer Monitors sit horizontally and not vertical.
Plus, everything looks much beautiful recorded in horizontal (more room for your subject) vs. an ugly compress square. This format might be okay for Instagram photos, but not for videos.
Depending on which smartphone you have will determine the quality of your video. The newer iPhones come with 4K video resolution (a far cry from the VHS days!), which is about as high a quality you can get these days. However, you need to make sure it’s set to record in the highest quality by paying a visit to the settings on your device. Be aware, the higher the quality of your video the larger your video file is and the more space it will take. Also, it will take longer to upload if you posting it online.
Below are screen grabs where you can set your video quality on the iPhone. Not sure where it is on other smartphones, but should be somewhere under your settings.
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One sure sign of an amateur video recording (besides a video done with low lighting) is a shaky video. So, stop holding your iPhone and mount it on a stand. Working with a mounted iPhone will also prevent your shot from going out of focus.
One mount for the iPhone and other smartphones is the GripTight GorillaPod stand made by Joby. This flexible iPhone mount is an ideal accessory for all videographers on-the-go.
The stand is compact, doesn’t take up too much room and holds the phone safely and securely and can also be attached to poles and tree limbs. The GripTight mount can also be attached to most other tripods via a universal ¼” screw.
I personally use a regular tripod for my video work and attach my camera using the device below. It runs $8.99 on Amazon Prime. Click on the photo for a link. There’s many others available however if you just do a search.
If you don’t have a tripod, one stabilization trick is bracing yourself against something such as a light pole or tree. Another is to bring your elbows in tight against your body, which will give you more stability. Holding your breath during shots can also help minimize shakiness if you are hand-holding the phone on a solid surface.
While editing your video on the smartphone can be done, if you’re going to be serious about your video work it’s best to do it on a desktop computer. The controls are much easier to use. There are many programs out there that allow you to do this and one’s probably already installed on your Windows computer called Movie Maker. Many others are available as well on the market. My favorite is Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s a monthly subscription software that runs about $20 a month. I do a lot of video work for my church however and so I go with this heavy-duty software. Do a Goggle search and you’ll find all kinds of software, some free and some paid.
As for editing on the smartphone itself? I use an app called Cameo a lot, but I also use MoviePro, Pinnacle Studio Pro and iMovie. Easiest way to learn to use these programs is to shoot some video and play around with them. You can also search on YouTube for the app and find tutorials there as well. Other apps that get top reviews are, Videoshop, Splice, Quik and Video Crop. There are many others however.
Many of the above apps will also allow you to shoot video instead of using the built-in camera. These apps and others such as Filmic Pro allow you to have much more control over the shooting of your videos.
If you plan on doing a lot of long videos, then I recommend getting a battery pack for whatever kind of smartphone you have. Video recording will eat the battery on your phone quick.
Also, in closing, I recommend that you don’t zoom! Most smartphones use digital zoom and the quality of your video will suffer greatly if it does. If your phone has optical zoom or you have add on lenses for your phone, then they should be fine. Digital zoom only enlarges the pixels on your phone and lowers the quality of the video and photo.
Hope this hasn’t left your head spinning too much. If you have questions, please feel free to drop me an email at jim@jimpearsonphotography.com
Here’s a link to a good video on Best Video Editing Apps for iOS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrpHWyBgYW0
Mr. August Thieme visited the woods of West Virginia during the late 1940’s and early 50’s for the purpose of filming geared locomotives and the operations of local lumbering companies.
Starting with the Meadow River Lumber Company, Shays and a Heisler are seen in action, as well as the skidder bringing logs into the range of the loader and log cars. Later, after arriving at the Rainelle Mill, the logs are dumped into the Mill Pond where pond me guide them up into the mill.
Three foot gauge Shays No. 5 and 6 are seen on the Ely-Thomas Lumber Company, together with more loading operations.
Lumberjacking and the Shays are viewed on the Mower Lumber Company, followed by early action on the soon-to-be Cass Scenic Railroad.
Many More geared locos, including a Climax, are seen working on the W. M. Ritter Co., Elk River Coal and Lumber Co., and the Brimstone and Graham County Railroads