I intended to use an event at Whitby Abbey, with medieval knights and Romans, but the weather caused it to be cancelled – so I went to Grosmont station to use the people as they disembarked / boarded the steam train running from Whitby to Pickering. As it turned out it became quite entertaining if you’re up to speed with Thomas the Tank Engine and a certain controller!
Before the arrival of the train, people gather to watch the preparations. I positioned myself on the opposite platform to be able to better isolate different groups. I could see what was going to happen with the exhausting steam, so I set the camera in continuous low speed shutter operation and took the first four frames.
As the steam cloud grew the watchers slowly became enveloped – I’m sure his video footage will be interesting. I then moved back to the main platform for when the train arrived from Whitby.
The passengers disembark and those destined for Pickering embark. I positioned myself quite close to the edge of the platform, so I could have a clearer view to the passengers as they got on /off the train while retaining some detail of the train. The image of the driver talking to the fireman was taken through the engine footplate door.
And here comes the controller – he seems to have a problem with photographers – maybe it’s because they all flock to the station, but never board a train! Anyway, we persevere.
This lady seems to be looking for a station master – you can never find one when you want one. In the meantime our controller is getting a bit steamed up!
I moved further down the train, so I could capture the curve of the platform for these two images.
It must have been that open door that was annoying him – at least the driver looks happy as he climbs back into the cab.
The fireman seems to have a bit of a scowl too – it’s not the most pleasant job shovelling coal all day – and I get the impression that the controller’s going to blow the whistle on us all soon! I now moved as far up the platform as I could in preparation for the train leaving.
Yes it looks as though he is – cover your ears behind – and you in front too!
And there he blows, so get out of town - and the train does!!
And as the controller is left on the platform the passengers are sped away and those on the station wait for the next train.
In the last image I used a narrow aperture and 1/30 sec exposure to catch the movement of the train.
It’s good to find a character to play with. He’s only doing his job and probably doing it very well. I didn’t need to move around too much for these images, more just working the zoom lens and camera functions - particularly using the continuous focus and continuous shooting modes were useful.Sometimes it’s better to find a good vantage point and look after your position, rather than move around too much – in this situation the action all happened within 10 minutes, so moving around could have lost a lot of good images.
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