Glint: A personal view
In words and pictures, lifelong railway enthusiast and photographer John Titlow, who has contributed to Heritage Railway since its inaugural issue, shares his tips on how to capture glint in images, using a reflection of the sun bouncing off a train.
In words and pictures, lifelong railway enthusiast and photographer John Titlow, who has contributed to Heritage Railway since its inaugural issue, shares his tips on how to capture glint in images, using a reflection of the sun bouncing off a train.
It was back in 1978 touring South Africa when a friend and I were walking around a steam shed using the last available light as the sun was setting that the locos turned red and gold; moving slightly to either side, it disappeared. From that day on, the glint has always been a source of fascination.
The glint is simply a reflection of the sun bouncing off a train or locomotive. The more colourful, lower and stronger the sun, the better the glint. Trying to use that reflection to its full advantage is difficult but can be very rewarding – it can show every rivet on the locomotive, which creates its own shadow.
Glints occur during the magic hour, one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. During winter when the sun is low, magic hours can be stretch to most of the day, and this is the best time for photography.
No special equipment is needed but a lens hood is useful to stop flare, which can become a problem when shooting into the sun. First, you have to find the optimum position where the glint is at its best. A shed used to be the best place to start, but modern health and safety restrictions have made this difficult.
Start with stationary objects, especially around stations, as they are much easier than moving ones because the photographer can move around the subject to pick the optimum position. If you or the loco moves, the glint moves or disappears. Don't be afraid of taking the shot at the highest glint or even shooting into the sun, but beware of flare where the sun shines directly into the lens. Digital cameras do not like direct sun into the lens and find it difficult to cope with. Pick your location carefully and don't be afraid to experiment.
Settings
Exposure is the major factor which governs the intensity of the glint. This was critical with film because over-exposure bleached out the image. Taking several pictures with different apertures, known as bracketing, was the only way of changing the intensity, but it was always days before you could see the results, leaving no chance for correction.
With digital, however, the results are viewed instantly and can be corrected immediately – and a lot can be done afterwards using photo editing software.
Most modern cameras cope quite well regarding exposure, provided you do not point directly into the sun. That said, some people prefer to use the manual setting. Personally, I have found most decent cameras are quite capable of doing the job itself.
Moving trains are the most difficult aspect of the glint to capture as you do not get a second chance. Pick a location where the light is following the train. If that is impossible, move to the side and pan with the locomotive, allowing the glint to build, and fire the shutter when it is at its brightest. Don't wait, as the optimum glint is only there for a split second – if you wait, it will disappear.
The outside of a curve is often a good place; again, there is only a split second when it's at its best.
Use the reflection on the rails as an indication to where the glint is likely to be, but only as a guide as it can change – the circular boiler of a locomotive will reflect at a slightly different position.
It is always better to have the glint on the boiler rather than the tender. If a train goes in the opposite direction, this can help, but with
the sun rising or setting, the position changes minute by minute. A train glinting working hard with a low sun can be one of the most stunning photographic conditions.
Equipment
A motor drive is very helpful and gives a greater chance of getting the best glint. Digital is so cheap as opposed to film and unsuitable images can be simply deleted, reducing space on SD cards.
It is best this is done later on the computer, as things can look very different on the camera and you could delete the best shot.
When photographing side on with the sun over your shoulder, be careful of the long shadows, especially your own, as there is nothing worse than your shadow holding the camera in the picture.
Hide behind a post, or position yourself in other shadows to disguise this. Train timings are important and knowing sunrise and sunset times helps, but it can all go wrong when the train is late, the mist closes in, or a solitary cloud appears from nowhere obscuring the sun.
Be aware of a black smokebox against a dark shadowy background as this can remove the outline of the locomotive because the blacks tend to merge into one.
With a moving train, a small steam leak and with the wind in the right direction, the steam can, if lucky, silhouette and highlight the smokebox.
In the days of black-and-white, the fun part was in the darkroom when you had full control regarding light and dark over most of the photograph and were able to amplify the intensity of the glint by darkening the background. It is now so much easier, less time-consuming, and less hassle.
Enhancement
Once you have your image, the interesting bit begins with the photo editing software suite on the computer. I use Adobe Photoshop, though nowhere near its full capacity. Each image varies immensely, and it is all on a very personal basis.
Files in NEF/RAW format are much better to work with as they have a greater level of detail and it’s possible to make adjustments before opening the file.
Before the image goes into Photoshop, check if the sky has bleached out; this can happen when shooting into the sun. Adjusting the exposure and darkening highlights at this point will pull in sky detail, but can darken the shadows.
These can be corrected using lighten shadows. Do not worry too much at this stage, as all can be adjusted later.
Sometimes, playing with the white balance drop-down tab can be an advantage, but it can do really strange things. Remember – it is always possible to return to by pressing the ‘as shot’ tab.
Upon opening, the first step is to use the enhance/adjust lighting/shadows and
“Files in NEF/ RAW format are much better to work with as they have a greater level of detail and it’s possible to make adjustments before opening the file.”
highlights tab. Using lighten shadows, adjust the image to what you think is the best exposure for detail in the darker parts of the image, then darken highlights, which pulls the sky detail in – but beware of the halo effect. Lastly, adjust the contrast.
Adjust colour next using the hue/saturation tab, pushing up saturation to a point where it does not look too fake. Tweaking the individual colours can be very interesting, but don’t overdo it. Finally, use the spot healing brush to remove things you are unhappy with.
All this is personal and each image is different – there are no set rules. What works for you might not for others, and there are always plenty of people out there to criticise as it is so easy to do. If you make a mistake, it is easy to go back a step using the undo arrow or just start again. The image is always there unless you delete the original.
There are some good railways which provide a strong glint, with east/west lines often providing the best, especially with trains running westbound at sunrise and eastbound at sunset.
Locations
Here is a small list of locations that work in my experience:
■ Severn Valley Railway at both ends is a particular favourite – at the northern end, climbing Eardington Bank, and the southern end climbing towards Foley Park Tunnel. They work extremely well, especially at the end of a winter’s day.
■ Nene Valley Railway – departing Wansford on the embankment.
■ Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway around Stanton early morning westbound, and the viaduct eastbound during winter. Also, Stanton eastbound at the end of the day from the other side and Chicken Curve at the end of the day.
■ Midland Railway–Butterley. Side-on over the reservoir.
■ East Lancashire Railway – Irwell Vale and Burrs in winter.
■ Bluebell Railway – Three Arch Bridge, approaching Horsted Keynes at the end of the day.
■ Kent & East Sussex Railway – Orpins Curve as the train starts the climb to Tenterden departing Rolvenden.
■ Great Central Railway used to be good sideon at Woodthorpe, but the new housing estate has ruined this location.
■ Didcot Railway Centre works well both at sunrise and sunset, but needs to be on a charter because the shed does not open early enough and closes too early on public days.
Needless to say there are many more, and we all have our own favourite.
Is it fake or just playing around? If it gives you pleasure as our hobby does, continue to enjoy it. You decide what is best for you and as long as you are happy with your results, keep at it.
“The glint is simply a reflection of the sun bouncing off a train or locomotive; the more colourful, lower and stronger the sun, the better the glint. Trying to use that reflection to its full advantage is difficult but can be very rewarding – it can show every rivet on the locomotive, which creates its own shadow. Glints occur during the magic hour, one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.”