Re: Cooperation

Hi John,

Part of the challenge, even among charter participants, is getting everyone to agree on what shot we're going for. In my mind, this location doesn't have much to offer for people who remain trackside or by the fence down below......yet I would say that the majority of the participants opted to stay down there. That limited what the folks on the hill could do, although only to a minor degree. Michael pulled off the curve shot nicely. I chose to climb higher than Michael and went after the high "coming-at-ya" shot on the far left, followed by the going away up on the hill. Both frames were completely unaffected by either the charter folks or the chasers. No foam removal required. I shot the second run-by down by the tracks and regretted not staying on the hill. If others shot trackside and got something awesome, please post 'em if you've got 'em. I'd like to see what I was not seeing when we did that scene.

For this trip, I brought the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR instead of the 70-200mm f/4 that I usually travel with. Although a rather heavy lens for a guy my size to climb hills with, I reasoned that the C&TS is one of the few railroads where you could actually put a long lens to good use.....and I was glad I had it with me. I used to envy the guys with the Canon 100-400 zooms and have been searching for my own "Big Bertha." Given that Nikon's 200-400 f/4 is more than 3x the price, I wondered how good the 80-400 could actually be, but it is considered a pro lens (gold ring, nano-crystal coat) and I have been pleasantly surprised with the fast focus, the sharp optics and the excellent stabilization. And unlike some of the mega-zooms being offered by Nikon, Sigma, Tamron, etc., this lens still uses the 77mm filters that Nikon's other pro glass uses. Several of the tele shots in my RGS album were taken with the 80-400 mounted on a D750.

/Kevin Madore