A southbound string of Metro North M7 MU cars pulls into busy Scarsdale station.

TRAIN-SIM PHOTOGRAPHY is one of my favorite activities with full 3D simulators like MSTS and Trainz (see “A Dark and Stormy Night,” Virtual Railroader 15 July 2005). Recently I decided to give the new Trainz Classics Harlem Line a spin. Here are some of my shots and my thoughts on what I like or don’t like about them plus a few tips.

Preparation

Since Trainz and MSTS have built-in capabilities for storing and numbering screen shots, there’s not much to set up other than to make sure you have lots of disk space available and possibly to fiddle with the simulator’s performance sliders to ensure long draw distances and so forth. (MSTS let’s you change the field of view of your camera if you know how to get under the hood and monkey with the config file, but that’s an advanced topic suitable for another time and place.)

Composition

As in traditional photography, the picture requires some thought about or recognition of composition. What you are looking for depends largely on what you want to achieve – information? drama? impact? I usually try for all of the above and try to explore all the possibilities. This can mean hundreds of pictures to store, at least until I’ve had time to sort them out. The nice thing is I’m not burning up film while having fun.

Three-Quarters View. The three-quarters view is the classic train shot. It shows a maximum amount of information about the train in a single shot. Too many three-quarters-view shots, however, can become boring.


Classic three-quarter view. Scarsdale station bridge adds interest and context of passenger service.

Surrounding Features. Almost any shot can be made more interesting (and informative) by including surrounding structures – stations, bridges, tunnels – or natural features such as cliffs and rivers.


Hartsdale station bridge dominates the picture, but adds 3D spatial quality.

Overview Shot. The overview shot is an essential component for telling the complete story. If it’s attractive, that’s a bonus.


Scarsdale station overview provides viewer with lots of information.

Tightly Cropped Shot. If you’re after something with punch, consider a tightly cropped shot that shows only a small portion of the scene, but which concentrates on visual effects such as bold color.


Tightly cropped Mt. Kisco station shot lacks information but provides lots of punch.

Overlay Items of Interest. This kind of shot can be a flop by introducing competing elements, but it can also succeed on the same basis. Study the shot below and ask yourself if the added element contributes to the overall shot.


Passenger partly obscures locomotive, but people always add interest. Is the train late?

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Article and screen shots ©2007 Alfred Barten. All rights reserved.

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