Despite the fact that it’s been thawing for 5 days now, there is still an inch of ice on the street in front of my house, so I figured it might be appropriate to stick to a winter theme for this double post. I’m still ill, so none of these shots are from our recent cold snap, but instead, from the one before that, in January this year. Knowing my fascination with trains I’m sure no one will be surprised that I’ve picked two railway shots for this post.

The first shot I’ve chosen is of an Irish Rail Commuter train taken from Pike’s Bridge near Maynooth. This is a Class 29000 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU), and it’s making it’s way from Dublin to Maynooth. The frozen water in the foreground is the Royal Canal.

A Winter Commute
on Flickr – Full-Size

  • Camera: Nikon D40
  • Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
  • Exposure: 1/160 sec
  • Focal Length: 18mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/8
  • ISO: 200
  • Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Exposure Bias: 1.0ev
  • Processing: created by merging the original version of this shot with a version enhanced using the Topaz Adjust plugin

The second shot shows an Irish Rail InterCity service from Sligo to Dublin approaching Jackson’s Bridge near Maynooth. This is also a DMU, but this time of the newer and more comfortable Class 22000.

A Winter Evening Express
on Flickr – Full-Size

  • Camera: Nikon D40
  • Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
  • Exposure: 1/320 sec
  • Focal Length: 22mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/3.8
  • ISO: 200
  • Camera Mode: Aperture Priority
  • Exposure Bias: 0.67ev
  • Processing: tweaked using the Topaz Adjust plugin