When I go out to chase a train, I like to have several pieces of gear with me to help me attempt the perfect shot. (I’m still getting better on my photos, but at least I have the gear for it—skill is learned!) This afternoon, I did a layout of my primary gear to show what I use, but I may have to revisit this topic as I learn more and more.
The first item I take with me and have at the ready during the adventure is my camera. I prefer to use a DSLR, while I am still learning how to take railroad photos—but I want to work up to returning to film (35mm). I like to bring along two different lenses, a short and a long, so I won’t have to worry if I picked up the wrong size. The DSLR camera system is a must for obvious reasons, if your goal is to take photos of trains. I may add a video camera one day as well.
Another vital piece of equipment to take is my scanner. I use an analog scanner—that is all one needs to listen to railroad radio. This lets me know what is happening on the tracks. I can listen to the railroad communications to know if there is even a train out or am I simply watching the sun rise or fall.
Other gear that I like to bring is a tripod—for the camera, binoculars—for seeing distant trains before being able to photograph them, and a chair—sometimes it turns into a long wait and a chair comes in handy (as well as a book).
This is a rough list to get someone started on railfanning. Remember to always thank about safety and that the best photos are actually farther away from the tracks than anyone suspects.
search says
Really when someone doesn’t be aware of then its up to other users that they will help,
so here it happens.