About -- Photography: It is my belief that Photography is an intensely personal process. My photography is a reflection of me and how I view the world. Some love it, some hate it, but as I do this for myself, ultimately I am the judge.
About -- Equipment: The recent images on this site were shot with a Canon Digital Single Lens Reflex camera and Canon lenses. Digital is somewhat new to me; prior to November 2003 I shot entirely slide film with a Canon Elan 7e.
Equipment list, for those who care:
Canon EOS 300D
Canon EOS Elan 7e
EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
EF 50mm f/1.8
EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
1000mm telephoto
550EX flash
Multiple 420EX flashes
Remote Release
Diffusers
Filters
Flash Off-Camera Cord
Compact Flash Cards
Blank DVD's for image backup
And also carry in the field;
Apple 17" PowerBook
Tripod
Monopod
Lightstands
Chair (In dark bag to cover ugly short utility poles)
Flashlights
More cables, extenders, power supplies, batteries, plugs, manuals, earplugs, and other widgets than I can name.
Anyone want to give me an EOS 1D Mark-II? Or an Apple G5 Dual? I could really use them...
When I started out shooting trains I was in grade school, using a point and shoot with Kodachrome 64 to capture the last years of Conrail. My results were poor and I eventually gave up photography due to absolute frustration (Not recommended). In 2002 I picked up a camera again and started shooting - with better results.
My slides, thousands of them, are sitting here next to me in blue metal file boxes. As I get more free time I will attempt to make scans of the slides and post them here, but generating content for the Railfan Guide currently takes precendence.
About -- Advice and Opinions: I'm a highly opinionated person. If I launch into a diatribe mid trip-report it probably isn't aimed at you - besides, photography is a calming influence on me. Republicans can rejoice in the fact that I am not old enough to vote...yet.
About -- Computers: I use an Apple 17" PowerBook. It is the best computer I have ever used, no less owned. (Well, a friend has a Dual G5, but I digress...) All the photographs here were edited in Adobe Photoshop CS, doing things like removing telephone poles, cleaning up trash, sharpening, and adjusting exposure so that they look technically good.
About -- html and Websites: This is the part of the whole photography process that I hate most. Tinkering with html is very time consuming, but the results are often worth it. I generate the code by hand, using templates to assist me (imagine if I had to do each Railfan Guide section over again!), and proof the results in Adobe GoLive 7, Safari, and Internet Explorer for the Mac. Apologies if it doesn't work on a PC.
About -- Feedback: Photography is also an ongoing learning process. I welcome feedback and suggestions about any image, good or bad, in the hope that it might refine my photography. Comments directed towards the website are also welcome. My email address is listed at the bottom of this page. To prevent spam harvesters from getting my address, it is embedded in an image. You will have to manually type it in, apologies for the inconvenience.
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Your Truly, photo by Dave Beatty, at Detroit's Henry Ford Museum
