Just in case you're a little less train-savvy than most of the people I'm expecting to visit this site, here's what the title means: The throttles on diesel-electric locomotives have eight positions, or notches. The 8th notch is the wide-open or full power setting. The subtitle--"Full Throttle Railroad Photography"--helps tie everything together.
I have a Canon Elan II body and 28mm, 50mm, and 100-300mm autofocus lenses. My film of choice is Fujichrome Provia 100F, although I have also shot a good deal of Kodachrome. While this equipment yields excellent results, it makes scanning rather difficult, as I do not have a slide scanner. Instead, I use a flatbed scanner with a 35mm slide adapter. It does ok with well lit Fuji slides, but has a lot of trouble with most everything else. In some cases, I have had prints made from the slides and scanned those instead. The older shots on this page (before the summer of '99), were done with some type of point-and-shoot camera. I eventually hope to get a good slide scanner, but will make do with what I have until then.
I try not to be very picky about the weather or locomotive paint jobs--I just enjoy getting out and watching trains. I also try and avoid trespassing and any other dangerous and/or illegal activities--I would much rather the railroads be flattered to see someone standing trackside, camera in hand, than get upset about it. As for the actual photography, I try to take pictures that convey a good sense of locality--city skylines, well known buildings or landmarks, and pictures of nice scenery that just happen to have a train in them. I have several people to thank. First and foremost is my grandfather, Walter Frame. Though not a railfan himself, he has developed a love of trains through his love for his grandson. I can't even begin to count all of the hours we've spent trackside. Next are my railfanning buddies from college, Paul Didelius, Brad Robinson, and Jerry Jordak. Paul in particular helped me get serious about this interest, convinced me to lay down the funds for a good camera, taught me how to use it, and is still helping me improve. Besides, what good is a hobby if you can't share it with anyone? And I also appreciate all of my family and friends who put up my interests.
Paul contemplates our predicament from a mountain stream in West Virginia.
