Chasing The Misty Rainbow At The High Falls

Chasing The Misty Rainbow At The High Falls - Take 1

The High Falls over the Genesee River would be my final destination on a great day of railfanning in the Rochester area! Now as the title graphic above says "Chasing That Misty Rainbow!!!", this would become the quest for the day, though it wasn't planned that way! I knew I wanted to get back here again because I've been here a few times over the years since 2009, though for some reason this year, the rainbow that is caused by the mist over the falls was a little more pronounced so I decided I wanted that to be a part of these photos as it adds to the overall aesthetic appeal of the photos (OK at least I think it does!). I will say that some of the below photos did have some enhancements to the rainbow and background sky using Photoshop but don't worry, I didn't go so far as to "drop in a specific locomotive" or add in some prop that really isn't there! I mention in the above graphic that this is "Take 1" because as you'll see if you keep following these travelogues, I would end up making 2 more trips here later in the summer! For now, here's the final set of photos taken to cap off a great day of railfanning...

These are the High Falls over the Genesee River in the heart of Downtown Rochester, NY as seen from the Platt Street bridge which is
an old road bridge that has been converted into a footbridge. This photo was not altered beyond normal color-correction and I figured I
would include it here to give you an idea of what I'm talking about as it pertains to that rainbow in the mist!

The first train I photographed here today was CSX Train Q-019 with GE ES44AH #909 leading, heading west.
Better lighting conditions are to be had later in the day at this location.

And now, the reason I wanted to get a photo from this bridge! After all, this web site is generally about Amtrak anyway right? This is
Empire Service Train #281 with GE P32AC-DM #705 on the head end having just departed the Rochester station on its way to Buffalo
and its final destination of Niagara Falls. To get this photo, I deployed my Layer-Masking technique that I use when I take photos at
night. I took multiple photos of the train as it moved across the bridge. Doing this managed to capture areas where the mist from the
water would add to the rainbow in some areas and not in others depending on the wind. Shortly after the train left, I turned the polarizer
filter on the lens to darken up the sky. This gave me the sky I wanted but also got rid of the rainbow as it filtered it out, thus I needed
to take multiple photos and layer-mask them together to get the sky and the rainbow in the photo, using pieces of several photos to
enhance the look of the rainbow. Now you have your Photoshop lesson for the day! After I took this photo, I would go put the camera
away and walk to a nearby McDonald's for dinner, then walk back to get a few more photos (I could use the exercise anyway!)

After dinner, I walked back to the High Falls at the Platt Street bridge again, with the sun now too low in the sky to cause the rainbow
effect, I still wanted to see what I was able to photograph during what are now the longest days of the year, so next up, we have CSX
Train Q-377 with GE ES44DC # 5419 heading west. Beyond normal color-correction, these next few photos were unaltered.

Next up is CSX Train Q-123 with GE ES44DC #5399 leading. It was now within an hour of sunset and the shadow of the bridge
was now making its way up the falls as shown in this photo.

The last photo from Rochester today is Amtrak Empire Service Train #283 shortly before sunset having just departed Rochester station.

Finally, back at Buffalo-Depew Station where the day started, is Amtrak Train #49 - The Lake Shore Limited taking a break before
heading to points west with an endpoint at Chicago Union Station.

After leaving the High Falls for the last time, I started driving back towards Buffalo. It just so happens that the day I took this trip was also the day Nik Walenda made his walk across Niagara Falls. I heard on the radio that the New York State Thruway (I-90) was backed up for 3 miles at the Williamsville Toll Barrier (where the pay-portion of the Thruway ends as the roadway is free through the Buffalo area), so it was probably a good thing I was in Rochester and not stuck in traffic! I did however run into traffic on the way back due to night time construction but that didn't last very long. I stopped by Buffalo-Depew Station to get my final photo of Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited to complete a good day of railfanning. Train #49 - The Lake Shore Limited ended up arriving over an hour and a half late but the above photo was worth the wait if you ask me. Until next time, when I'll be back in Rochester again chasing that misty rainbow over the High Falls, Happy Railfanning!!!