FastFlyingVirginian

"Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun...but Mama, that's where the train is..."

Part II of Ashland on November 23rd will be devoted to the holiday parade, but as could be expected in Ashland there were a few interruptions courtesy of CSX and Amtrak. Shooting into the sun wasn't ideal, but the more I look at the footage the more I like how the color got highlighted in places. Part III will show the trains after the parade ended and the crowd dispersed. Both II and III were shot in 4K, albeit at 30p for a change.

1 month ago | [YT] | 14

FastFlyingVirginian

In nearly 30 years of making long-distance railfanning trips, I suppose it was inevitable. For the first time in my personal history, I made the decision to cut a trip short and leave early on account of dealing with a sore throat and the two horrible nights of sleep that resulted. I wasn't keen on nursing the sore throat through rainy weather and having it turn into something worse and then facing a 5-hour drive home in that condition, so I cut my losses and sounded retreat. Footage-wise I did come away with a solid Saturday morning and afternoon at Horseshoe, plus a couple of evenings of action in Cresson. It was a good time chatting with folks at both locations in between trains as well.

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

FastFlyingVirginian

Good news on the railfanning front - after 8 months, we are a two-vehicle household again with the acquisition of a new MrsFFVmobile. That translates into way more flexibility to travel, so I'm looking forward to getting back to more frequent trips trackside. I'm way past due for another trip to Bald Knob on Cass. Always wanted to visit there in the fall, too.

5 months ago | [YT] | 18

FastFlyingVirginian

Part I of my return to the Pittsburgh Line is out: https://youtu.be/cLtRdMaE9FE

6 months ago | [YT] | 1

FastFlyingVirginian

Coming soon, and for the first time (for me at least) in 4K.

6 months ago | [YT] | 15

FastFlyingVirginian

The 2025 edition of the Parade Of Steam at the Cass Scenic Railroad was hot, humid, and tiring, with a bit of sunburn for that extra zing. In other words, it was a good time. 54 minutes of raw footage and I'm about 8 minutes in on the editing since starting yesterday morning.

7 months ago | [YT] | 10

FastFlyingVirginian

No, that is not my Lamborghini parked on the other side of the tracks. Not sure my tripod would fit in it, anyhow.

8 months ago | [YT] | 9

FastFlyingVirginian

RF&P Sub railfanning from March 29th is out: https://youtu.be/_ooOvFDJ3VU

Geek stuff follows:

While I like the Rode SVM - both the current and previous generation that I own - this latest outing reminded me of how fussy it can be when it comes to controlling the audio levels. Having used my Canon with its SM-V1 mic for so long, I forgot what it was like not having automatic gain control and being able to pick up ambient sounds without distorting the sound of the train once one entered the scene. On top of that, getting the settings dialed in properly in the smartphone's camera app (Blackmagic) is a bit of a pain; fumbling with locking focus/white balance/exposure and making sure it's not trying to use the wrong mic while a train is approaching can be tedious. In light of all that, I'm leaning towards shooting the bulk of this year's Ashland Train Day with the Canon, and only switching to the Pixel when it's too dark for the Canon to work well.

9 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

FastFlyingVirginian

Part 2 of Ashland railfanning on January 5th is out now, shot in 4K. This also marks the debut of a new Rode stereo mic for recording with the Pixel 8. https://youtu.be/6zskb3SN26w

11 months ago | [YT] | 2

FastFlyingVirginian

Part 1 of my belated return to Ashland on January 5th is out now. Coming soon, Part 2 and the maiden run (recording?) of a shiny new-gen Rode SVM.

1 year ago | [YT] | 10