I (sheepishly) have to admit that I’m still somewhat new to all of this, and I forget to do things – like give you a link to the Trains section of Laughing Frog Images so you can check out the pictures of trains in England.
Soooo…, without further adieu, here’s the link: Laughing Frog Images – Trains
In 2007, I had to take a business trip to London. And yes, my camera went with me! I did manage to set aside some time for photography after the work was done, and after spending some time sorting and editing, a look at railroading in the UK is now posted for your enjoyment.
I’d seen pictures of European trains before I went, and thought they looked “small” – at least after growing up with the Penn Central, Conrail, Bessemer & Lake Erie, Baltimore & Ohio and the Chessie System railroads.
Well, guess what? They are a lot smaller than what we’re used to here in the States. Their “small” size is due to an older infrastructure and urban clearances that we don’t have here. Their freight trains are shorter – but more frequent. Their passenger trains, well, there’s both frequency and variety there! It was strange to be there and see commuter, short-distance and long-distance passenger trains with a variety of equipment. It was also strange to be in a country where trains are an everyday part of life and movement. Quite unlike the US and Canada, where neither our politicians nor transportation policies are very functional. Canada used to be a dramatic contrast to the US, but their politicians have been slowly dismantling their passenger rail system (except for Montreal and Toronto) since 1989. We’ve got 18 years on them, but they are sadly catching up. Anyway… enough commentary on passenger rail – back to the UK!
One of the neat things about watching trains in England is this thing called “open access”. Here’s the short story: British Rail was privatized, and the tracks and infrastructure are owned by one entity. Operators of freight and passenger trains pay user fees to move over the tracks. If you’re a railfan (“trainspotter” in the UK), this is great – because you can sit in one place and see trains from many different operators without having to move to a different rail line. You’ll see that variety in the images from part of a day spent at Stratford, and a few minutes (really!) at Derby (which I learned is pronounced “Darby”).
If you want to learn more about the engines you see, as well as the EMUs (Electric Multiple Unit self-propelled passenger cars) and DMUs (Diesel Multiple Unit self-propelled passenger cars), Wikipedia is a great place to go. For example, if you want to learn about the Class 66 diesels, go to Wikipedia and type in Class 66 in the search bar. Researching these things is easy, as all locomotives, EMUs and DMUs are classified according to the British Rail Classification System – the first two or three digits are the class, and the last three digits are the individual unit numbers. You’ll see the Class 66 locomotives of several users in the Gallery – the only thing different is the paint and the last three numbers.
So, take a little trip to England and check out their trains. I’ve heard that the images make great gifts as mugs, water bottles, as well as framed on the wall…
Once upon a time, flying was a big deal – people got dressed up to fly, there were manners and decorum, and it was an event. Today in many respects, it’s like a cattle car with wings. And, every time you turn around, there’s a fee or a charge for something else. Someday, somewhere out there, there will be an airline that will have a credit card machine on the lavatory door – and you’ll have to pay extra for the privilege…
I’ve been taking pictures of trains for a long time. Until recently, I had no idea that there were people out there who were downright serious about taking pictures of planes. A friend of mine from Ohio introduced me to a hill near LAX that’s a popular place to photograph planes. Who knew that I was an hour away from one of the hottest plane watching spots around? I’ve been on that hill with people from Asia and Europe. One day, I caught a serious case of lens envy (a serious medical and mental affliction of photographers who spot someone with a bigger/better lens than they have) on the hill – and despite that, I’ve gone back. If nothing else, planes are colorful – and no one has figured out how to tag a plane (but they sure as heck have tagging trains down to a science) yet!
I finished cleaning up some images to add to the Commercial Gallery in the Planes section, and uploaded them this morning. As I was doing so, I had a bit of an epiphany, and took a step back. There are some images that I’ve uploaded that are less than perfect, and some were taken with my iPhone – so they’re never going to make it onto someone’s wall. It occurred to me that Laughing Frog isn’t just about seeking a place to be able to sell my images in unique and personal ways – it’s also about sharing things. There are people out there who enjoy looking at airplane pictures who don’t have the opportunity to see TAM or SwissAir, or many other airlines. So, as I was uploading the high quality images, I also decided to upload some other images of different airlines, recognizing that sharing and entertaining is as important as selling.
The gallery makes an interesting slide show. Pull it up, click on Slide Show (the triangle that points to the right), sit back with a beverage of your choice, and enjoy!
Lastly, keep the passengers and the families affected by the disappearance of Malaysia 370 in your thoughts. 777s just don’t disappear…
The Frog is pleased to announce two new products that you can make your own – cases for the iPhone 5C and the Samsung Galaxy S4!
These additions complement the already available iPad folios and cases for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5.
Check out the video on our YouTube page to learn how to create and get your own!
Over the weekend, one of the Frog’s customers passed on this story to us…
She was on a cruise ship with a couple of thousand other people, and lost her iPhone.
So, she heads on down to the Lost and Found and asks if anyone turned in an iPhone (keep in mind that iPhones are kind of popular). The Attendant looks at her and says “What kind of iPhone?” She responds “An iPhone 4.” [Pause on the part of the Attendant.]
The Attendant then asks if she can describe the iPhone. She responds “It’s black.” [Another pause on the part of the Attendant. I did some research, and there are only a couple of million black iPhone 4 models out there, and I’ve got to guess that the ship sees its’ share of lost black iPhones – so I can understand the Attendant’s demeanor.]
[Awkward silence on the part of our customer and the Attendant.]
And then… our customer says “It’s got a case with a picture of Mount Hood on it, and the mountain is covered in snow!”
The Attendant heads into a back room and emerges with the phone a few minutes later. A happy ending!
The moral to the story: Get your own unique iPhone case from Laughing Frog Images!
Admittedly, I couldn’t resist the shameless plug – but hey, who ever thought that having a unique photo on an iPhone case would help in recovering a lost phone? It’s a new marketing angle!
For those of you that didn’t know this, The Frog’s day job is in environmental, health and safety “stuff”. Sometimes, the worlds of EHS and photography cross paths. Like now. Who knew? The scary part is who knows when they may cross again…
Almost everyone has 9-volt batteries somewhere in their lives. Most likely, they’re in a fire/smoke/CO detector. (The irony of that will become evident in the video link below.)
Have you ever sat there and looked at the terminals of a 9-volt battery and wondered what would happen if they were unintentionally connected? I have to admit that I did, but never dwelled on it. Now that I’ve confessed, it should make it easier for those of you who have done the same thing to come clean.
Here’s a 5:30 video that might surprise you. It did make an impact on The Frog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJH21WmALc#t=304
Please share this with family and friends as you see fit. A few seconds and one extra step can indeed make a difference.
Tonight, after a more than 50 year rest, Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive will leave her home at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds and begin a journey to the UP Steam Shop in Cheyenne, WY for rebuilding and a return to excursion service. Big Boys weren’t actually the biggest steam locomotives ever built, but they are certainly big. I wandered down to the Fairgrounds today with my camera phone, and I’ve posted a new gallery called UP Big Boy 4014 in the Trains section of The Frog. They may not technically or aesthetically be the best photos, but hey – this is history in the making. This gallery is about sharing the event and what it means.
The rebuild is expected to take about five years, and then… I and thousands of others will get to see something they never thought they’d see in their lifetimes – a Big Boy under steam and running.
Credit must be given to The Rail Giants Train Museum / Southern California Chapter Railway and Locomotive Historical Society for caring for the 4014 for the last half-century. Eight of the 25 Big Boys built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady NY are still in existence. All were inspected by the UP Steam Crew, and the 4014 was selected as the best candidate for restoration. Check out their website at http://www.railgiants.org/union-pacific-big-boy-4014.htm and don’t forget to pay them a visit when you’re in the area – there’s much more to them than the 4014. And, of course, the Union Pacific Railroad is to be recognized for the initial donation of the 4014 and now, her second life. Check out the UP at http://www.up.com.
If you’re not in bed at 11:00PM PST, and aren’t otherwise busy for the next couple of hours, you can head down to the Fairground and watch history being made. Who knows… I might see you there!
It’s Monday – and that’s my excuse for forgetting something else we’re going to do in 2014 – “Caption This”.
We’ll post an image, and see what you’ve got to offer up for a caption. (Keep it clean – this is a family site and blog!
Here’s the first one… Have fun!
Well, we made it through the bulk of the holidays! The Frog has been quiet for a while because everyone’s been doing their thing – and probably not worrying about what’s going on with the Frog.
Thanks to everyone for their questions, feedback, and comments. They have been heard, and they will bear fruit in ’14.
The Frog has been busy behind the scenes, and thinking about what needs to be done to enhance The Frog in the new year.
We’ve been sample shopping – picking up different things to verify quality and see how images behave on different media. Metal prints are a fascinating but frustrating medium, as are iPhone cases – see our notes on the Products page. We can say that white mugs and (white) metal water bottles exceed our expectations, as do most metal prints. Standout prints on Fuji Pearl paper are, well, outstanding (sorry, couldn’t resist that one!). All that said, we’ve been challenged in how to share these great samples with you – it’s harder than you think to photograph a metal print, and it’s pretty easy to understand that it’s hard to photograph an image that wraps around a mug or water bottle. We’ll file these frustrations under the “cons” of being a web-based business as we seek a way to share them with you.
There will be a new feature that will hit the blog from time-to-time called “Howdjya do that?” (Howdjya being the verbalization of “how did you” back where I come from). I’m a self-taught photographer, so I don’t have many secrets. Sometimes, the biggest problem is remembering just what I did so that I can do it again, let alone sharing it. Laughing Frog Images is intended to be fun and shared, and part of that is helping others make their own great images. So, every now and again (or when I can’t think of a topic!), I’ll pick apart an image and share what went into it with everyone.
We’ll wrap up this post with a sincere THANK YOU to those that have liked us on Facebook, and shared us with your friends. We think we’ve got something worth sharing here – whether you’re just visiting to view the galleries, shopping for a special and unique gift for someone, or accenting a room with an image made yours. Your sharing and support is and will be a big part of our success.
The Frog wishes you and yours a safe, healthy and happy 2014.
What’s the worst family photo you never took?
If you’re thinking about the worst family photo you ever took, go back and read the title and think about it.
It’s probably the time of year, in addition to wondering what to write about, that led me to this topic. I have yet to find a good photo of my Great-Grandmother to put on our family photo wall. That’s been bugging me for a while.
And then, there’s a song I heard the other day that always puts me in one of those melancholy, reflective, contemplative moods – “Time Passages” by Al Stewart. Take a ride on the Wayback Machine and check out this video on YouTube of Al and Shot in the Dark performing the song back in 1978 when it was released: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRKyGhgoNE8
So, where am I going with this?
Well, way back when, some families were great with taking family pictures during the holidays – or any time for that matter- and some weren’t. Some stored their family pictures well, and some didn’t.
All things considered, if you go back let’s say 50 years ago – it was a lot more complicated than it is today. There were flashbulbs to load in the flash gun, and then exposures to calculate and settings to set on the camera. Fast forward a couple of years to the Instamatic camera that took 126 roll film and flash cubes! An absolutely (well, almost) people proof system that while easy to use unfortunately didn’t take great pictures – but preserved memories to stimulate the mental hard drive nonetheless. And then the 110 roll film cameras became a brief rage because they were small. Never mind that so were their negatives, which meant that their practical use was limited.
Fast forward a bit to 1976 and the introduction of the Canon AE-1 35mm film camera. It was the first “camera with a brain” (a microprocessor) and it began the transformation of amateur photography. Load it with film, put the lens on the automatic setting, put the flash on and set it to automatic, set the shutter speed to 1/60 of a second – and indoor family holiday photography was transformed again. (My AE-1, passed down from my Father, is a few feet away.)
37 years later, we have digital cameras in our phones as well as DSLR cameras that represent the great-great grandchildren of the AE-1. A majority of people are using digital instead of film these days. The cameras have great metering systems, automatic flashes, flashes that adjust their brightness for the scene, red-eye reduction settings. It’s actually pretty easy these days to take a good picture. Maybe it’s not so good for professional portrait photographers, though.
In the old days, you had to wait days or hours to see if the pictures were good or not. More often than not, if you weren’t happy with your results, you didn’t get a chance for a “do-over” until the next family gathering. Even then, you may not have been able to replicate the picture.
Perhaps the best thing about digital photography is that you can look at your picture seconds later and see who had their eyes closed, or mouth open, or who was making a funny face or obscene gesture. If you don’t like what you got – yell at everyone (politely, of course, because it is the holidays) and take the picture again. And, repeat as necessary…
Filum is virtually free in the form of memory cards. No – that’s not a typo. It’s film as my maternal Grandfather called it. It’s Pittsburghese. Don’t believe me? Look it up!
And – no more having to spend $3.00 extra per roll for 1-Hour processing of your 4×6 prints.
So, where am I going with this? Well, I’m almost there now. Thanks for bearing with me.
OK, I’m there now.
Here goes:
Take pictures this family season. Lots of them. Get ‘em with their eyes closed. Get ‘em with that glob of gravy on their chin. Get ‘em when they’re groaning. Get ‘em when their smiling. Just get ‘em.
That way, you can always talk about the worst family picture you took.
It’s better than lamenting about the picture you never took. That could well be the worst one…
Oh – almost forgot – this post could be a great pre-holiday gift for someone you know. Don’t be afraid to share it.
