Train photography

[lesliegibson]

I have been watching quite a lot of You tube videos taken by railfans in Japan, in particular those filmed on the San-In line during the detours from the Sanyo main line. Have noticed that in almost every case the camera person does not 'pan' the train that is follow it until it is out of sight. Is this peculiar to the Japanese railfan fraternity?

[cteno4]

Panning well requires both a good fluid head and skill as well as picking just the right place to set up for a good pan. It’s really a hard shot to do well and cleanly and when not come cleanly can really ruin a good shot. Setting the set and finish frames is really important and many times also requires some zoom which just complicates matters worse. The it’s a moving object so needs to be timed well with the train to boot. I’ve worked with good shooters that are very careful about attempting pans and they usually try better ways if they can. 

 

I think a lot of Japanese videographers want clean shots and in tight conditions doing these pans would just look horrid. Also if it’s a popular railfaning spot it can be hard to get a clear view both ways if crowded. Just my thoughts.

 

jeff

[katoftw]

Plenty of horizontal camera movement in Japanese rail videos.  Watch more videos, aiming for for more than one photographer so you see different camera techniques.

Edited September 20, 2018 by katoftw

[kvp]

10 hours ago, lesliegibson said:

I have been watching quite a lot of You tube videos taken by railfans in Japan, in particular those filmed on the San-In line during the detours from the Sanyo main line. Have noticed that in almost every case the camera person does not 'pan' the train that is follow it until it is out of sight. Is this peculiar to the Japanese railfan fraternity?

I've recently seen a video and photos taken by the same person. The camera on the tripod actually shows in one of the photos. He was filming with a tripod and taking pictures at the same time. Many times, the cameras are stacked next to each other, so everone just sets up a nice fixed position and starts filming and steps away to allow others to set up their cameras too.

 

Panning is possible if you got the space, the distance from the tracks, the right tripod, etc. Many people just set up two cameras, one facing the incoming and one the outgoing direction and cut between the two (or just share both footage).

[lesliegibson]

Thank you everyone, quite a lot of good info there so will remember when I next look at Japanese rail vids.  Liked Jeff's comments in particular. I do quite a lot of videoing around  Wales where I live and like to practice panning, with some success I might add! Although usually there is more space around me than in Japan.

One of my favourite spots is Margam crossing on the South Wales main line between Port Talbot and Bridgend next to the Tata steel works where shots of trains at speed ( particularly the new Hitachi 800 series) is good practice and it is usually very quiet. I have spent several hours there on a few occasions with no one else in the vicinity.

[wazzd]

I think there is also a lot more shots of trains passing through the scene rather than following them which gives a bit of perspective of the environment too....

I like the old film of steam in its' final years, it gives you an idea of the Japanese "style" of railfan photography.