# Photo shots on Amtrak



## winterskigirl (May 16, 2013)

Does anyone have a good suggestion on how to eliminate the reflection problem when shooting photos on the train? It's really a problem in the observation car.


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## yarrow (May 16, 2013)

it's hard. the rear window of the rear car on the train (if reasonably clean) is by far the best picture taking spot on the train, imho


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## JayPea (May 16, 2013)

The best advice I've heard, and for me it works to some degree, is to hold your camera as close to the window as possible.


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## NW cannonball (May 16, 2013)

There is a rail photography forum on this site http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/forum/85-train-photography/ sith good informaton


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## the Other Mike (May 17, 2013)

I must be struck with dumb luck ? I took about 30 pics out of the sleeper car door window several years ago and only one had a ( what I call ) backbite.

Might be because I took them out the north door going eastbound in the afternoon ?

Anyways, I took them with a digital camera I had bought for the trip and by no means do I know what I'm doing. I stood about 8-10 inches from the window.

edit to say it was the EB Sunset and took pics of west texas


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## oregon pioneer (May 17, 2013)

Hold your camera as close as possible to the glass, and shoot at an angle so that the lens and flash are not shooting straight into the glass. Turn your flash off if possible. I almost never have a reflection problem by using these techniques (only when I take photos without thinking, ha, ha!).


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## jsreeves (May 17, 2013)

Saw this several weeks ago. I have since created my own version using an old black t-shirt and suction cups.

I'll be trying it out in the next couple of weeks on board the Empire Builder.

http://lifehacker.com/take-reflection-free-photographs-through-glass-with-thi-473465370


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## SarahZ (May 17, 2013)

Hold your camera against the window, turned at an angle, facing the direction of travel (this will eliminate as much blur as possible). Turn the flash off. Flash reflects off of glass and can ruin a good train (and museum) photo.

If the lights are on in the lounge, it's going to be tricky if you're using a regular point-and-shoot camera, even if you use the angle trick.


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## greg1956a (May 20, 2013)

I'm taking my 35 mm camera it is not digital any advice taking pics with it thanks


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## Ryan (May 20, 2013)

Same rules apply - get close to the glass - NO FLASH - you're going to want to use higher ISO film to keep your shutter speed up to reduce motion blur and camera shake.

Did I mention NO FLASH?


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## SP&S (Jun 8, 2013)

While getting close to the window is good advise and no flash is an absolute there is one other trick that might be useful, a polarizing filter. Turned to the proper position they can eliminate a lot of reflected glare.


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## GG-1 (Jun 8, 2013)

SP&S said:


> While getting close to the window is good advise and no flash is an absolute there is one other trick that might be useful, a polarizing filter. Turned to the proper position they can eliminate a lot of reflected glare.


Aloha

This is usually a good idea, but there some windows that will (for want of a better description) Color fringe. If this occurs it is real oblivious.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2013)

A very simple and cheap method of eliminating reflections: If your camera is a SLR or DSLR, get a rubber lens hood of the proper filter diameter and screw it into the lens. Hold the hood against the glass. No reflections.

Then use Photoshop Elements or iPhoto or any other free or inexpensive photo processing software to kick up the contrast. This will help fix the dirty window problem.


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## indagarden (Jul 5, 2014)

This is my first post. I love trains and take the Southwest Chief LA to Chicago every July. I have good results eliminating reflection when shooting out the window by using an inexpensive collapsible rubber hood. I use it collapsed. It enables me to

put the camera right up to the window


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## TinCan782 (Jul 5, 2014)

Get close to the glass, not touching it! It will transmit vibration to the camera which will be problematic if you are using a slow shutter speed. This is an aerial photography technique. Reflections are coming from behind you! Anything you can do to block them from the area the camera sees will be helpful.


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## KmH (Dec 20, 2014)

To get a better sense of what it takes - shoot pool.

The angles are what matter when it come to reflections and doing photography. Just like shooting pool, the angle of incidence is the same as the angle of the reflection.

In photography they call it the 'family of angles', but putting your lens close to the window will sure help.

It also helps if you keep track of where the Sun or other light sources are so you are aware of the angle(s) involved.

If you have a digital camera that has a lens with filter threads another anti-reflection aid is a _*C*_ircular _*P*_o_*L*_arising (CPL) filter. For film cameras use a linear polarizing filter.

A CPL filter has 2 glass elements.

The front glass element is rotated to eliminate reflections.

As the 'family of angles' changes as the sun/light sources or you move relative to the window, the CPL filter has to be readjusted (rotated).

Good CPL filters can cost $100+ depending on the size needed for your camera. Cheap CPL filters usually cause more problems than they solve, like soft focus.

Also a CPL filter will usually block a stop of light so you need to adjust the exposure (add exposure) accordingly.


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## cirdan (Dec 22, 2014)

If you're in sleeper, turn the lights off and draw the curtains. The less light there is inside the train, the less there is to reflect. Definitely do not attempt to use a flash. Try especially to keep light out of the area between your camera and the window. Sometimes it helps if you just hold your hands in the right place to shield from light sources. If you have a rubber lens hood, experiment with that. If you have manual focus, use it to prevent the camera focussing on the dirt on the window or on any reflections.


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## winterskigirl (Jan 2, 2015)

I got my first iPhone last summer and it's far superior to my SLR digital camera. Wow! Who knew?


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## jis (Jan 3, 2015)

Depends on how one uses ones DSLR


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## Peter KG6LSE (Jan 5, 2015)

jis said:


> Depends on how one uses ones DSLR


IF you have a truck load of light the ittty bitty sensor in the phone might Be ok and have no noise .

for non studio controlled-lab settings, in real life Ill take my gear any day over a phone .

Canon 70D with If I remember the" 70-200 F2.8 IS ",,,, https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7529/15519393083_66b868ca72_o.jpg

Panisonic FZ-200 upper end bridge cam,,, https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7493/15760482675_605c18da09_h.jpg

I take the pani darn near everywhere I go If Iam outta town. Unless I take the canon and its gear

both system can cover roughly the same zoom range and can do video and fast frame rates .

the pani is loads smaller then 15 Lbs of canon gear in a backpack but with a dinky sensor its low light performance is lacking

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8680/16210473172_973c6ae030.jpg

One hint with big glass. canon has on some of there L series a switch to go from a Focus range of 2.5Meters to Inf . and 1.2 Meters to Inf........ the former can be usefull to force the cam to ignore the close stuff and help speed up focus lock .


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## Igotaticketthistime! (Feb 11, 2015)

SarahZ said:


> Hold your camera against the window, turned at an angle, facing the direction of travel (this will eliminate as much blur as possible).


A person can shoot away from the direction of travel and achieve similar results.

I've found blur to be most pronounced when shooting in angles near perpendicular to the window.

As for the OP's question, creating shade near your lens (as another poster mentioned) can help eliminate some glare from witihn the cabin.


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## GG-1 (Feb 12, 2015)

Also forcing your camera to the highest shutter speed the available light will allow will stop most motion. Sometimes a blur adds action to a still image.


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## KmH (Feb 27, 2015)

I like to make photos/videos from the doors on the first floor of the Superliner sleeper or coach car I'm in. It has nice windows on both sides that are easily cleaned inside and out, and have little or no glare from the other window.

There is usually no else there, but there is also no seat.


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