Steam trains as stock images

There are many scenic steam railways around the country, but getting a good image of a train is a matter of being in the right place at the right time as the land surrounding the line is usually private. The Western Maryland Railroad has solved that by offering Photographer’s days three times a year – fall, winter and spring – where the focus is on allowing still and video photographers to get the best image possible. I went along to the Fall trip last week, and got glorious sunshine and some bright autumn colors in the trees to get some great shots of steam trains powering up the steep incline.

Full steam ahead across the embankment

The day is structured to be in the best spot, with the best light, and then let the train do its stuff, and so we are taken to each curve, we “detrain” and take up our shooting positions and the train reverses and comes back under full steam. After a couple of repeats, we get back on the train and move to the next shot. The locations are well thought through to allow the approximately 50 photographers to get a good shot and not get in each others way. Repeat trips allows a choice of video, vertical or horizontal images for the best locations.

A highlight is the tunnel shot – here we are lined up in the tunnel and the train reverses away. With loud whistles and bells it comes round the corner and steams into the tunnel, pulling to a stop about 50 feet away. I knew this was on the agenda and had a couple of flashguns with me – one on the camera and one in hand, to light up the front of the engine as its headlight glows in the smoke and steam.

Steam train approaching

The day last about 10 hours, so you end up with a lot of shots and videos – but can they be sold as stock? I tried to get a property release before the event, but with no luck. They didn’t say no – but they didn’t agree either, and so I gave up on that. I then focused on two types of shot – one where it was clearly identifiable that the train belonged to the WMRR, and others which focused on details – the driving wheels – or was taken with the later aim of removing identifiable details. The former (which included video) would be sold as editorial on iStock, Alamy, Shutterstock, 123, Dreamstime and Zoonar. The latter can be uploaded as RF to all the sites. It is a little early to say if these will be popular shots, but so far, the editorial ones have been accepted without any issues, and I have had a few sales of both types on Shutterstock in their first few days online.