Nevada Northern Railway Winter Steam Shoot--Friday

 I had the opportunity to attend the Nevada Northern Railway's Winter Steam Photo Shoot Spectacular, a 2.5 day event held twice each February. I was at the second weekend, with about 30 other photographers, ready to take jawbreaking photographs of trains. I have to admit, I like trains, but I'm not a train fanatic. And I do love photography, but I had a feeling I was going to be with a bunch of semi-pro and pro photographers. So I was definitely going to be out of my comfort zone. But that's okay, that's how we grow, so I decided to just go for it and enjoy the weekend. My husband and in-laws were on kid duty, I had a room reserved at a hotel in Ely, and I had packed lots of warm clothes (it is Ely, Nevada, after all, a place not really known for being warm).

We started out with a safety briefing from Mark Bassett, the director of NNRY. Then we headed out into the yard for some photo opportunities. It was a grey and rainy afternoon, so I was glad there were some bright colors out there.


We started with a freight train with two diesel engines, #5 and #105 (I think--this is where my lack of train knowledge trips me up!)


We bundled up and went out into the yard. These train photographers had come from all over, including Chicago, Connecticut, Washington state, several from California, Utah, and more.


The freight train made some passes.

I tried to find a way to get something a little different. It was my first time photographing with so many others, and I was introduced to the concept of a photo line, a line you stay behind so you don't get in anyone else's photo. The photo line changes as everyone gets that shot and then it's time to move on to the next one.

I really enjoyed the artistic challenge of trying to get a unique shot. I was also content to get some standard compositions, as I don't have many train photos. (I do now!)

The line of school buses across the street caught my eye, a splash of color on an otherwise dreary day.

One of the cool things about the NNRY is that when it closed down, they basically shut the doors on an intact operation. So all the parts are there, being restored over time. These buildings in the background are iconic to the railway.

 

Then it was time to head down the tracks. The lines and symmetry made me swoon--well, almost! I was pretty excited, I have to admit.

We were allowed to go into the caboose and watch the freight train. It was a little rainy at this point.

A few of the photographers getting ready.

Then they did a demo with the crane train, lifting an ore cart off the tracks and setting it back down. It was very cool.

 By then I was very cool--I mean cold, so I checked into the hotel and warmed up a bit.

 Then at 5 pm I went back for the much touted night shoot with professional studio lighting. It felt like a bit of a jostling match to get a spot in the lineup of tripods!

The studio lighting was really nice (ignore the green flare, I just saw it and realized I still need to fix that!). Engine 40 was our main subject.


I also had fun trying some of my night sky techniques between the flashes so I could get some special effects, like the light beaming out in front.

  

After a few shots of the engine and people trying various angles, the models came in. These are NRRY employees who did a good job of looking the part.

I really liked the steamy effect.


And then there were more photos...

It was a fun evening of trying out various camera settings and angles. The crowd was thinning out when I left about 7:30 pm and downloaded photos and charged batteries to get ready for the next day.

A Quick Trip to the Magic Grove near Mount Washington

 We had some visiting ecologists who were interested in setting up a limber and bristlecone pine monitoring program in Great Basin National Park. Since I do a lot of the high elevation botany/ecology, I went with them on a recon trip to one of the potential sites, up in the Mt. Washington area. I love going up the west side of the park, it is always so remote and beautiful. I took all these photos with my phone.

Jules joined us and brought along the telemetry gear to try and hear the collared bighorn ewe. We didn't hear it from down in Spring Valley, but we did hear it later in the day.

The traditional first stop up the road is the Wheeler Mine, where water comes out of the old mine and we can still see some of the mining structures. I'm not quite sure what this structure was used for.

Then we drove up the tight switchbacks up to near the top of Mt. Washington. We hiked the last 150 meters into the clouds.

Then we went down the other side to the northeast to check out a grove of bristlecones that has been dubbed the Magic Grove. The name isn't on any map, but it's stuck locally.

The moving clouds lent a very different air (double pun intended!) to the grove.

Wildflowers were scarce, but we could see there remains, like this Silene acaulis. In the summer it has brilliant pink flowers.

I found this four-trunked tree interesting.

Recognize this tree? It's on the Great Basin National Park quarter. It's a very cool looking tree from every angle.

The clouds were moving so fast. Thunderstorms were predicted for later in the day, so we knew we couldn't stay too long.

One of the cool things about bristlecones (and there are a lot of cool things!) is that often times the tree roots are above ground. These roots are so old that the ground has eroded out from around them, leaving the roots in air. This is an example where the biology can be used to help date the geology.

The bristlecones had some cones on them, so the life cycle continues. Those bottlebrush needles can live for 40 years!

On the way back down, the clouds lifted enough that we could see the marvelous patch of aspen on the other side of the canyon. A wildfire in 2000 burned part of Lincoln Canyon, making some great bighorn sheep habitat and regenerating a lot of aspen.

 It was a quick trip up and down the mountain, but lots of fun with good conversation about forest ecology and field work. The clouds made everything look so different. The Mt. Washington road requires high clearance  and four wheel drive and is one of the toughest roads around. The super tight switchbacks require three-point turns for longer vehicles.

First Snow!

 Last week on the first day of fall, we had a storm, the first storm in a long time (the monsoons kind of skipped us this year). I was doing a kid exchange and was up in Great Basin National Park when we saw a truck stopped at the bottom of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive with snow on it. I pointed it out to the kids and asked if they wanted to go check out the snow. Desert Boy wasn't too enthusiastic, but Desert Girl thought it was a great idea. So we headed uphill and drove up to about 9,000 feet and started seeing snow on the trees above us. Fortunately not many other people wanted to drive up into the storm, so we could stop frequently and take lots of photos.

The fall colors were glorious, with many hues of yellows and oranges, and reds.

A little past 9,200 feet we reached our first snow. It was obvious that it had come down with some wind. Desert Girl put on a sweatshirt and went out to experience it.

Then she came after me with a snowball!

We kept going up, and the sun peeked out, showing snow-dusted mountains and limber pine silhouettes. I'm sure my pulse rate was up, I was so excited to be there, seeing this gorgeous scenery right in the moment.

I had thought that the wind might have knocked down many of the leaves, but they held on, now coated with a layer of white that made the fall colors even more vibrant.

The road was wet, but not slick. And I kept stopping to take more photos! The one below was one of my favorites.

At one stop, I caught Desert Girl eating some snow.

The snow balanced precariously on the leaves, some of it falling with each wind gust.

The fast moving clouds revealed some blue sky from time to time.

And I couldn't help but try for some artsy photos.

The scene at the Wheeler Peak summit trailhead was dramatic, with the trees drooping from the snow. No one was hiking the trail.

We could barely even see the mountains from there due to the clouds. It probably wouldn't have been that scenic of a hike, as you would be in the clouds most of the time.

We drove on to the Wheeler Peak campground, which was also coated in snow. We drove through to see if there were any campers.

We stopped at a campsite I've been wanting to camp at and found that the wind had knocked off more of the leaves here. As for campers? We didn't see any.

Heading back down, I still wasn't tired of taking photos. The mix of colors was entrancing.

And then we had some frosted vegetation and late afternoon shadows.

The view from Mather Overlook was a bit muted.

That spur-of-the-moment drive has to be one of the most beautiful drives I've ever taken. It was just magical. And the photos will let me remember it even longer. I sure was glad I had my good camera with me!

Hope you've enjoyed this eye candy. There are still lots of great fall colors and photogenic moments out there!