Impressive Train Journey Seiya Nakai, Railway Photographer

Hello. Train photographer Seiya Nakai here.
The shooting location this time was a stunning view of fall foliage. I went out prepared for disappointment, as I thought that the autumn leaves would not be very good because of the poor weather we had in the summer. But, when I got there, I saw that this was an extraordinarily good year, the likes of which we haven’t had recently! So, I was able to shoot some lovely autumn colors.
The subject this time was the Suigun Line, which connects Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture with Koriyama (Asakanagamori Station on the Tohoku Main Line, to be exact) in Fukushima Prefecture. Trains on this line run leisurely through the northern Kanto region’s bucolic landscapes. The spot I chose for shooting was the vicinity of Mt. Yamatsuri in Fukushima prefecture, near the border with Ibaraki prefecture. This place is well known for its cherry blossoms and autumn leaves. My aim was to get the fall foliage along the Kuji River and trains on the Suigun Line crossing the river on a railway bridge. This photo was taken with backlighting from the north side of the bridge in the morning. The fall leaves shining in layers upon layers drew sighs of wonder from me.

The camera I used was the α7R III, the latest model released in November. While I was shooting in the difficult condition of complete backlighting, it produced rich gradation in the bright sections with clean and varied dark sections. The image makes you feel as if you were really there. I think you can understand from this image that the camera not only achieved the high resolution of about 42.4 megapixels and high speed continuous shooting of ten frames/sec., but also that its high gradation performance is outstanding.

I took this photo from the same location, but it is actually a shot taken after sunset. It is not as dramatic as the early morning, but the vivid colors are very impressive. The Suigun Line is a very picturesque line, but the train cars are new and have been painted in slightly gaudy colors, and so shooting them on the smaller side does better to create the sentiment of a traveler. The key is how, in a limited shooting location, to shoot the trains as small as possible without losing their sense of presence. What is more, since this area near Yamatsuriyama Station is the section with the fewest trains on the Suigun Line, it is difficult to shoot, but that makes it all the more thrilling when you get the timing just right.

This is a vertical composition shot from the south side of the bridge. I took this photo with the FE 12-24mm F4 G (SEL1224G) lens. Even though it is an ultra-wide angle lens, it is nice that there is little distortion around the image perimeter. I took this photo at a focal length of twenty-four mm, and distortion of the train was minimized.

At any rate, autumn foliage is something marvelous; it turns simple rural scenes into magnificent scenery. The last photo I wanted to share today is a shot focusing on a gingko tree whose leaves had turned completely yellow. Actually, there is a little secret to taking this shot. Check out the magazine to find out what it was.
By the way, if I can get a good composition by doing so, I even shoot lying down. : )

At any rate, autumn foliage is something marvelous; it turns simple rural scenes into magnificent scenery. The last photo I wanted to share today is a shot focusing on a gingko tree whose leaves had turned completely yellow. Actually, there is a little secret to taking this shot. Check out the magazine to find out what it was.
By the way, if I can get a good composition by doing so, I even shoot lying down. : )