Chesapeake & Ohio #1309February 2023 Western Maryland Scenic Railroad #1309, originally Chesapeake & Ohio #1309, is a compound articulated class H-6 “Mallet” 2-6-6-2 steam locomotive. It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949 for the C&O, where it pulled coal trains until its retirement in 1956. It has the distinction of being the last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for a North American railroad. In 2014, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad acquired C&O #1309 from the B&O Railroad Museum and after a 7-year restoration, the locomotive was finally ready for service. During the restoration, the railroad painted #1309… [Read More]
Yellowstone and Grand Teton Scouting Trip
Yellowstone and Grand Teton Scouting TripDecember 2022 After a very successful fall photo workshop at Grand Teton, I wanted to take the next step and scout for winter photo workshops at both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. I decided to spend three days in Grand Teton and three days in Yellowstone with an emphasis on wildlife photography. As soon as I arrived, I noticed there were hardly any visitors in the park. Visiting the week before Christmas seemed to be a perfect time. My first day at Grand Teton started off very promising with zero-degree temperatures and plenty of… [Read More]
Hollywood Vintage Lighting Workshop
Hollywood Vintage Lighting WorkshopJanuary 2023 I have had many clients over the years ask me how I do the lighting setups for the Lerro Photography reenactments. This interest was a big factor in deciding to offer this particular new style of lighting workshop. I decided to keep the workshop small regarding participants because I wanted to make it a more personal experience and also because the space we were using was limited. I found a great Airbnb in Rockhill Furnace, PA, that had vintage charm and a style that was the perfect backdrop for our workshop. The workshop was… [Read More]
Strasburg Railroad 611 Charter 2022
Norfolk & Western 611 Charter at the Strasburg RailroadNovember 2022 The 4-8-4 Norfolk & Western #611 was brought to the Strasburg Railroad in 2019 and has been pulling passenger trains on select weekends. Lerro Photography helped run a photo charter with the 611 in October 2019. In November 2022, Lerro Photography was again asked to help the SRR with a photo charter to help raise money for both the railroad and the locomotive. The two-day photoshoot consisted of the 611 pulling an all-red passenger train and featured photo sessions at sunrise, sunset, and a night session. Each of the photo… [Read More]
Old West Photo Shoot 2022
Old West Photo ShootNovember 2022 When someone thinks of the Old West, one imagines images of gunfights, the open range, cowboys with cattle, drinks at the saloon, and adventure. In November 2022, Lerro Photography sponsored an Old West-themed photo shoot at the Old Bedford Village in Bedford, PA. Over 20 reenactors, two horses, and nearly 40 buildings and structures made for a perfect backdrop for our photo shoot. All of our reenactors were hand-picked because they had original and/or accurate reproduction outfits, props, and guns. We do this so we can make sure the photo shoot is as accurate as… [Read More]
Oregon Steam Charters 2022
Oregon Steam Charters The 2022 Oregon Steam Charters featured two separate railroads: The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad and the Albany & Eastern Railroad. For our first photo charter, we spent two days at the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad with the Polson Logging Co. 2-8-2 #2 and the Heisler Craig Mountain Lumber #3 as our motive power. Both days were planned to feature both locomotives, but due to mechanical issues, the Heisler didn’t join us until toward the end of the first day. The railroad fired up a third engine, McCloud Railway 2-6-2 #25, but unfortunately, that engine had mechanical issues… [Read More]
World War I – Newville, PA
World War I – The Great War in Newville, PA I finally got to attend a WWI event at Newville and it was quite the moving experience. The Great War Association (GWA) is a 100-acre site in south-central Pennsylvania that boasts over a mile of opposing trenches and crater-pocked No-Man’s Land. There is also an endless site of barbwire, bunkers, bombed-out buildings, and other structures that truly makes you feel you are in 1917-1918 Europe. This event is considered an emersion event, which means it’s for reenactors only, and the general public is not allowed. All the reenactors usually remain… [Read More]
Grant Teton Photography Workshop 2022
Grand Teton Photography Workshop Grand Teton National Park is one of the United State’s premier National Parks and offers both spectacular landscapes and amazing wildlife opportunities. For our photo workshop, we planned our visit to coincide with the fall color. We also hoped to photograph the larger wildlife such as bears and Moose. While I had been to Grand Teton several times in the past, I went out 3 days early in order to see where the fall colors were strongest as well as find out the recent wildlife patterns. Bison and moose tend to move around and then stay… [Read More]
D-Day Conneaut Ohio 2022
D-Day Conneaut Ohio 2022 D-Day Conneaut Ohio is a premier living history event and one of the largest and most realistic World War II reenactments in the United States. I have been volunteering as a staff photographer since 2016 and this year, I was honored to take the role of the lead staff photographer for the event. My job as the lead is to make sure that all the staff photographers have gotten coverage of all aspects of the event. This is important because the pictures taken by the staff photographers are then uploaded to the D-Day event page and… [Read More]
Maine Harbors and Lighthouses Workshop 2022
Maine Harbors and Lighthouses Workshop 2022 The coast of Maine offers some of the most scenic and photogenic maritime scenes in the United States. For our 2022 photo workshop, we focused on capturing the historic charm of the harbors, fishing wharves, lobster boats, lighthouses, and rocky cliffs in the area. This workshop was scheduled to occur during the full moon so our photo opportunities could take advantage of the moon. I traveled to Maine several days early to get up to date on lobster trap placement and how many lobster boats were out fishing each day. A couple of the photographers… [Read More]
