It's fun to take photos of rare trains. The exhilarating feeling is exceptional when I could shoot a rare train successfully. Last October, I went to Kamakura to shoot a limited express train, EMU JR East E257-5500 series. This rare train has green-colored stripes, whereas the standard E257 series, namely the E257-2000 series, has blue-colored stripes. They're just different in terms of the color of stripes, but that's important for trainspotters. That's what a hobby is like.
Firstly, I got information that the E257-5500 series will be operated as an extra train bound for Kamakura. Next, I checked the timetable, and found that I will be free on the day of operation. The weather forecast predicted sunny on that day, so, I gave the go-ahead to this photography plan. The last challenging problem was identifying the best spot for taking photographs. I needed to stay south of the track to keep the sun behind myself, but there were very few such idealized places.
On Sunday, October, 23rd, I visited a precious spot, which I found on a map and an aerial photograph. It was located outside of the gently curved tracks of the JR East Yokosuka line. It looked an idealized place to shoot the rare train, but my only concern was whether the whole train could be contained properly within an image. Five minutes later, the time has come. It's now or never... shooting. Thank goodness! Please look at the top photo.
I fully enjoyed this rare train shooting.
