I’m a big fan of the motto, “Be Prepared,” so try to plan my shoots as much as possible to avoid surprises. Sometimes, though, things don’t go according to my plans, which is why being able to adapt on the fly is an important skill to have as a photographer. And that’s just what happened to me recently.

Union Pacific’s Big Boy steam locomotive was going to pass through Kansas City as part of an anniversary celebration. The Transcontinental Railroad was completed 150 years ago, so the old 1.2-million pound train had been restored and put back into service for a celebratory run. My buddy Leon and I wanted to photograph it, and that was the beginning of our adventure.

First thing I did was look at the train’s schedule, then open up Google maps. I wanted to scout its route on the map and find a spot I thought would be a good place to photograph it. My first choice was a bridge crossing a creek, where the sun would be behind it to light up the steam. Unfortunately, when arrived early that morning, the sides of the bridge were high and silver, which would both block a large part of the train as well as be a bright distraction. Time for plan B.

Following the track west, we found a spot where the track curved and gave us a fairly clean background. Then it was just a matter if picking the right angle (see photos) and waiting.

I liked the backlight and line the tracks made on this curve, but didn’t like the bare limbs coming in over the track from the right and so much light sky above (a faded light blue).

This was the best angle, ridding me of those pesky limbs against the sky and minimizing the rest of the sky as well. The steam billowing up would also look great against the dark background here. Using my Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens would also give me time to shoot it at a distance and then zoom out as it came closer. A great location, if only this was the track the train was actually traveling on.

After an hour or so, I checked the website that posted updates, and found it was delayed leaving downtown Kansas City. More waiting. Then an Amtrak blew by us going the opposite direction. On the only track there. Followed by train whistles coming from behind us. Which meant there was another track. And that’s when it it hit me. I had us on the wrong track! We were standing next to a BNSF line, and the train, of course, would be traveling on Union Pacific’s rails. Yikes!  On to Plan C (which didn’t exist yet).

A quick look back at Google maps on our phones showed we were only a few miles off, so jumped into Leon’s truck and headed to the right track (carefully driving the posted speed limit..). As we approached, it was clear by the number of cars and people parked nearby that this was the right one. With no time to scout, I simply said “pull over” at the first good angle I saw and we jumped out. About 15-minutes later it came roaring around the corner. By then I was all set with exposure and framing, and had both cameras ready. I shot, it thundered by, and that was that.

When we did find the right track, seeing this curve, and the way the light was coming in from the side and the shadow thrown by the track in the lower left, I knew it would be a good angle to shoot the train. Nikon Z 7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/1000 at f/7.1 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 200-500mm f/5.6 lens at 330mm.

Knowing that once it got closer my 200-500 would be useless – and there’d be no time to change lenses – I brought a second camera with a wide-angle lens and manually preset my exposure. Nikon D850, Manual exposure, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/800 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens at 24mm.

So much for the best laid plans. The important thing, though, was that I was able to realize my mistake in time and adapt. And even more importantly, made some nice photos, got to see a slice of history and had fun on a beautiful fall morning. As with most things in life, photography favors the prepared. But with a little luck, even those of us who screw up can still come away with a picture. And next time, I’ll be a little more careful with my planning!

(If you like this story, please share it with your friends and let them know about the links on photography that I post on my business Facebook page. I’m also on Instagram and Twitter, @reedhoffmann. And if you’re curious about the workshops I teach, you can find them here.)