Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 28: April 4, 2005

[LVJJJ]

Gotta go for the sunshine, the desert (I'm from Las Vegas) and the clearer picture, so Erik gets my vote. Mike's photo, while nice, is foggy, dreary and depressing (not his fault, Mother Natures' fault). Keep up the good work guys, I really enjoy this feature of the Trains website. LarryS(anta Fe).

[railman]

Eric's shot, the impression I took from it was that the BNSF unit was flying across the desert. Just so crisp and devoid of background. Train, sky, track. Period.

[jeaton]

My first reaction to this week's installment was "That's just like a railfan-take a picture of Pam Anderson from the shoulders up". Then to see if I could get the brand of the sun glasses, I clicked on the photo. Sorry Mike, please forgive my bad.

My second reaction was "Is that the Chicago Line?" I am taking the Capitol Limited to Washington and 300 mm lens or not, that track looks a little rough.

After all that my vote went to Mike for his train shot.

Jay

[Anonymous]

I voted for Eric's this time as it was a great shot, and in Mike's not enough of the train showed. It was to blurry for my taste

[Anonymous]

Mike's original entry and actual one reminded me of May 2002. I was lucky enough to pace a steam loco climbing from Inverness (the Scottish one) towards Slochd summit when on my way to the Cairngorms for a climbing weekend. I took about 10 shots after persuading the driver of our car to slow down to pace the train. After finishing the film, I posted the it off to a b&w processor. Back came 36 prints of a very attractive young lady in various states of undress - there must have been someone that summer who had a lot of explaining to do!

[virogue]

Hello Everyone!

Erik took my vote... mountains, blue sky and a good BNSF engine with apparent underframe detail made the difference with a failed attempt at voting for Pamela[#dots]! Oops, forgot about the BN train... way too many wires in in the background, and not enough light in my liking...

Take care,

Vianney Roge
France

[Mookie]

Sorry Bergie - went with Mike! I see "your shot" all the time and this was nothing new. Something almost romantic about Mike's shot.....

And everyone knows that isn't Pamela Anderson - it has "Mike Yuhas" right below the picture.

Don't remember Mike being a blonde, however.

Mookie

[Anonymous]

Hey guys I may be on vacation in New York City visiting my "traveling" in-laws, but that doesn't stop me from entering my opinion on this vote:

Mike: A great photo but could you at least have taken that in the sun instead of in the gloomy weather. I found out that the old green and white scheme of the BN doesn't show up very well.

Erik: A great shot. A pacing shot show us what these trains really look like when at track speed.

Erik: 1
Mike: 0

Erik is the winner!!!! :)

[Anonymous]

If Eric's shot had placed a little more of the locomotive in the frame, I probably would have voted for it. Astounding clarity for a shot like this. Very well done.

What struck me in Mike's photo was the condition of the tracks at the crossing. At one of my local crossings, the ballast softened and the track got pounded by the freights (NS on the old Big Four Line between Muncie, IN and Indianapolis). I was amazed at how quickly and how much the head of the track could be deformed due to its flexing under the trains.

[Anonymous]

ERIK'S PICTURE, BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS MOVING AT THE SAME SPEED AS THE SUBJECT, SEEMS TO FREEZE THE LOCOMOTIVE IN TIME AMIDST THE BLURRED ACTION OF THE SEEMINGLY IMMOBILE SCENERY! GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY!

[tree68]

While Mike's shot was a little on the dark side, the wires and stuff kind of blend into the background, and the photo has some drama.

Bergie's shot, on the other hand, isn't well balanced. While the pacing effect is excellent, I'm left with the impression that he took it too early or too late. The tip of the nose of the locomotive is very nearly perfectly centered left-to-right in the photo. It would have been better on either of the vertical third lines. In fact, putting it on the left third line might have given the impression of the locomotive rushing into the picture.

I voted for Mike.

[jjlamkin]

Sorry again Mike, I liked Erik's photo this week. What was Erik doing in Arizona?? Anyway, his photo reminded me of the movie "The Station Agent", there was a scene where they were train chasing and took some photos like this!!!!
Stay safe.
Jim

[jjlamkin]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jjlamkin

Sorry again Mike, I liked Erik's photo this week. What was Erik doing in Arizona?? Anyway, his photo reminded me of the movie "The Station Agent", there was a scene where they were train chasing and took some photos like this!!!!
Stay safe.
Jim

On another note, I got my Safety Certification last weekend for the Monticello Railway Museum. Now I can run my motorcar this summer!!!

[PRRK4s1361]

I voted for Bergie's photo this week. Living in PA I've had too much of the 'blahs' that's associated with dreary days. Spring has finally come to Central PA and I'm glad. Today's high in the 60's and tomorrow in the low 70's!!! Too bad I can't take a day off myself and do some exploring. Would choose to go to Phila...haven't been there for a long time and I do enjoy looking at SEPTA even though they are in a budget crunch. Good work, both of you.

[Anonymous]

Mike..nice working shot but Eric got what I like and that's a fast running train...good job both of you and well Eric you got my vote...jim..jesdiesel out.