Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 44: December 5, 2005

[xarmycdn]

i voted for b...due to the fact that iam canadian and i am partial to cp. they are the first canadian railway .

[Anonymous]

Two excellent photos, both have their individual merits. I have looked at both photos several times (enlarged) and find it very hard to say that one is better than the other.
So for me it seems one just has to pick and choose.because there are no "winners" or "losers". Although I am a Santa Fe fan i voted for photo B. Thanks Erik & Mike, keep up the good work.

[Anonymous]

I picked Shot A ---no contest , interaction with trains,people and a yard.

[Anonymous]

Two exellent shots keep up the grate work .
must go with SANTA FE all the way [bow]

[Anonymous]

I chose exibite A because you don't see that photo everyday where two of the same locomotives are right bye each other. They were both great and it was a very hard dicision. I would like to say congradulations for both photagraphers for doing a teriffic job.

[teabow]

I voted for B.,because compositions should never include two subjects.Compositions ( e.g..still lifes) work better if they include an odd number of subjects [3,5,7,9,...].When you have two objects, or an even number ; in a composition your subconcious mind gets confused because it doesn't know what to concentrate on.
If you have to have two objects in a composition one should be dominate and the other should be submissive. You can do this with focus,lighting ,or placement for instance.

[Anonymous]

In mage "A" . it appears as if someone spilled their drink on the Homasote that the yard is layed on. can you tell i'm a modeler also?

[espeefoamer]

After much deep thought and viewing each photo enlarged,I voted for photo A.The Santa Fe yard shot just got me.I noticed the two enginemen on the ground near the unit on the left. Also saw what appear to be large patches of ice in the yard. Seeing two SD39s side by side was a nice addition to the shot.
Did anyone else notice the unusual lettering on the 6214? It has BNSF on the sides of the short hood with the edge of the last(on engineers side) and first letters lapping over onto the front of the hood? Part of my reason for voting for photo A, is I was in a group taken on a tour of the BNSF yard in Barstow CA yesterday. There were several SD39-slug sets working the yard,including one set on the hump.Speaking of cold,there were small patches of ice on the sidewalk behind the Admin.building.

[tmcc man]

I went with shot b, but it was a tough decision because I like dbot shots, but I liked the snow in the headlights.

[broarthur]

I liked the twins in shot A. So I voted for it.

[ralphb]

I liked the way the two engines seemed to be joining and the people working to remind me that winter or not, work, and life, go on.

[:)] ralphb

[Anonymous]

While the Santa Fe engines are consecutively numbered, there are several differences: 6215 has ditch lights just above the plow; yellow paint extending from top of headlights almost to the windshield divider; many cab roof differences, the most obvious being the BNSF orange a/c housing. This shot could have been taken in the seventies, save for the dress of the crew and the large "BNSF" on the battery box cover of 6214. Ah, but the wisp of locomotive breath (a nod to Ian of "Jethro Tull"), the rust-weathered concrete and snowflakes glistening in the lights are all too compelling-- "B" gets my vote.

[fuzzybroken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

After much deep thought and viewing each photo enlarged,I voted for photo A. ...
Did anyone else notice the unusual lettering on the 6214? It has BNSF on the sides of the short hood with the edge of the last(on engineers side) and first letters lapping over onto the front of the hood?

Good, I was wondering if I was the only person to notice that. It was that detail that really made it tough to decide at first (before my browser crashed, and I forgot to come back till today), but I ended up going with my first instinct and voting for Exhibit B. This is, of course, a familiar location for me, while A was not. I'm usually not a big fan of head-on shots anyways, but A was otherwise interesting for all the other details in the photo, including the sequential numbers.

(Of course, CP runs trains with two identical-numbered locomotives sometimes... See the last picture on www.fuzzyworld3.com/cp04.html ...)

[emmar]

I like both shots, but technically B is a better shot because it frames the locomotive right and shot A seemed to let your eye wander out of the picture and did not have a good focal point. Picture B also conveyed the snowy atmosphere better than A.

Great shot CopCarSS. I think that shot would have beat both A and B![tup]

[walthuston]

I would have prefered to have a choice of "Tie," but since that was not available, I chose exhibit B due to the better lighting. Neither had really good lighting due to the winter weather effect, but B had better lighting than A in my opinion.