Just because someone is in the right spot at the right time does not mean all the key elements will equal a show-stopping image. Drew had everthing going to get a great shot, but the drab midday sky and unattractive consist limited the image to being interesting, helped by a bit of cropping. Too bad the train didn't pass near sunset on a sunnier day.
Steve got my vote, I agree with your analysis.
OK, I've thought about it so let me clarify- I have taken many photos in this region of Wisconsin. For me, Drew's photo does a fine job of representing the beauty of the area as well as creates an honorable description of the train as it passes. My lament of the image speaks more of the many times I felt disappointment when I thought I had all the elements of composition in place only to be challenged by ambient light.
I recall that the weather on the day this picture was captured was not only in a general gray overcast, but the temperature was rather cool for the time of year. I think we had more 'Summer' in the month of September than we did all Summer long.
I went with Alex's shot as the one I'd most like hanging on my wall. A different perspective would have helped Steve's shot, but his heart was in the right place. Drew's was a very close second, but lacked presence. It was, though probably closest to the stated theme.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I rejected Steve's photo first... without the descriptive paragraph of explanation, a distant head-on shot of a steam locomotive is the weakest of the three entered in competition. Then, I toggled back and forth between the two remaining shots several times before selecting the recipient of my vote this week. Alex's Little River 4-6-2 photo was certainly 'prettier', with its nicely decorated locomotive and plumes of coal smoke and steam against a bright blue sky, but in the end Drew's SP4449 excursion shot conveyed, to me at least, a better interpretation of steam power on a mainline. I wonder if he was in a boat on the river, or waded out to get the angle in his photo?
I would have been happier with another three images from which to choose, but.....Steve's image gets my vote. The SP shot, in my opinion, ought to have been aimed/cropped to give more headroom for the engine. As it is, the train front is crammed to far to the right edge of the photo. As for the other very nice image of the smaller engine and excursion train, it isn't on a mainline (that was an important word, or so I thought), and the camera is tilted so that the train and terrain are all canted to the left in the image.
-Crandell
No brainer for me, too: none of them. Really great pics all but all too "new", none replicating true mainline steam as done in real life. Amtrak units cut in, stack train on a siding, and VIA cars trailing are all too new, non-complient with what real mainline steam means to me (to me,anyway). Crop out the new or get a shot which would be venue and equipment true, then you would have a real "mainline steam" photo!
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Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
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It was a no-brainer for me...Steve Crise got the vote.
His wasn't the prettiest submission, but it sure said "railroading" in every sense.
TJB - Nashville, TN
I'm voting for the 4449 at speed along the Mississippi River........and not just because I was aboard that excursion having a wonderful time in the dome car!
I almost voted for Steve...but Drew's shot was a shade better to me. I would have been floored to see one of UP's locos hauling some modern freight...but with only 3 shots...I guess I couldn't expect too much.
Dan
......All beautiful photos....I settled on Steve's because I could envision main line steam thru it better than the other two. One with the older steam engine seems to express tourist line, and the other with the Amtrak engine in the consist....
Perhaps I envisioned main line steam differently. But that's my vote. Steve's photo is full of "railroad stuff" too.....
Quentin
I voted for Drew's photo,though it wasn't an easy choice.I liked Steve's shot of 3751 passing a doublestack under a signal bridge, and Alex had a good picture of the 110 on a fairly long train.However SP 4449 is my favorite steam engine,and I love shots of trains runing along bodies of water. I saw something curious in the vote count that will probably never happen again All numbers were repeted for each candidate: Steve 44.44% Alex 22.22% Drew 33.33%. what are the odds of that?
Steve gets my vote. The juxtaposition of a stack train and live syeam at one of the significant historical locations that is still creating history is very creative.
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