The latest installment of our biweekly photo contest, Trackside with Trains.com, is now live. Eight photographers submitted photos for this round's theme "Shot in July."
View vol. 142's selection and vote for your favorite here.
-Matt Quandt Online Content Editor Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Matt Quandt The latest installment of our biweekly photo contest, Trackside with Trains.com, is now live. Eight photographers submitted photos for this round's theme "Shot in July." View vol. 142's selection and vote for your favorite here.
More Conflict!
Loved Alex's shot of the E's as a reminder of some really fun trips in the Summer-time!
Then Toms shot at Essex of their Consolidation in Steam and some really fun trips there...
Looks Like Eeney, meaney, miney, mo time again! Tom's Shot!
D-HalvFitz, that shot is easily one of my favorites. A very unique angle, showing just what it's like to work for the railroad in July! You got my vote. Welcome to Trackside!
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
......Lots of razor sharp Summer photos to compare......And none really caught my eye, over the former as I waded thru all the contestants.
So....had to pick one. Used Andy's "knee high by the 4th of July", to help tell us the time of year it might be. Plus the hazy sky shows {me}, there is humidity in the air, further helping along to adhere to the theme of "July".
Quentin
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Andy. That whole corn thing and all.
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...
While the new guy with his Texas mid-day sun got my vote, Alex has such a way with covered wagon units. Since that's my favorite locomotive style, it is hard to vote against that shot, but was forced to do so by the contest's stated subject. Again, great shots, one and all.
I voted for Alex Mayes photo. It is pure Pennsy, Need i say more.
All of the photos were great and it was another hard decision, but I had to go with nostalgia and voted for Alex. My parents and I took Pennsy to NYC in 1960 and were pulled by an engine that looked like this.
Everyone did a great job and seeing the heat also reminds me of Dad's stories of working in the yards in all kinds of weather. No matter how hot or cold the trains had to roll. He'd stuff newspapers inside his vest under a heavy coat in winter when he worked at the freight house. Mom was glad when he finally had enough seniority to move into the yard office and more pleasant working conditions.
Just a brief one:
"Change at Jamaca".....{LIRR Agent}. That's one thing I remember on a trip out late evening during WWII....
Ken's shot does it for me. Drew's shot showed a lot of heat coming off the locomotive, but Ken's brought it to the personal level. We've all been out in July heat somewhere and water is the perfect refresher, especially when working on a train.
Don
"there is no point, unless it's Point of Rocks"
"Shot in July"!
How do I know that?
A business sign near some tracks with a temperature reading above the century mark would have been convincing.
Didn't see that, so I just went with one that looked hot...a steam locomotive in the summertime is a cooker no matter how you shake it down.
Tom Nanos got my vote this time around.
TJB - Nashville, TN
Being an Aussie it is hard to imagine how hot weather would feel right now. We have had it so cold with frosts over night of - temperatures and getting to around 10am before the frosts thaw. Plus they are all excellent photos once again and very hard to pick just one. I voted for Alex's as that is a nice looking train. Ken's photo came a very close second. Well done all.
Went with Ken's shot,
been there like, yesterday, will be there today, done that, will do it again and again....
23 17 46 11
Ken F's shot:Even the image looks warm and the water bottle looks not big enough.
Mike Y's shot:I'm a sucker for coal trains and big GEs...definately. Catching a somewhat rare movement in decent light? Nice timing!
Drew H's shot:I can hear the crickets chirping in the underbrush and see the hoppers jumping around behind the camera. I can also feel the humidity that's evinced by the haze visible in the sky. Impressive.
Matt V's shot:Nice catch of the Goslings working.
Mike R's shot:AMTRAK wedgie. Neat skyline tho.
Tom N's shot:Neat perspective to be sure, but it didn't speak to me.
Andy C's shot:My corn was "knee high" by early June this year. Cool background and nice train tho.
Alex M's shot:Looked like last competitions shot...a wedgie of covered wagons but colors are different and going right to left instead of left to right. Both shots were even taken as the locos were just past a signal bridge. Got something else besides covered wagons and signal bridges?
Voted for Drew. Nice job!
Dan
Tough subject. A bit ambiguous to say the least. I'm not sure that any of them really scream out a "month" to me, but they do say "hot". But being a farm boy I had to go with Andy's shot.
A mile from the tracks, but I still hear the whistle! Cleveland, Tennessee
First of all, welcome Ken!
Second, congratulations Ken- you got my vote!
Certainly, everyone's shot was enjoyable, as usual. But it was a pretty easy choice for me this time. Ken's shot made me "feel" July- the hot sun, working outside in oppressive heat, trying to cool off any way you can. Ken's picture really captures that feeling.
Honorable mention to Matt- with the current heat wave we're having, those beer advertisments are a welcome thought!
I'm sure glad to see Ken's shot winning as of now. It speaks volumes through innovative use of angles, not only the upward angle of the lens, but the angles between the cab and the sun "weighing down" on Jason.
This photography contest has been steadily devolving into a "ooh, look at that pretty (covered wagon) (steam engine) (red engine) popularity contest," so much so that at least one of our professional photographers expressed to me that he was thinking of not entering any more. Can we look beyond the surface and examine the technical aspects of railroad photography? I sure hope so! I would like to learn more so I can take better images myself.
Partsman_baThis photography contest has been steadily devolving into a "ooh, look at that pretty (covered wagon) (steam engine) (red engine) popularity contest,"
Yep - usually the "infraction" falls into one of two areas - either the photographer ignores the topic, or the readers ignore the topic.
I swear - the topic could be "big Diesels," someone would submit a picture of a potbelly stove, and people would vote for that shot because they have fond memories of a potbelly stove.
Maybe we could start by having the staff at Trains turn down obviously non-topical entries. Then limit the narrative to a brief paragraph. If you have to explain to me why your picture fits the topic, then you've submitted the wrong picture.
And the reader's comments should generally say "this picture really said [topic] to me," not, "I remember gramp and gram arriving on a train like that."
OK, I'm off my soapbox now.
I have a dream that my photos will one day live in a contest where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
- With apologies to Dr. King
ndbprrAny chance they were oi fired?
Huh?
As the de facto administrator of Trackside, thought I'd throw in my two cents on this:
Personally, I would rather let Trackside voters decide whether a given photo meets the theme for the week's contest than to reject a contributor's photo. I agree: There have been at least a couple times where the winning photo has had a pretty feeble connection to the theme. But apparently, voters believed the photo was good enough to overcome whatever objections they had to that.
I don't know which contributor is considering no longer submitting due to this, but I'd encourage that individual to remember that this contest is strictly for fun. There's no money in it, and most (I would hope all) of us who contribute check our egos at the door. I can honestly say I really, truly don't care whether I win or lose, and I hope others feel the same way. I participate because it's fun.
When the TRAINS staff judges the annual photo contest, we often have to choose between a photo that meets the theme to a T but isn't technically excellent, and a photo that isn't perfectly in tune with the theme but is technically excellent. In my opinion, there is no one right answer. It's subjective. We each take our positions, argue them back and forth, and eventually arrive at a consensus. I see similar discussions take place here when a photo is of questionable relation to the theme. I don't think that's bad or detrimental; in fact, I think it's a valuable discussion to have.
Best,
Partsman_baI'm sure glad to see Ken's shot winning as of now. It speaks volumes through innovative use of angles, not only the upward angle of the lens, but the angles between the cab and the sun "weighing down" on Jason.This photography contest has been steadily devolving into a "ooh, look at that pretty (covered wagon) (steam engine) (red engine) popularity contest," so much so that at least one of our professional photographers expressed to me that he was thinking of not entering any more. Can we look beyond the surface and examine the technical aspects of railroad photography? I sure hope so! I would like to learn more so I can take better images myself.
I admit that I KNOW NOTHING about photography. I have no idea what a "wedge shot" is. I don't have any idea what f-stops are or all the camera gobblygook at the end of the photographers descriptions mean. (I'm impressed by their expertise - I just don't understand it.)
I admit that I am strictly drawn to a picture by the story it tells or if I find some personal attraction about it. I am obviously a sucker for farmland pictures. I look at the drama - or lack of it when I choose my favorite. Sometimes I just like the color of the engine! I wish I knew more about the mechanics of the process so I wouldn't pee off the photo experts here, but . . . . I just go for the pretty picture. Sorry.
Since only about 20 of us ever really comment out of the several hundred that vote, there is a slight chance that there are some more people out there like me - who aren't photography experts. I guess we could put an asterisk beside our votes so they wouldn't really count in the official record book.
:-)
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