Hello!
This week in Trackside with Trains.com Volume 83, Mike Yuhas is joined by Trains magazine graphic desinger Drew Halverson.
Click here to vote.
Add your comments about this week's photos here.
Erik
Can't say I'm wild about either shot. Drew's shot is well composed but has too many areas of shapeless black (at least on my monitor). The ditch light behind the engineer in Mike's shot and the fuzzy train in the background of Mike's makes it look like it was Photo-shopped together.
-Fred
OJLAR wrote:Both phots suck. Lets see some action.
I sincerely disagree with you, Depot. I liked both shots (though the backlighting from the ditch light in the portrait does make for a strange effect), but the Sunset shot of the Observation car was the best that has been presented in this column in awhile. It definately got my vote.
Drew, all I can say is that if that was mine, it'd be printed really big and hung on my wall with pride. Very nicely executed.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
A mile from the tracks, but I still hear the whistle! Cleveland, Tennessee
LU-Trains wrote:...its focus - a tiny receding light - is probably not what most railroaders who are REAL MEN would call a very satisfying shot.
Are you questioning my "manhood" because I prefer the artistic rendering of Obs. Car shot? Jeez... I guess I'm going to have to spend my lunch buying doilies or something...
I think that officially qualifies as the wierdest critique I've ever seen in the comments for Trackside.
Mike, while I appreciate portrait photos of working railroaders I felt your shot did not do Ron McGregor justice. I think you should have positioned him on or nearer the locomotive so that you at least captured the IC logo on the engine's nose along with Ron's cheery mug. Drew's photo on the other hand is very close to perfection with the setting sun glowing off the train's roof and the interesting Skytop observation car. So, in summary, I must say that Mike had a great idea but executed it poorly and Drew's first entry was fantastic and therefore won my vote.
Of course Aaron Jors and Drew Halverson will have their work cut out for them next time. With their fabulous first entries, they will have a tough time matching or exceeding the high quality of their introductory contributions! I look forward to their next competition entries.
I have to say that both pictures are probably insulting to the "high art" of the wedge shot.
Come on! Both of the pictures do great justice to the effort of railroad photographers to get away from what can be called the same ole, same ole. Both are shots of what can be seen around a railroad-Mike's showing a railroad worker on the job, Drew's an unusual passenger train consist reflecting the light as it heads into the sunset. These are certainly NOT what will be seen day in and day out and do belong in the visual history record of railroading.
I applaud both and will spend more time deciding on my vote.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
Gotta be honest...I wasn't really crazy about either of the submissions.
Mike's was OK. I like railroaders and photos of them, but have seldom seen any that were exceptional...and this wasn't one of them.
There may be a monitor brightness issue with the Milwaukee sunset shot, as I decided to tweak it a little, and discovered that by brightening it a little, it looked a lot better.
So, Drew got my vote, but if there had been a "none of the above" option, that's where my click would have gone.
TJB / Nashville, TN
This was not one of the better weeks as far as pictures where concerned. I voted for Drew's observation car riding off into the sunset but as others have said, it was a bit too dark. As far as the portrait of the engineer, it was not composed well at all.
A human shot was an excellent idea, as there are very few trains that operate without a person behind the controls of these machines of steel. It would have been better if more of the engine was included in the picture. The shot looks like it was chopped off.
Great ideas, but execution was not up to par this week.
Just an honest question to all of you complaining about Drew's shot - Why would having more detail in the dark areas make the shot better?
First of all, I doubt that any digital camera on the market has that much dynamic range (maybe the Fuji S5, but I still doubt it), but let's pretend that we could squeeze enough data in there to give some detail in the shadows...
What does that add to the shot? Really, the only overtly dark areas are in the forested areas on either side of the tracks. Would having tree trunk patterns add to the shot?
Personally, I don't think so. The added complexity would only divert the viewer's attention away from the central point of interest. As it is, the dark, ominous woods on either side serve to frame the shot and pushes the viewer's attention to the Obs. Car riding off into the sunset. The "glint" effect on the rails and the oridinarily non-descript Superliners accent the shot and the single red light serves to complete the shot.
I still stand by my comment that if it were mine, it would hang proudly on my wall (printed at least at 16x20, and maybe 20x24).
Hey Drew,
Glad to see you hanging around "my area", I know those locations well. Many times I have frozen my *** off on that bridge waiting for an over & under shot that never happened. I have a UP/Amtrak shot that was so close I have been tempted to photoshop them together.
I voted for your shot, because it was a unique shot that you had to plan a little ahead. and it's a pretty good shot too.
Mike, I liked your shot too. As a few others have said, if he had been doing something "trains" rather than just standing there I think the competition would be a lot closer.
Thanks to both you guys
Larry in Wauwatosa
LU-Trains wrote:The prior several replies do have a good point or two. The passenger train picture, though in a “Museum of Modern Artsy” way is darkly aesthetic, its focus - a tiny receding light - is probably not what most railroaders who are REAL MEN would call a very satisfying shot. On the other hand, all our sophisticated wives would oooh and aaaah over its quiet, forlorn, yes even melancholy landscape.
WE HAVE A WINE TASTER IN OUR AMIDST! Dude! Were you drinking a '41 Chateau LaTour when you were writing this? I have no room to talk, because I am about to make a football analogy.
DREW! Could we be new best friends? You nailed that shot like a pass from Cutler to Marshall between Surtain and Law yesterday! Not to mention that you captured the Cedar Rapids (the namesake of which is about 40 miles from my hometown). Well let me give you a Mile High Salute!
Mike, I thought the "photoshop-esque" quality of the ditch light highlighting Mr. MacGregor's stocking cap was neat, but the shot as a whole didn't exactly make me pirouette. (sorry... another ballerina analogy) However, it does give me an idea... How about an occasional Trackside featuring railroaders at work? Whaddya think?
While I can appreciate what image Mike was (I think) trying to capture, somehow the photo did not 'click' for me; perhaps it is something in the composition, maybe it was something else I can't quite identify.
The sunset shot was nicely exposed and framed (especially considering the situation and the subject matter). I found it to be more 'artsy'....almost like a watercolor painting. I especially liked how the rear window of the observation car reflect the dark blue (in contrast with the pastel pinks and yellows of the sunset).
Vote went to Drew.
Rocket Man, what is up!
It's always nice to meet another Broncos fan. Thanks for the nice words.
Mile High Salute, right back at ya!
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zardoz, thank you for the vote. I, too, like the blue window reflection. It pulls off a nice contrast with the sky, just like you mentioned.
Drew, I took your JPEG and did a little tweaking with it just using MS Picture Manager and got the sunset to pop better and the observation car paint to be visible enough to tell it was Milwaukee Road. I'm sure with a better photo editor much more would be possible - so why did you submit it so dark and muted? I actually preferred your other shots, and I'm a sucker for a sunset!
Mike, I voted for your photo, but I didn't like the way your subject's face and body lean leads the viewer's eyes out of frame right and his eyes (and the locomotive/tracks) lead you left - kind of feels off-balance, or like he wanted to get away from you. But I happen to love the backlighting effect!
Yet another innovative line-up for this week's vote!
I particularly like Mike's selection for this week, looking more at the personal side behind railroading, with his shot of CN engineer Ron. Looks something of a jolly fellow who's seen quite a bit of action on the rails! I like how the engine towers over Ron in the background; it gives a sense of power to the picture.
Drew's shot of the Milwaukee Road's observation car at sunset is quite nice, with its "rolling off into the sunset" impression. It gives us another look in that it captures a rarity - a car you don't see everyday. I once saw a CN lounge car at the end of the Southwest Chief during holiday time a few years back, and Drew's shot reminded me of that.
The decision was tough, but I think I like the personal feel that Mike's photo of Ron gives us just a bit more, along with its "least-seen" nature, so I ended up going with the minority and voting for Mike's photo.
- Bryan
The 'portrait' could have been framed so much better. Come in a little closer and change the angle a bit upwards and you have a better shot of the front of Ron McGregor's unit with him posed in front of a 'complete' picture.
The passenger shot was very well composed . . . the sun glinting off the cars and the rails drew the eyes down from the sunset. I liked it.
Mike, surely you aren't throwing the contest? You previous work was so much better.
Allen
Partsman, is there any chance that we all could see what you did with Drew's shot?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd guess that there are three special cars behind the Superliners, not just one--that's a full-length MILW dome car ahead of the Skytop lounge.
Mike, your friend looks like a lot of the railroaders I encounter from time to time (believe it or not, I rarely encounter railroaders in the course of my railroading job!). As others have said, the things that make Ron special to you aren't conveyed in the shot. Could they be? I don't know.
So--albeit somewhat reluctantly--I have to give Drew the vote.
(Brian, there might be a fifth season during which nobody's going to be using the car, right?)
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)
CShaveRR wrote: (Brian, there might be a fifth season during which nobody's going to be using the car, right?)
LOL- don't get me started on that goofy city slogan...
Yeah, Partsman, give it a go. I'd like to see the changes.
I left it dark because it connected me to the scene. Looking at the photograph it looks like the darkness is trying to consume the photo and the light is struggling to hold on. That is exactly what was happening as I stood there, hoping that daylight would hang on just a little longer.
I also like it from an artistic point of view. The darkness frames the train while the sunset lights it up. The contrast alone makes you think.
After I adjusted my monitor brightness I realized what a tough decision this was. I went with Mike's photo. I really liked the human interest aspect of the photo.
Rick
D-Halv wrote: Yeah, Partsman, give it a go. I'd like to see the changes.I left it dark because it connected me to the scene. Looking at the photograph it looks like the darkness is trying to consume the photo and the light is struggling to hold on. That is exactly what was happening as I stood there, hoping that daylight would hang on just a little longer. I also like it from an artistic point of view. The darkness frames the train while the sunset lights it up. The contrast alone makes you think.
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there a contest rule that bans or limits the use of Photoshop or similar editing programs? Not an important issue with me, just curious.
Dan
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