Trackside with Trains.com, Vol. 101: NEW FORMAT!

[drgw17]

Great new format!  In addition to subject matter themes, might we also see photographic themes, such as silhouettes, complimentary colors, selective focus (e.g., sharp subject against an out-of-focus background), pan shots, and the like?  Just a thought, which you may have had already.  Back to this week.  Best foliage: Andy.  Most interesting composition, and runner-up: Mike.  Best use of light, and the one that got my vote: Aaron.  The morning light is superb, and the deep foreground shadows make the unit's nose quite dramatic (yeah, OK, the red helps, too!).  Keep it up guys (and Kathi!).

[Modelcar]

I select Aaron Jors photo of the oncoming CN tanker train.  Simply, I like the deep contrast of the photo and the colors seem to be in harmony.  Nice shot to my eyes.

[Rocket Man]

I voted for Aaron's CN shot. Many things about his shot influenced my decision. The low dramatic light, the heat plume of the train at work, the curve, the angle of the photo and how the colors worked together without competing with each other. The tank cars provided a neutral base if you will that accentuated the fall colors, yet the bright red locomotive gave the photo a "pop" so the train was not playing second fiddle to the foliage. I would like to have seen Andy's photo if the smoke hadn't blocked out the richness of the fall colors and if he could have also been able to get the locomotive more crisply in focus. I loved the windswept trees in Mr. Yuhas photo that really added to his photo. I just wish the trees would have shown more color. Love the new format, but also loved the old format too. This keeps it fresh. Keep up the good work!

[Bergie]

drgw17

In addition to subject matter themes, might we also see photographic themes, such as silhouettes, complimentary colors, selective focus (e.g., sharp subject against an out-of-focus background), pan shots, and the like? 

Thanks for the suggestions! I've added a couple to our list of future theme possibilities.

Erik

 

[emddd40x]

 As a railroad fan and fellow photographer, I have always chosen my picture to vote for by which looked best as a desktop background for my computer.  One thing I noticed about this round was that they were all low enough resolution that they all came out very pixilated on my high def (1680x1050) screen.  I don't mind a descrete watermark, but could we get a slightly higher resolution in the competition postings?  I too would like to be able to zoom in and clearly see interesting artifacts in the pictures.