Trackside Vol. 220: "Water"

[D-Halv]

Good morning,

First off, let me congratulate Brandon Townley, the winner of last week's competition. His photo received 28.89% of the votes, narrowly defeating Cynthia L. Sperko (22.96%), and will be featured in a future issue of Trains magazine.

This week we are seeking photo submissions for Vol. 220: "Water." Again, the winning photo will be featured in an upcoming issue of Trains, so send your favorite shot to [e-mail] by 4 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2013. 

See rules below.

Thanks,

Drew

--- Rules ---

1. Send us your best photo on the topic at 1024 pixels wide and 72 dpi. Please also have a high-resolution copy (preferably RAW) available should your photo win the contest for publication. Photo submission details will be double checked by Trains staff before print publication. Only the first photo submitted will be considered.

2. Include the Volume No. and theme name in the subject line of your email to [e-mail]

3. Make sure your text includes a standard caption and a short story about how you got the shot. Sharing how you got the shot gives your submission a personal touch that will resonate with readers. 

4. Your text should be no more than 300 words.

5. Camera information should be listed in the following order. Please hit return after each item. No need to add commas or the like. (Don't number the items either.)

1. Date

2. Camera type

3. Shutter speed

4. F stop

5. ISO

6. Lens

[tree68]

Ya know, that RAW thing puts most of us out of business for purposes of the competition.  It certainly means that I can't pull any of the images I've shot with my Digital Rebel, as I don't routinely shoot in the JPG+RAW mode - it drops the capacity of my memory cards from 250+ to about 60, for one thing.

So even if I do have a suitable image available, there's no sense submitting it.

If I get lucky and manage to shoot something this week that fits the criteria, I'll be sure to get it RAW, too.  But that's not likely to happen.

I understand the desire for RAW for publication, but your run-of-the-mill railfan/photographer isn't going to shoot that way on a regular basis.

[zardoz]

tree68

Ya know, that RAW thing puts most of us out of business for purposes of the competition.  It certainly means that I can't pull any of the images I've shot with my Digital Rebel, as I don't routinely shoot in the JPG+RAW mode - it drops the capacity of my memory cards from 250+ to about 60, for one thing.

So even if I do have a suitable image available, there's no sense submitting it.

If I get lucky and manage to shoot something this week that fits the criteria, I'll be sure to get it RAW, too.  But that's not likely to happen.

I understand the desire for RAW for publication, but your run-of-the-mill railfan/photographer isn't going to shoot that way on a regular basis.

My thoughts also.  Additionally, if the image they wish o publish is going to be one of those 1/8 page small photos, then I would think that a good hi-res JPG or TIFF would be sufficient.  Sure, for the cover or a full or half-page spread, I understand why they'd need a much higher res image.

Kalmbach--does a 25MB TIFF image meet your criteria? How about a 5MB RAW?

[henry6]

If you have a great picture, one that you think deserves recognition, then send it in and explain yourself.  I take shots with a camera often on automatic...yes, sometimes I turn it off and take manual settings if I think it is needed.  But I don't take notes on each picture, I still use film, and sometimes that film is in the camera for a year before it is developed...that's the kind of photographer I am.  But I have submitted several times, have been totally honest about the pictures and the efforts, and even got chosen for one week's topic (and came in a respectable 3rd out of 5 to boot!)  So if you are confident, honest, and proud, send it in.

[D-Halv]

Please feel free to submit high res JPGs and/or TIFs. RAWs are simply the preferred format. 

DH