Vote for your favorite image in the Trackside with Trains Vol. 304: "Passengers" photo contest! The poll is open through May 28.
http://trn.trains.com/photos-videos/trackside/2017/05/vol-304-passengers
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
I went with Mitch Goldman's photo. The crowd is a bit thin for a commuter stop but it's a sight that's repeated multiple times a day at dozens of station stops in North America, including my own station.
I went with Mitch Goldman's too if only more people can identify as a commuter on a foggy morning as presented. Several others showed people but not sure if they are passengers or not. Mitch's pic is a daily experience while the otthers are occasional and vary by viewer's era.
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Mitch Goldman’s photo perhaps IS the most arresting photo. It stops people in their tracks. But, it was thought that voting was for the photo most applicable to the announced THEME. Unbelievably, seven of the nine photos show NO passenger(s) as defined by the dictionary. How could such photos win? Why even have themes?
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Obviously, the people at Trains disagree with what constitutes a "passenger" photo or they would not have included of them in the contest. For that matter, one of the entries that you may find unqualified is by a Train's staffer.
If the point is that the announced theme is not to be taken too literally, you are correct.
noun
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Methinks you're being too fussy. What do you call the folks who are about to board a train? I think most would refer to them as passengers. Same with those who have just deboarded.
I suppose Trains could have used the term "travellers," but that would be too broad.
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Murphy Siding (5-22):
In your reference to definition #1, emphasis should be on the sixth word, “in.”
I win! I donate my winnings to the TRAINS staff to take a class on definitions.
All in fun,
K.P.
K. P. Harrier Murphy Siding (5-22): In your reference to definition #1, emphasis should be on the sixth word, “in.” I win! I donate my winnings to the TRAINS staff to take a class on definitions. All in fun, K.P.
David Croteau
Jim Evans
Mitch Goldman
Alex Mayes
Brian Schmidt
Trevor Sokolan
Steve Thomas
Joel Wendt
Nun of the above
Murphy Siding (5-23):
I don’t think they count. The connotation of traveler is someone repeatedly traveling over great distances. There is nothing that suggests that in the contest photos. Commuters, participants, or spectators yes, but not travelers.
That interior station scene with people posing could be interpreted as passengers, passengers in the sense they are modeling people waiting to board a trains for continuing their trip, but if they are starting their trip, “passengers” doesn’t seem to apply by dictionary definition.
Take care,
While hairs are being split, I should point out that the VIA cars in the image by Alex Mayes are not LRC cars but the European "Nightstar" cars originally intended for sleeping car services through the Channel Tunnel and purchased by VIA when those services didn't go ahead. They look vaguely similar to the LRC cars.
I assume those people count as passengers and that shot shows well the boarding process in less than fine weather.
But Mitch Goldman's photo is pictorially the best and shows a common experience of passengers.
Peter
K. P. Harrier Murphy Siding (5-23): I don’t think they count. The connotation of traveler is someone repeatedly traveling over great distances. There is nothing that suggests that in the contest photos. Commuters, participants, or spectators yes, but not travelers. That interior station scene with people posing could be interpreted as passengers, passengers in the sense they are modeling people waiting to board a trains for continuing their trip, but if they are starting their trip, “passengers” doesn’t seem to apply by dictionary definition. Take care, K.P.
Amen!
K. P. Harrier Amen!
Murphy Siding (5-24):
You apparently haven’t seen all the bad photos I’ve taken … Some get posted anyway because they’re the only ones I’ve got on a thread’s update news item.
As for an “idea of an ideal theme,” are you asked about possible subject matters, how a theme is announced, or something else? As to how it is announced, such as the present theme, “passengers,” just a few more words would have conveyed the concept apparently desired, such as, “passengers could be people on board a train, preparing to get on a train or walking away on a platform, etc.” based on what is perceived from what photos the editors chose this cycle.
If you know anything about discourses and lecturing, then you know that a well-known technique is repeating a matter another way so an audience gets the point and understands it.
Zoom! Right over my head! It's like I asked you your favorite flavor of ice cream and you said 'it depends'. I was kind of expecting something like a theme of 'blue locomotives with the number 6, on a track with deciduous trees visible and the clear implication that the photo was taken in the fall'... or maybe something a little more exact and less open to interpretation.
You'll never make everyone happy. If the theme was summer rails in the city, someone would wonder if they should be Class 1 or transit, or 80# or 132#, or maybe railfans in shorts in an urban setting...
I think if you get too specific, it changes from a theme to a study. Kinda like an art class painting a bowl of fruit. For some, the banana will be in front, for others it will be the orange, and the rest will show an apple front and center. Which one is "right"?
That's not to say that a very specific theme couldn't be used. F'rinstance, instead of just "passengers" we might shoot for "boarding passengers." Submissions could range from the mundane - someone about to step onto the car, to the romantic - a last kiss, to the comical - someone insisting on carrying all five bags onboard by themselves. And so on.
Or it could be a more technical theme. There are plenty. "Headlights" could bring a wide range of submissions, from close-ups to a point of light in the distance.
But - my criteria for judging each round's submissions is whether they speak to the theme - ie, I can more or less determine the theme by looking at the picture, without having to resort to the submitter's notes. Technical merit is a consideration, but everyone is shooting 12MB digital today. Unless it's a challenging exposure, that's a minor consideration. Composition is a far greater factor.
I don't worry about the theme. I let the judges/photographers decide that. I look at all of them very carefully and vote for the one that I like best. My eyes are my camera and some photos really speak to me - like this one. My first thought was Alfred Hitchcock standing there. No crowd, no commotion. Just two people and quiet.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
Mookie I don't worry about the theme. I let the judges/photographers decide that. I look at all of them very carefully and vote for the one that I like best. My eyes are my camera and some photos really speak to me - like this one. My first thought was Alfred Hitchcock standing there. No crowd, no commotion. Just two people and quiet.
Oh, Mookie! (5-25):
You don’t know how wonderful your post was! (Above)
I was sitting at the computer and reading YOUR post. Something came over me and I felt really, really weird. I rushed to the bathroom mirror. Oh my! My head had greatly expanded because of the great insight and knowledge acquired from your post. My presence was now very similar to that huge, tall guy on the Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man.” My HP42S calculator used for very complex math problems was immediately thrown away, as just looking at those problems the answers would now come to me. Thanks so much, Mookie!
LOL,
Yeah, KP. My middle name is "profound"....
K. P. Harrier Oh, Mookie! (5-25): Mookie I don't worry about the theme. I let the judges/photographers decide that. I look at all of them very carefully and vote for the one that I like best. My eyes are my camera and some photos really speak to me - like this one. My first thought was Alfred Hitchcock standing there. No crowd, no commotion. Just two people and quiet. You don’t know how wonderful your post was! (Above) I was sitting at the computer and reading YOUR post. Something came over me and I felt really, really weird. I rushed to the bathroom mirror. Oh my! My head had greatly expanded because of the great insight and knowledge acquired from your post. My presence was now very similar to that huge, tall guy on the Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man.” My HP42S calculator used for very complex math problems was immediately thrown away, as just looking at those problems the answers would now come to me. Thanks so much, Mookie! LOL, K.P.
I (obviously) see the Tracksides with Trains threads and voting differently than you do. I see it as having a theme so that the group of photos are similar. From there, it's up to me to decide which I think is the best photo within that theme. I think of it as more of an art than a science. Who would want to vote simply on whether a photo does or doesn't meet the criteria of the theme? (Oh wait- that answer would be euclid, but I digress). If you do that, you might as well just go with the same theme all the time- 3/4 wedge shot of a shiny diesel locomotive.
edblysard (5-25):
Greetings, Ed! We haven’t exchanged thoughts for some time. Hopefully, this reply will clear up matters for you.
The KEY statement of Mookie’s was: “I don’t worry about the theme.” How do you think contestants who went out of their way to conform to the concept of the theme feel when it was a person that didn’t conform to the theme wins? Mookie, you Ed, and anyone else with ‘the theme is irrelevant’ mentality are implying themes should be done away with. Since that seems to be the prevailing perspective, maybe themes should be done away with.
But, think about this: Wouldn’t an editor get fired if he (or she) repeatedly wrote hodge-podge material irrelevant to their many articles’ titles? It has been my experience in life that there are two types of people, (1) focused and theme conscious people, and (2) rattlebrain types that have an inability of stay on one subject. As far as Tracksides go, it would go a long way if themes were emphasized and instructions were to vote on the photo that best brings the theme forward. Without that emphasis and everyone being on the same wavelength, conflict is destined to occur. Just look at all the sort of cats here at the forum with backs hunched up and meow-screaming.
You, Ed, can contribute to there being peace at the forum by promoting THEME AWARENESS. That, or encouraging staffers to do away with themes altogether so that there is NO misunderstandings! Both ways cannot exist at the same time. I now suspect (“suspect”) the staffers at Astronomy Magazine, without leadership, tried to have it both ways, which doesn’t work, and suffered the consequences, and those consequences were so bad that suspension of their forums resulted.
Hope that puts things in a better light for you,
This is the biggest bunch of blather I have read in a long time. I am an individual. I do have a brain. So far, I am like everyone else on here. But i don't "do" photography, I don't own a camera, I don't go to art museums and look at what is usually hanging there because I think it is a lot of excitement about something that doesn't appeal to me.
But this photo appealed to me the minute I saw it. I don't care what the theme was; I will not be submitting any photos. If the photogs on here want to gather and have a club every two weeks on a "theme", go for it. I will look at them and judge which, if any, I - personally mind you - like the best and vote. Then if I want to make a comment, I should be able to comment on what I saw. I don't care if anyone likes my comment or my choice - it is still a free forum. I voted shortly after this "theme" was posted and - wow - looks like I picked a winner.
The comments have denigrated to arguments and I wanted to add a different kind of comment. KP - when your name appears on the masthead of this forum, then I might respect your opinion. Until then -
K. P. HarrierYou, Ed, can contribute to there being peace at the forum by promoting THEME AWARENESS. That, or encouraging staffers to do away with themes altogether so that there is NO misunderstandings! Both ways cannot exist at the same time.
On several occassions here, I have avocated doing away with themse alltogether. There already is the theme of railroading. There is no need to add on a second theme. I suspect that photos having no railroad content would be barred from the contest. Whereas, matching the secondary theme is not required to be in the contest. Indeed, matching the seconary theme is so subjective that there could never be agreement as to whether a photo matches it at all most of the time.
It is a photo constest, and to me that means a contest about the technical and artistic quality of the photograph. Matching a theme, and judging the photo on that basis adds a whole other unrelated layer of judging criteria. How do you choose between a great artistic/technical photo and one that superbly matches the theme? Artistic and technical generally go hand in hand, but matching a theme is completely independent of the artistic/technical merits.
So I feel that theme matching introduces needless ambigity to the purpose of the photo contest. Theme matching is a skill that has nothing to do with photography.
It is up to the photographers to submit their efforts to the 'theme'; it is up to the screeners to pick from those submitted for the array to be judged by the public.
It is up to the public to pick their choice for WHATEVER REASONS the public wants to choose - some submissions grab your guts, some don't. Follow your gut!
Artistic merit is in the eye of the beholder and sometimes in the eye of the beerholder.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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