Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 61

[winnipegtrainguy]

A beautiful, moody, haunting photo. I had to reply to this one! You should go out at night more often.

[gemotor]

Ah yes, it's Erik's night shot for me this time. It doesn't do well in enlargement, but I can enjoy a smallish photo such as this one. Just loaded with mood! I can almost hear the locomotives sneaking along in Run 3 (or whatever the throttle positions are called these days). Technically, Mike's shot is sharp in spite of the haze. Nice work. The vehicles off to the right are a distraction, though. Last week I wrote that I enjoyed seeing a train in the landscape. Well, I do, but I've had enough experience with trains in a yard at night where the sound is enhanced by the cool, moist air. The sound and the sight are synergistic. I just had to go with Erik's photo.

[espeefoamer]

Hmmmm. When I saw Erik's night shot,I said to myself,I'm voting for that one. Then I saw Mikes rural photo of a manifest freight.Well, I'll have to watch a freight train go by and count cars. Erik-Mike-Erik-Mike... Erik wins!

The night shot was great.I also enjoyed the transformer load on the train to the left.How many times do you see four trains in one picture?

[virogue]

Hi Everyone!

Not a big fan of the UP... but does it matter?  Mike, as you describe very sharply, I really felt the atmosphere of your scene.  Feels like I were there too, and that's the cool thing about photography in my humble opinion.  A real sense of season and place, lots of memories.  And the yellow Geep really stands out!

Erik, you got the artistic shot.  I suppose, since I am not a good photographer, that you had the right eye at the right time, and used your camera's abilities at their best.  The result really is unusual in terms of colors and feeling.

Mike, you get my vote this week! 

Thank you both for allowing us to travel trackside with you AND letting us post comments, that's unique!!!

Vianney Roge

France

[fuzzybroken]

Well, I'll have to watch a freight train go by and count cars. Erik-Mike-Erik-Mike... Erik wins!

Wow, Erik really seems to have the luck of the draw this time...

[CNW 6000]

I voted Erik.  I've seen, it seems, too many shots of a couple spartan cabs on a mainline.  I never get tired of yard shots.

[broarthur]

Tough choices, tough choices, which one do I choose this week? The one that takes me back home, with the silos and farming and the trees. Or the night shot of a train coming through the yards, with tracks full of cars on both sides. Well, after looking at both pictures for a good while I went with the night shot. Not being around trains that much it was a shot that I don't see in the area that I live in. As always I enjoy both pictures greatly, thank again for the opportunity to enjoy your work.

[Anonymous]

I voted for Erik's Night Yard Shot - the contrast between the Light and Dark - and the Yard Scene really drew me in.

[dante]

Neither photo - although good - is the best choice of those posted: should have selected the overall Galesburg yard shot vs. the Geep triple-header! Dante

[asnjoe24]

I think both of the pictures chosen for this week's voting are awesome in their own ways. Grabbing "stealth mission" (the term I personally like to use when referring to nighttime train runs) shots can be pretty tricky because of poor lighting conditions, which can really screw up a shot. Erik's BNSF yard shot is an example that every once in a while, some of those shots, when carefully taken, can be invaluable. 

The one thing that I think gives Mike's UP shot a slight upper hand is the lighting, like he said. With the autumn time change comes an almost surreal feeling to the afternoon and evenings, particularly when the sun is partly obscured. More light also gives more detail, which admittedly can be a big thing for me in judging, and the fall background in Mike's shot is quite fetching. In my opinion, fall is one of the best times to take shots while railfanning because of the lighting.

- Bryan